Helpful Genealogy Websites
The right resource can open a new path in your family-history research. This selected directory brings together places to find records, explore ancestral communities, and decide where to look next.
Start with one question, a place, and an approximate date. Choose the resource that fits that question, then keep a record of what you searched and what you found.
Start with Cyndi’s List
Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet is a categorized directory of genealogy links. It is especially useful when you need resources for a particular location, record type, or research topic beyond the websites you already know.
Try it when: you know what you want to investigate but aren’t sure which archive, database, or specialist website might help.
Explore Cyndi’s List →Find historical records and family connections
Ancestry
Search historical record collections and explore family trees and DNA connections. Check collection coverage for the place and period you need. Many records and features require a paid subscription.
FamilySearch
Explore historical records and a shared family tree. A useful starting point for identifying records and comparing family connections. FamilySearch is free; an account or particular access location may be needed for some material.
MyHeritage
Explore family trees, historical records, and tools for discovering family connections across countries. Free and paid features are available; check the access requirements for the material you want to use.
Explore archives and historical newspapers
U.S. National Archives — Genealogy
Find guidance on federal records, including census, military, immigration, and naturalization records. Particularly useful for understanding what a record collection contains and how to access it. Not every record is digitized.
Chronicling America — Library of Congress
Search freely available digitized historical U.S. newspapers. Look beyond obituaries for notices, local events, occupations, and community context. Coverage varies by newspaper, place, and date.
Research Jewish family history
JewishGen
Explore Jewish genealogy databases, ancestral communities, and research connections. A useful starting point for identifying places, considering name variations, and learning which regional resources may be relevant.
JRI-Poland
Explore Jewish records connected with towns in present-day and historical Poland. Use the site’s town and collection information to understand what has been indexed and how to pursue the underlying records.
Explore DNA testing and analysis
DNA testing services can help you discover matches. Analysis tools can help you explore how those matches may fit into your family tree. Use the results alongside documentary evidence.
23andMe
Explore genetic ancestry and connect with participating DNA relatives. Useful for discovering matches who may not have tested with another service.
AncestryDNA
Explore DNA matches and ancestral origins, then compare matches with family trees and historical records to investigate possible relationships.
DNA Painter
Use chromosome mapping, the Shared cM tool, and What Are the Odds? tools to explore possible relationships and organize DNA evidence. An analysis resource rather than a DNA testing service.
FamilyTreeDNA
Offers autosomal DNA testing through Family Finder, along with Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA tests for investigating direct paternal and maternal lines.
GEDmatch
Upload compatible DNA data to compare with other participants and use genetic genealogy analysis tools. Useful for exploring connections across supported testing services.
MyHeritage DNA
Explore DNA matches and ethnicity estimates to investigate family connections, including relatives in other countries. Combine genetic clues with family trees and records.
Before testing or uploading DNA data, review the service’s current privacy, matching, and sharing choices. Features, fees, and file compatibility vary by provider.
Turn discoveries into supported conclusions
A search result is a starting point. Whenever possible, examine the original record image, record its source, and compare it with independent evidence. Online trees can provide leads, but a copied relationship is not proof on its own.
Need help with your next step?
The Genealogy Gary Research Collection offers practical guides, a cousin outreach kit, and printable and fillable worksheets to help you organize and evaluate what you find.
For help with a specific challenge, tell me about your research question.
These links lead to independently operated websites. Access requirements and available collections may change. Inclusion does not imply that a site endorses Genealogy Gary.