United States Research
Below you will find links to small and large genealogy sites that have large US record collections as well as newspaper archives, cemetery records, and websites that help you find genealogy search angels.
The Big Genealogy Sites
FamilySearch
Possibly the best resource available no matter where your ancestor originated and it’s all FREE! Their entire microfilm collection has been digitized including millions of vital records for almost every town in Italy and Sicily.
Ancestry
This popular subscription site has thousands of databases for the United States, the UK, Canada and a growing section for Italy. For immigrant ancestors, very helpful databases include US Census, Immigration & Naturalization, and World War 1 & 2 Draft Registrations.
MyHeritage
MyHeritage has become another large player in the genealogy world. Their biggest asset (in my opinion) is the huge number of user-submitted family trees that have on their site.
Find My Past
Find My Past is especially helpful if you also have British or Irish family history. HOWEVER, they also have a massive Catholic Church Heritage Archive collection that includes records from the Archdiocese of New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Subscription based, but they offer free trials and it’s available free at your local Family History Center.
American Ancestors
American Ancestors is run by the New England Historic Genealogical Society. They have a lot of records for the New England area, some all the way back to colonial times. This is a subscription site.
Jewish Gen
Jewish Gen is an excellent resource if you have Jewish ancestors. This free resource has a Family Finder, Town Finder, Holocaust Database, burial registry and so much more.
Find A Grave
This incredible website has millions of grave records from all over the world. Some entries will have family members buried in the same cemetery connected together so you can find entire family units. Some entries also include full obituaries and pictures of headstones.
Fold 3
Formerly called Footnote and now part of the Ancestry family, this site has an awesome military records collection. It is a subscription site, but is available free at your local Family History Center.
US GenWeb
This site is a group of sites that offer genealogy links and resources for every county and state of the United States.
Archives
Archives is part of the Ancestry family and it’s basically a more affordable, scaled down version. Most of their records are for the United States, so it could be a great spot to start finding info on your American ancestors.
City, County and State Vital Records, Church Records & Military Links
*Note this is not an all-inclusive list. These are sites I have come upon through my own research that I have found helpful. Putting them here helps me find them again later when I need them and I hope it helps you too!
Online Genealogy Records & Resources and Online Death Indexes – Love these sites! Pick your state and look to see what online resources are available.
Search Birth, Death, Bride and Groom information for New York City – Great web site with
very useful information.
St. Louis Public Library Obituary Index
Missouri Births, Stillbirths and Deaths Search
Jackson County, Missouri Marriage Indexes
Illinois State Archives online databases – Includes Marriages and Deaths, land records, Court Records and much more.
Cook County (Chicago), Illinois Births, Marriages, Deaths
Archdiocese of New Orleans Parish records
Maryland State Archives Death Indexes
Newspaper Archives
Newspapers.com is an excellent resource! It is a subscription website with over 5800 newspapers in their archive covering the 1700s to the 2000s. Using this site, I have found great genealogical information (birth/marriage notices and obituaries) but also some fascinating articles about families I was researching. Worth a subscription
GenealogyBank – Excellent subscription newspaper site.
Fulton History – Here you can search over 13.5 million New York State newspaper pages! This site allows you to learn more about the life that your ancestor led, besides the usual names and dates. I learned my mother had perfect attendance in 4th grade, I found reference to my grandmother’s bridal shower in 1939 and I read about the time my Uncle fell off a train bridge and was rushed to the hospital. This is an incredible resource and one of my favorites!
Brooklyn Daily Eagle – 1841-1955 and searchable for free.
Google News Archive – Newspapers from all over the world and searchable!
Chronicling America – Library of Congress Historic American Newspapers collection with papers from 1789 to 1963
NewspaperArchive – Newspapers covering 1607-2020
Ancestor Hunt – This site provides newspaper search links organized by state, specific collections (Swedish American, Jewish American, etc), Canada collections and a few world collections too.
FamilySearch Digital Historical Newspapers Wiki – This excellent Wiki from FamilySearch offers lists of sources for national and local newspapers but also for International, Western and Eastern Europe, the Pacific, the Far East, and much more.
Cemetery Records & Funeral Homes
General Resources & Volunteer Researchers
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness – The founder of this website has sadly passed away, but others are trying to keep it going.
Ancestral Findings – An interesting site that offers FREE lookups for many databases! They even
have a section where you can look up Italians to America. Join their mailing list and receive a daily email telling you what the days FREE databases are.
The National Archives Genealogy Page – Find out everything you need to know about what the
National Archives and Records Administration has to offer for genealogists, and how to get it!
TreasureMaps – This site offers a monthly e-newsletter filled with useful tips and Famous for “The Pajama Genealogy System”-how to do genealogy from your house in your pajamas!
Anglo-Italian Family History Society – If your Italian ancestors moved to or passed through the UK, this site is very helpful!