• 20 Ways to Avoid Genealogical Grief - suggestions to help beginners prevent misfortune when learning how to do genealogical research; important tips for Genealogy Research.
• Getting Started in Genealogy - Compiled by Dan Hyde.
• Beginner's Guide to Family History Research - If you can't even spell the word g-e-n-e-a-l-o-g-y, this is the place for you to start.
• Beware of Mail Order Genealogies - sensible information by Frank Brusca.
• CLASSIC BEGINNER'S GUIDE to genealogy - Searching your Family Tree - by Richard A. Pence. was first syndicated to newspapers in 1977 and again in 1982.
• Excuse Me, But There's No Such Thing as a Family Crest - Coats of Arms and Crests Belong to Individuals, Not Surnames.
• Genealogy SCAMS across America - online discussion of Genealogy Scams to avoid.
• Guide for Interviewing Family Members - a helpful questionnaire.
• How to do your own Italian Genealogy Research by Paula (On-Site) - Applicable to ALL Family-Tree Researchers except for the specific links to Italian Record Collections.
• Cyndi's List: Beginners Help for genealogical research - Hints & Tips on family tree research.
• O N E--S T E P Webpages by Stephen P. Morse - EASY and EFFICIENT SEARCHES of Ellis Island, Castle Garden, Other Ports, US Census, New York Census, Vital Records and much more. Some of the links provided are free and some are Pay To View... LOOK BEFORE CLICKING. A dollar sign next to a lookup link means Pay-To-View the complete results. Ellis Island records AND Census Records are one of the ways to learn where your immigrant ancestor lived before coming to the USA.

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CENSUS RECORDS, Soundex Generators Links & Tips

• United States Census Records - Begin your Research with Census Records
• U.S. Federal Census Facts - An Introduction to Federal Census Research from The USGenWeb Census Project.
• 1790-1930 U.S. Census Records Available Free | Internet Archive Blogs - record of the population census from 1790 to 1930.
• 1940 Census FAQs | National Archives - The 1940 population census schedules have been available for research since April 2, 2012.
• The USGenWeb Census Project On-Line Inventory of Transcribed Census Links. - USGenWeb Census "On-Line Inventory" lists all the states down the left and when you click on a state, the right side will open to show the links to all the transcribed census files for that state. The search is great for finding the specific state, county and year. Some have a "view" of the actual record.
• Clues in Census Records, 1790-1840 - good tips from the U.S. National Archives.
• MORE good Clues in Census Records, 1850-1940 - from NARA the U.S. National Archives.
• CENSUS and SOUNDEX HELP - Steve Morse has a great site to find US Census (1790-1940) lookups and more
• Census Online - Links to Online Census Records.
• PDF DOWNLOADs Online Library Catalogs for Genealogists - Here are some of the most common ones you will find when reviewing a census record.
• Resources for Genealogists - | US National Archives- Charts and Forms
• SOUNDEX Code Generator - and Immigration List Index by Cimorelli.
• USA Gov Census Archives - What do you want to do today?

• Where to Write for USA Vital Records - Click on the USA State where birth, death, marriage, divorce occurred for full information on where to write for  vital records and how to obtain the record.
• Freedom of Information Act Request - You can get a copy of your ancestors FBI, CIA or other Government File by using a FOIA letter of request. This one was developed by Mike Ravnitzky who has personally filed more than 5,000 requests for copies of restricted Government Archives.
• Genealogy Page at NARA - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration research room section.
• How to Make a Request to INS - information Download INS Form G-639 for FREE from the Immigration and Naturalization Service Immigration Forms Page.
• NARA - see what records are available at the US National Archives and Records Administration.
• NARA Locations by State - US National Archives locations and contact email information
• NARA's holdings of electronic records - use the Internet to check more than 50 million historical records at the US National Archives, (NARA) from Civil War battles to other Military Records. Supposedly they will eventually have access to immigration files but so far its slim pickings. The database draws from the records of 20 federal agencies.
• Department of Veterans Affairs Nationwide Gravesite Locator - includes burial location maps and burial records from many sources.
• NARA Military Service & Pension Records - The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official repository for records of military personnel who have been discharged from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard.

  • To get your own military records or those of your parent, grandparent or other ancestor, write a letter to: 
    National Personnel Records Center, 
    Military Personnel Records
    9700 Page Avenue, 
    St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
    314-801-0800

• Military Indexes & Records - An Online Genealogy Guide by Joe Beine
• Military Records Requests FAQs - good list of information on requesting Military Records. NOTE - many USA States have Historical Archives so do a search for: "Military Records + State" on your favorite search engine.
• Military Rosters - Rootsweb free Military Database. Selected countries, states and/or counties (as contributed)
• HISTORICAL INS Naturalization Records FAQs - The USCIS Genealogy Program is authorized to make five (5) series of the agency�s historical records available to requesters..
• New York State Archives - many records and helpful information. Small fee for information in most areas.
• Newspaper Abstracts - Search United States Newspapers (Volunteer Transcriptions - U.S., Canada and Ireland)
• Newspaper-Abstracts on Rootsweb - Miscellaneous abstracts, extracts and links from US newspapers published prior to 1931. Scroll to the end of the page to Search or Browse.
• U.S. Railroad Retirement Board - Genealogy Research records are limited to individuals who worked in the rail industry after 1936.
• Social Security Administration Online - Guide to Freedom of Information Act Requests.
• Social Security Application REQUEST Form Letter - you can print-out this form letter for your use or use it as an example and write one yourself.
• Social Security Death Master File - by Tom Alciere can be searched by birth date, name or SSN.
• Search the Social Security Death Index on DonsList - searchable list based on database on the above link.
• U.S. Genealogy Sites State by State - U.S. Genealogy Sites State by State list of United States Genealogy sites. Plenty of free info and helpful genealogical web sites from Genealogy Today.
• U.S. Public Record Research Library - provides a core group of links to FREE government searchable sites along with some important non-government sites
• U.S. Vital Records Information - Commercial site lists where to obtain vital records for each state, territory and county of the United States with good subcategories for cities, etc.
• U.S. Vital Records Room at D'Addezio.com - United States Vital Records listing every county by state.
• Please Note: regarding "Vital Records" listed on this page OR anyplace except for payments for records from Government Offices - GO for the FREE information first. The more you try to do your research the more you will learn.
• Directory of Cities, Towns, and Regions in United States - by Falling Rain in multiple languages
• United States Genealogy Links - Databases for all of the States, includes ships passenger lists, census records, cemetery transcriptions, military records and more.
• United States and Territories
• United States Postal Service - Zip Codes and more
• US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) - - current and historical information about physical and cultural geographic features in the U.S. and abroad.
• US Gazeteer Maps of the USA - Hometown locator U.S. Gazetteer provides boundary maps, current demographic data, local area photos, school districts, and Business Directories for 100,357 locations
• USA Town Search - U.S. Town and County Locator from Rootsweb
• USGenWeb Project State WebSites - Online Census Images, State Pages with a wealth of County related info, and lots of other help for Genealogy Researchers.
• World Statesmen - encyclopedia of nations, colonies, international and religious organizations, and other polities. Country facts, maps, anthems, flags, links, and multiple indexes.