Background Information
FamilySearch wiki https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Main_Page
Genealogy at About.com http://genealogy.about.com/
Organizing Your Research
Barry Ewell’s video “Color-Coded Genealogy Research Filing System” also available at YouTube.com
Barry Ewell’s handout for “Color-Coded Genealogy Research Filing System”
Family Search Guide “Organizing Your Paper Files Using File Folders”
Printable charts:
RootsWeb Family Group Sheet
Misbach Data Entry Family Group sheet
BYU 4-generation pedigree chart
Bailey Family Timeline
Organizing Digital Files
Kay’s handout Hierarchy for Organizing Digital Genealogy Files
Kay’s handout Organizing Files with Windows Explorer
Tips for Mac users:
What’s The Mac Equivalent Of File Properties?
How to Tag Files and Create Spotlight Comments on a Mac
10 Tips for a Better Finder Experience
Mac Tip: Add the Path button to Finder’s toolbar
Hands-on with OS X Mavericks: Finder tabs and tagging
Check out the rest of “Cult of Mac’s” tips for Mac users
Tips for Windows users:
Windows Explorer (Vista) Guide
Searching in Windows Vista, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Advanced tips for searching in Windows
How to work with files and folders in Windows 8.1
Search for files in File Explorer (Windows 8.1)
Research Logs and Forms
Research Spreadsheets based on Thomas Macentee
Gathering Evidence
Federal Census Data Table for a summary of useful family history information in each US census population schedule from 1850-1940.
Review the FamilySearch wiki article “United States Record Selection Table” for suggestions on which record types would be most useful in answering particular research questions.
Record Directories
LDSgenealogy.com: “Our records directory contains 603,054 record sources from 930 websites and archives [as of January 2017]. All sources have been organized by state, county, city, and record type. Only actual genealogy records are listed. Both online and archive sources are included.”
State and County resources:
- US GenWeb (links to websites set up by state and county genealogical societies, many with unique datasets contributed by volunteers): http://usgenweb.org/
- Genealogy Inc. (county maps, overview of state and county history and available records, links to online datasets): http://www.genealogyinc.com/
State Archives
example: google Pennsylvania State Archives
http://www.phmc.pa.gov/archives/
http://www.statelibrary.pa.gov/GeneralPublic/Learn/Genealogy-and-Local-History/
http://www.digitalstatearchives.com/pennsylvania-state-digital-archives
County Archives
example: Cuyahoga (Ohio) County Archives http://publicworks.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/Archives.aspx
County Government Websites
example: Escambia County (Florida) Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller http://www.escambiaclerk.com/clerk/coc_online_public_records.aspx
example: Shelby County (Tennessee) Register of Deeds http://register.shelby.tn.us/
TOPICAL RESOURCES
Books: Search for surnames and/or localities to find published genealogies and local histories.
Census:
For tips on how to make the most use of the information in each census see Follow Your Family Using Census Records
Blank printable US census forms (from Midwest Genealogy Center):
Census Crib Sheet courtesy of Jerry Merritt provides a quick chart to estimate ages of individuals in pre-1850 Censuses
For a handy chart that allows you to compare households across the federal censuses 1790 through 1840, see:
CensusMate – Census worksheet for genealogy and family history
Citations:
Elizabeth Shown Mills Evidence Explained: A great resource for writing citations, this is Elizabeth Shown Mills’ companion website to her reference book Evidence Explained. “Sample QuickCheck Models” and the Forums are terrific!
Family History Citation Templates
City Directories
City Directories of the United States of America http://www.uscitydirectories.com/
see also “Books” above
FamilySearch:
Family Tree Training: Resources to Get You Started includes How-To videos, Guides and Manuals. You will need to register for a free account with the Family Search website in order to access this link.
Spelling Substitution Tables for the United States and Canada
Eleven Powerful “Search” Features on FamilySearch
Land:
General Land Office Records at Bureau of Land Management
Earth Point http://www.earthpoint.us/
“Public Land Survey System” explained at http://geology.isu.edu/geostac/Field_Exercise/topomaps/plss.htm
Google Maps https://maps.google.com/
Google Earth http://www.google.com/earth/index.html
Gravestones
FindaGrave http://www.findagrave.com
Billiongraves http://billiongraves.com/
Migration Routes Across the US:
The old geocities migration map: 
Military:
Historical Newspapers:
Identifying newspapers
Stanford Data Visualization: map of US with links to publications
Viewshare Historical Newspapers Online
Online Historical Newspapers by State
TheAncestorHunt.com: Links for online newspapers organized by state
Additional guides to online newspapers:
One-step search of online collections: http://www.elephind.com/
Major online newspaper collections:
- Limited version free through Santa Rosa County Library
- Full Subscription site
Passenger Lists (and SO much more!):
1-Step Webpages by Stephen P. Morse, San Francisco at SteveMorse.org
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013-2017 Kay Rudolph
Where’s the spreadsheet you promised?
It’s there now!