How to Get Started in Genealogy Online

Get started in online genealogy by knowing where to look.

Online genealogy is not difficult. Getting started is a matter of knowing where to look. Major online commercial websites offer their subscribers access to U.S. and international resources. The drawback is that these websites are expensive and not everyone can afford them. The free areas of commercial websites are very limited. Cyndi's List and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) offer everyone free access to their online genealogy databases. LDS offers free, downloadable genealogy software.

Things You'll Need

• Genealogy software
• List of all living relatives
• Online genealogy databases

Instructions

1. Start with a list of all of your living relatives. Privacy laws prevent access to records of living individuals. Mark all of your living relatives in your genealogy software as private.

2. Determine what you are trying to find out. Start with a deceased ancestor who is close to your generation. For most of us this is a great-grandparent or grandparent. Decide what you want to know about this ancestor. The most common information to look for is the date and place of birth, marriage and death.

3. Locate your ancestor in a U.S. census. Finding your ancestor in one of the U.S. census records will help determine family members, places of residence, occupations, and immigration status. To find census records, check one of the commercial online genealogy websites. U.S. censuses through 1930 are currently available to the public and the 1940 census will be available in 2012. The 1880 census is available for free.

4. Check the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for any deceased ancestor who lived in the U.S. and was employed from 1930 to the present. The SSDI is available online through online genealogy websites for free. Search by name, the state the person lived in and her birth year. This database will give you the Social Security number assigned to your ancestor. You can order a copy of the application this individual made for a Social Security number from the Social Security Administration through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request.

5. Enter all of the information you find into your genealogy software. Make source citations that include the exact website where you found the information.

Tips & Warnings

• Local public libraries may have free access to commercial genealogy websites. If you have a library card, you can access the websites at the library for free.

References

• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet: For Those New to Genealogy and/or the Internet

Resources

• Ancestry.com
• Family Search
• Rootsweb: Social Security Death Index