Alan E. Mann, AG

mngs@alanmann.com Accredited Genealogist

www.alanmann.com/articles prepared September 2004

Actual Sources on the Internet:

Finding Real Records Amidst the Confusion

The Internet contains thousands of how-to articles, reference material, guides, maps, and compiled genealogies. Some people think it has little in the way of real records, but this is a misconception. There really are millions of actual records available on the Internet. Some are done by volunteers and offered freely, while others are made available by commercial companies that sell the opportunity to view the images online.

There are two basic categories of what I’m calling “real records” on the Internet. One is “original” records—scanned images of the original documents. This is similar to a microfilm and is generally accepted as an “original” source. The second category is indexes, transcripts, and abstracts. While not original records, I don’t hesitate to call them “real” records.

Let’s take a look at some exciting real records online—examples from both categories. Keep in mind, these are examples only. There are thousands more sites with millions of records online.

Examples of actual records on the Internet:

Scanned records:

Heritage Quest

English Wills

Bureau of Land Management

Ancestry

BYU Library

Ellis Island

Naturalization records (PA)

Vital Records (FL)

Vital Records (AZ)

Church Records (Kent, England)

Revolutionary War Land Warrants (KY/VA)

Newspapers (UT)

Magazines (England) 1736-232

Ancient parish census (Wales)

World War I soldiers (Canada)

Other than scanned records:

Biography and History Index (North Dakota)

Digital Archives (Norway)

Biographies Project

Confederate Pension Applications (Texas)

Cemeteries (Indiana)

Death records (Michigan) Passenger Lists (Germany)

FreeBMD (England)

Vital Records (British Columbia)

State records (Illinois)

Ways to find such sites:

There are some helpful sites that categorize “real record” sites. In using these sites, supplement the basic “just look until you find it” strategy by using the built-in search tool for just that site. Try searching for “scanned,” “original,” or “document.”

Genealogy sleuth – useful for the United States

Genuki – useful for England, Ireland, Scotland

Cyndi’s List – try “primary sources” as a category, or go the geographic area or topic, then look under “R” for records.

USGenWeb – Limited to the US, but has a lot of info! Choose the geographic area. If the volunteer for that state or county is up to snuff, there will be links to actual record sites.

Sources2go – Actually this is a “real records” site. Check out what they have.

Categorized lists such as www.idreamof.com (I dream of Genie—ology).

There are other categorized lists of records sites. I hesitate to list some of them because they can be poorly organized, confusing, or covertly commercial (constantly trying to get you to sign up for a “free trial” that will charge your credit card if you don’t cancel by a certain date).

Try a search engine. Use the search terms mentioned above and experiment with others that are appropriate for whatever it is you are trying to find.

Just ask someone familiar with the area or involved in a Family History Society for the area of your interest.

©Copyright 2004 by Alan E. Mann, AG. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce all or part of this syllabus material in any format, including photocopying, data retrieval, or the Internet, must be secured in advance from the copyright holder.