Top 5 Family History Search Places after FamilySearch

So, where to look does change depending on what era and what place, but here are some of the best resources, after FamilySearch:

1) Ancestry.com.  Generally, if FamilySearch doesn't own it, Ancestry does.  Ancestry is expensive, but if you are using BYU wireless, you can use it for free, because BYU made a deal with them.

2) Castlegarden.org and Ellisisland.org  Immigration records are pretty much the hallmark crowning jewel of opening a "dead" line.  Some people this doesn't work for.  There are people, like me, whose families immigrated back when there was no such thing as "legal immigration," and there aren't records.  But for the rest of us, Ellis Island and Castle Garden it was.  Ellis Island opened in 1892 and closed in 1954.  If you had people that immigrated between 1892 and 1934, regardless of what European country they came from, regardless of where they went after, they probably came through Ellis Island.  Castle Garden operated as the main immigration station from 1855 to 1890.  Both websites allow you to access immigration records on their websites.  Don't get fooled by the "you have to pay thing."  You don't, you just have to pay if you want a framed doohickey from them.

3) USgenweb.org.   This is a "grass roots" compilation of databases specific to geographic areas.  It is a resource.  Use it.

4) findagrave.com and billiongraves.com  You would be surprised how much you can find from a gravestone.  But they tend to have birth, death and even the places on those sometimes. On top of that, families are buried together a lot, and you can sometimes find siblings, infant stillborn children and other unknown family members that way.  Plus, I have had experiences where I thought a sister of an ancestor was not married, but then found that her gravestone said, "Loving wife."  So, I went and found her husband.

5) America's First Families: This one is good for me, and since a lot of "Classic" Mormon families are in the same boat, I will throw it on here.  http://personal.linkline.com/xymox/  This website works with classic American families (as in 1600s).  A good resource.

Personal History Writing

A lot of people are struggling with family history.  I get that.  But here's something that is family history that you can't struggle with.  Personal history writing.  Write your personal history!  Write about your life, your family, your friends, things that matter to you.  Write about your passions, your interests.  Just write.  This is family history too.  Today, I hope everyone will start their personal history.

DNA Genealogy

Someone requested that I write about Molecular Family History.  Be warned, I am a medical lab science major and a Family History nut.  You have released the kraken. 

So, with molecular biology becoming more and more advanced, this kind of application is becoming cheap enough, reliable enough and fast enough to be viable.  It used to be that sequencing someone's genome, even just the Y chromosome and the mtDNA (which are the most widely applied for family history purposes), was much too expensive and people would rather do Family History the old fashioned way.  But today, all 23 chromosome pairs can be used easily, plus the mtDNA. 

mtDNA is Mitochondrial DNA.  The bizarre thing about mtDNA is that every single piece of it comes solely from ones mother.  You do not have any paternal DNA in the mtDNA.  So, this makes it the perfect thing to trace matrilineage. They have been able to trace most people to a couple of mtDNA lines, which can quite accurately tell you where your mother's mtDNA originated and where it migrated.

Similar to mtDNA, but for the paternal line is Y chromosome genetics.  The down side is that only boys can do this (but if you have a brother, use his).  The Y chromosome is the chromosome that conveys "maleness."  Because of this, every boy got his Y chromosome from his father.  There are only a few Y chromosomes out there.  Different things have mutated onto them, but there are a few basic lineages and these can tell you where your father's ancestors went and wandered.

The last thing that is nice about genetics in family history is that you can find relatives to collaborate with.  They may be your 3rd cousin, but they have a lot of family history in common with you to collaborate. 

Genetic Family History companies can tell you your genetic ethnicity to focus your research and open up possibilities for family history. 

No Questions, So I Challenge You To...A Duel?

I challenge you to find one name this week.  That's all, one name.  If you can't find one name, you are to report to a Family History Committee Member, who will then help you find the name.  Is that understood?