This page contains some of my favorite tools for research.
Societies
Minnesota Genealogical Society & Minnesota Genealogy Center
www.mngs.org
Minnesota Historical Society
www.mnhs.org
When is the last time you checked the wonderful online finding aids for many of the collections at the Minnesota Historical Society? Of course, there’s the library catalog, general descriptions of collections, and paragraphs describing various types of records, but have you seen the detailed inventories for others? MHS has many in-house comprehensive finding aids but has been posting some of them on its website.
Wisconsin Historical Society
www.wisconsinhistory.org
International Society for British Genealogy and Family History
isbgfh.org
National Genealogical Society
www.ngsgenealogy.org
New England Historic Genealogical Society
www.americanancestors.org
New York Genealogical & Biographical Society
https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/
Repositories
ArchiveGrid
This is another way to search for specific records and locations with over seven million collection descriptions from repositories all over the world. It includes much from NUCMC plus more descriptions not found in NUCMC. Archive Grid is in beta format with a WorldCat.org search and free to us via our home computers! https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/
Worldcat
www.worldcat.org
WorldCat is free online and may be accessed from your home computer. This offers access to catalog listings of thousands of libraries worldwide. The in-library counterpart of Worldcat has some extra features, including advanced search, “Find similar items,” and links to published reviews and excerpts of books. Searches on WorldCat can be limited in several ways by the user, including the category of “Archival material” which includes manuscript collections.
JSTOR
www.jstor.org
An online resource (aka Journal STORage) that currently features more than 2,000 searchable scholarly journals in several fields including history and other disciplines with articles that are helpful to family historians. One of the great uses I find for these articles is in the footnotes or endnotes of the articles. It’s a great way to pick up a manuscript resource that you might not find in any other way. Use your own computer or go through a library for full access. “JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.”
Allen Co. Public Library Genealogy Center
Fort Wayne, Indiana
www.genealogycenter.org
Daughters of the American Revolution Library
Washington, DC
www.dar.org/national-society/genealogy
FamilySearch Library Catalog
Salt Lake City, Utah
familysearch.org/catalog-search
U.S. National Archives & Records Administration
www.archives.gov
Education & Professionalism
Association of Professional Genealogists
www.apgen.org
Board for Certification of Genealogists
www.bcgcertification.org
GRIP Genealogy Institute
https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/
IGHR, Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research
https://ighr.gagensociety.org/
Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG)
www.infouga.org
Commercial and Other Sites
Ancestry.com
www.ancestry.com
FamilySearch
https://www.familysearch.org/en/
FindMyPast.com
www.findmypast.com
Fold3
www.fold3.com
Genealogy Bank
https://www.genealogybank.com/
Internet Archive and The Wayback Machine
https://archive.org/
MyHeritage
http://myheritage.com/
Research Tools
Adoption
https://adopteerightslaw.com/
Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites
www.CyndisList.com
Google Books
books.google.com
Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records
www.deathindexes.com
Linkpendium Genealogy Sites
https://linkpendium.com/
https://www.familysearch.org/en/
One-Step Webpages by Stephen P. Morse
www.stevemorse.org
Hi, Paula. I am currently on a search for tracing lineage back to the South Dakota area with relation to Lakota natives. We believe all of the documentation found in public records is listing the relatives name incorrectly and may have been changed when this relative was adopted. What resources can I use to hone in on any other documentation, etc to help me on my search?
Hi Arianna,
Without reviewing what you have and seeing the result, it’s tough to make specific suggestions. There are so many resources, but it depends on the time period, family, and places of residence. I will email you information on my analysis, consultation and research services. I wish you success in your search.
Paula
Hi Paula, I watched your webinar about the railroads and where to search for records. Good news, I found my grandfather at the National Archives in Atlanta. I ordered his whole record–now new problem, I don’t understand all the info that is in the forms. Railroad retirement Board form G-663 (2-63) is just one. Any help on where I could go to help decipher these would be great. I’m giving the whole file over to my Mom for Christmas, since her dad died when she turned sixteen, and always wondered how her Mom (my grandmother) raised her children.
Any info you can give me on knowing what the forms say (years 1958 to 1963) would be great. Thanks so much for helping make my Mom’s Christmas extra special.
I’m sorry but I don’t have any background information on that specific form. If anyone else has an answer, please respond here. Beyond that, I think you might need to do some general searching online or contact the RR Retirement Board.