LibGuides: FOR_LANG 101: Introduction to the World of Languages (Global Campus): Genealogy-Based Web Resources

Ancestry.com through your local library

WSU Libraries does not have a subscription to Ancestry.com, however many public library systems do. Contact your local library to see if they subscribe, and if so you may be able to access the resource by signing up for a library card. For students who do not have access to Ancestry.com through their local library, Family Search provides an alternative, free resource.

Family Search

Common Geneology Web Resources

These web resources will help you through your Language Heritage Project. When using web resources and software, always be sure to read the Privacy Policy to protect your information.

Geni
Geni is solving the problem of genealogy by inviting the world to build the definitive online family tree.

Online Resources

FamilySearch
Family Search is a genealogy database that provides free accounts to users. Through this website The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also offers access to genealogical resources, online classes and instructional videos.
United States Geneaology
The USGenWeb Project is made possible through the work of volunteers to identify free genealogy websites for research in every county and every state of the United States. Your searches will be most effective if you know the state and country where the relative you are researching settled.
RootsWeb
Ancestry.com user-contributed site providing for sharing geneaological information. Also provides some access to census records and vital statistics.
Ellis Island Foundation
The Ellis Island foundation oversees the American Family Immigration History Center, a resource of over 25 million arrival records from over 900 ships.
Immigrant Ships
The website of the Immigrant Ships Transcriber's Guild (ISTG). You can search their database using the link at the top left of the page to locate passenger lists containing your family name.
Immigrant Ancestors Project
A project sponsored by Brigham Young University's Center for Family History and Genealogy. To create the database, images of emigrant records are transmitted over the Web to volunteers who extract their contents and send them back to the project team at Brigham Young University. (BYU). BYU students are hired as part of the project team to supervise the volunteers and edit their work before adding it to the database.
Scotland's People
Birth, marriage and death indexes for Scotland and digitized images of many of the certificates and census returns for Scotland.
Resources for Genealogists - National Archives
Resources for genealogical research available through the National Archives.

Additional Resources

Geo Names database
The GeoNames geographical database covers all countries and contains over eight million placenames that are available for download free of charge.
Family Search Wiki
This wiki can be browsed by country and contains excellent tips on family research by country of origin.
BBC Family History - What's in a name?
Library and Archives Canada Genealogy Resources
Ancestry Insider
A blog that comments on updates and improvements to both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org
Canadian Vital Statistics
Links to vital statistics sites for Canadian provinces and territories where birth, marriage, and death records can be searched.