Lockport Public Library

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Genealogy on the Internet: Selected Sources
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| Best Bets for Beginners | Meta-Sites, Meta-Searches | Life and Death | Immigrants/International |
Local Resources | Travel Without Leaving Home | Networking | Avoiding Pitfalls | Genealogy for Librarians |



Best Bets for Beginners

About.com Guide to Genealogy
This massive commercial site contains free articles on all aspects of genealogy. Start at the Beginner’s Corner.

Research Guidance: How Do I Begin?
This brief, no-nonsense tutorial also includes links to printable Pedigree Charts and Research Logs: must-haves for any genealogist to remain organized.

The Internet Public Library: Genealogy
This genealogy pathfinder suggests good starting points in both print and online formats.

The USGenWeb Project: Help for Genealogy Researchers
USGenWeb is an all-volunteer organization that is committed to providing free access to genealogical information with articles and transcription projects.

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Meta-sites, Meta-searches
"Meta" Web sites maintain massive lists of links to other Web sites on a given topic. "Meta" search engines conduct searches across more than one search engine--which saves you valuable time!

Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
This page of annotated and categorized links maintained by amateur genealogist Cyndi Howells is probably the best-known genealogy site on the Web.

The Genealogy Home Page
Don't be fooled by the simple, no-frills design: there's a lot of valuable content here.

I Found It!
"The genealogy Web directory exclusively for genealogists."

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Life and Death
Births, burials, and a little in between.

Vital Records Information: United States
This site indexes the addresses and costs of obtaining birth, marriage, divorce, and death records for the United States and its territories, and also provides links to relevant local offices (county clerks, etc.).

National Adoption Information Clearinghouse
This site contains helpful tips on conducting a search for birth parents and adoption records, a unique challenge in genealogical research.

Social Security Death Index
This free database conducts searches based on partial names or Social Security numbers and will return results such as birth date, death date, and last residence; there is an option to pursue relevant results further through Ancestry.com (paid registration required).

Cemetery Transcription Library
Volunteers from around the world transcribe their local cemeteries and submit alphabetical listings of the tombstones. If your local cemetery is not included, or the listing is incomplete, see the article on How to Record a Cemetery for information on how you can help.

New York State Newspaper Project
Tracking down old newspapers for obituaries and wedding announcements is now easier than ever, thanks to this undertaking at the state library. You can search by city of publication or county to find out which libraries maintain microfilmed records for the dates you are seeking.

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Immigrants/International Genealogy
Immigration and international records pose a unique problem for genealogists, but the Internet has made it possible to locate ancestors from the "old country" without leaving home.

Ellis Island On-Line
One of the most exciting new developments in online genealogy is this searchable database of immigrant records (registration required).

Afrigeneas: African Ancestored Genealogy

Native American Genealogy

Immigration and Naturalization Records at the National Archives
This site subdivides into several topics, including ship passenger lists, Mexican border crossings, and instructions and forms for ordering copies of records.

Tracing Immigrant Origins: Research Outline
This article on the Family History Library's Web site contains a step-by-step outline to locating and understanding immigration records.

RootsWeb Guide to Tracing Family Trees
Scroll down past the graphics to the headline "Countries/Ethnic Groups" for an alphabetized listing of articles to aid in international research.

Babel Fish Translation Services
Conducting international research can be difficult with a language barrier. This site will provide rough translations for most European and several Asian languages.

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Local Genealogy Resources

Lockport City Clerk: Official Website
This page contains contact information, office hours, and downloadable application forms for birth, marriage, and death records. There is a separate page for Town of Lockport information.

Niagara County Clerk: Official Website
Click on "Departments", then "County Clerk" for contact information. Check "Frequently Asked Questions" (across the top, peach-colored bar) for information on obtaining genealogical records.

Erie County Clerk: Records Kept
This page lists the period of records available for request from the clerk’s office. Also check out the new Online Index and Document Retrieval, where you can search for scanned records (summaries are free; copies are $5.00).

Buffalo and Erie County Public Libraries

Lockport Public Library Local History Room

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Travel Without Leaving Home
Many libraries, particularly major genealogical hubs, devote a portion of their Web sites to their genealogy or local history sections. Even if you can’t afford a visit any time soon, you can search a library’s collection and (occasionally) submit e-mail queries, all from the comfort of home.

Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Family History Library (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Library of Congress Genealogy and Local History Reading Room (Washington, D.C.)

National Archives Genealogy Research Room (Washington, D.C.)

New York Public Library (New York, New York)

Yahoo! Reference: Public Libraries
Find other public libraries' Web sites with this directory, to locate hours of operation, searchable catalogs, and other useful information to know before you go.
Visit the directory's main page if you are looking for a different type of library (academic, archives, government, etc).

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Networking

Genealogy Mailing Lists Tips & Etiquette
This page links to several articles on the subject of writing successful genealogical queries to e-mail lists, genealogy message boards, and Usenet newsgroups.

The ROOTS-L Home Page
ROOTS-L is the oldest, and largest, mailing list in existence on the subject of genealogy. Make sure to check the Help Page before writing your first query.

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness
Like Genealogy Helplist, this site offers volunteer services of one lookup per month...with the caveat that the receiver then perform a similar search for someone else in need.

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Avoiding Pitfalls

Practicing Safe Genealogy
This site introduces the top online genealogy traps, such as hoaxes/scams, e-mail viruses, and electronic privacy violations, and includes tips on how to reduce your risk.

Cyndi's List: Myths, Hoaxes and Scams
Scroll down past the advertisements for a list of links regarding common myths of online genealogy, popular online scams, and ways to protect yourself.

Twenty Ways to Avoid Genealogical Grief
This article has been reprinted many times on the Web thanks to its timeless, common-sense advice.

GenSuck.com: Controversial Issues about Genealogy The site itself is rarely updated, but the message boards are an active place for discussing matters such as paid subscriptions vs. free content, problems with major genealogy Web sites, and genealogy in general.

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Genealogy for Librarians

Guidelines for Developing Beginning Genealogical Collections and Services
From the American Library Association's RUSA. Also available as a PDF.

Librarians Serving Genealogists

Librarians' Guide to Helping Patrons with Genealogical Research

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This page was created by Jennifer Behrens for a class taught at the Lockport Public Library on April 12, 2003. Annotations are the work of the author unless noted otherwise. Please do not duplicate them in whole or in part without the permission of the author. Thank you! 

Links last updated March 11, 2008.