Research Resources
English Civil Registration (FamilySearch)
England Civil Registration is a FamilySearch Wiki article that explains England's civil registration system for births, marriages, and deaths, which began in 1837. The guide describes the information found in civil registration records, explains how to use the General Register Office (GRO) indexes, and provides links to related resources for England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade
Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade is a free, searchable database that brings together records from numerous projects documenting the lives of people connected with the historical slave trade. Researchers can search for enslaved individuals, enslavers, slave traders, and others appearing in historical records, while exploring linked biographies, events, places, and relationships drawn from a growing collection of datasets.
Facebook for Canadian Genealogy
Facebook for Canadian Genealogy, compiled by Gail Dever of Genealogy à la carte, is a directory of more than 1,000 Facebook groups and pages that support Canadian genealogical research. The directory includes resources for every Canadian province and territory, as well as genealogical and historical societies, national and provincial archives, museums, military history, photographs, New France, British Home Children, First Nations, United Empire Loyalists, and other special-interest topics. Resources are available in both English and French.
Facebook for Genealogy
Facebook for Genealogy, maintained by Cyndi Ingle of Cyndi's List, is a directory of Facebook groups and pages for genealogists. Originally created by Katherine R. Willson, the directory is organized by geographic area and genealogy topics, including U.S. states, countries, DNA, military, surnames, Mayflower, photographs, software, writing, and many other research interests. It provides an easy way to discover and connect with genealogy communities on Facebook.
FamilySearch
FamilySearch is a free genealogy website sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It provides access to billions of searchable historical records from around the world, including census, vital, church, military, immigration, probate, land, and court records. FamilySearch also offers a collaborative family tree, a digital library, research guides, historical maps, online classes, and a worldwide network of FamilySearch Centers and affiliate libraries.
FamilySearch Center (Lincoln, Nebraska)
The FamilySearch Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, is a free genealogy research facility open to the public and located in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Volunteers are available to assist researchers, and the center provides computers, scanners, printers, access to selected FamilySearch records, and complimentary access to premium genealogy websites. Address: 3000 Old Cheney Road, Lincoln, NE 68516. Phone: (402) 423-4561.
Find a Grave
Find a Grave is a free online cemetery database that provides searchable memorials and burial information for millions of individuals worldwide. Researchers can search by name, cemetery, or location to find burial information, headstone photographs, GPS coordinates, obituaries, biographical information, family links, and other memorial details. Registered users can contribute photographs, create and update memorials, submit corrections, request grave photographs, and build virtual cemeteries. The database continues to grow through the contributions of more than one million volunteers.
Finding Family After Slavery
Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery is a free, searchable database of newspaper advertisements placed by formerly enslaved people seeking to locate family members after emancipation. Researchers can search thousands of "Information Wanted" advertisements by name, location, family relationship, and other details. The project includes digitized images, transcriptions, and historical context, making it a valuable resource for African American family history research.
Fort Kearny Genealogical Society
The Fort Kearny Genealogical Society promotes genealogy and family history research in Buffalo County and central Nebraska. The society maintains a non-circulating genealogy library on the second floor of the Kearney Public Library, publishes the Buffalo Chip quarterly, and offers research services. Its collections include cemetery records, school records, census and Soundex records, newspapers, land patents, marriage records, delayed birth records, naturalizations, and probate records. Address: P.O. Box 22, Kearney, NE 68848. Email: ftkrnygensoc@gmail.com.
FreeBMD (England & Wales BMD Indexes)
FreeBMD is a free searchable index of civil registrations for births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales from 1837 onward. Created by volunteers, the database transcribes the General Register Office (GRO) indexes and helps researchers locate registration references needed to obtain birth, marriage, and death certificates. FreeBMD is part of the Free UK Genealogy family of websites, which also includes FreeCEN and FreeREG.