Genealogy Cool Sites -
Pathfinder
Camden County Library System


The following Internet sites have been collected because they meet some of the very specific needs of genealogy researchers. This group of sites is not intended to be all-inclusive, but rather representative of the information available on the Internet. Please refer back to the megasites on the Genealogy Home Page for many other worthwhile sites. We have also included print sources available at the Camden County Library for some of these categories.

Census Records

Soundex Conversion Program
http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/Genea/soundex.sh
"The Soundex system is the means established by the National Archives to index the U.S. censuses (beginning with 1880). It codes together surnames of the same and similar sounds but of variant spellings. Soundexes are arranged by state, Soundex code of the surname, and given name."

U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov
The Census site describes the Age Search Service, includes a database which provides a count of Frequently Occurring Names and Surnames from the 1990 census, and provides a Genealogy Guide.

Charts and Forms

Census Forms
http://www.familytreemaker.com/00000061.html

Pedigree Charts
http://www.ida.net/users/elaine/pedigre2.htm
Includes the HTML Codes for the Pedigree Chart & the Family Group Sheet. Free.

Blank Genealogy Charts
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/forms/download.html
Available as text or pdf files.
 

Dictionaries

A Web of Online Dictionaries
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
Links to 600 dictionaries in 150 languages collected by Bucknell University.

Abbreviations, Dictionaries, and Glossaries
http://www.genealogy.com/links/c/c-how-to-and-help,abbreviations-definitions-and-glossaries.html

Translating Dictionaries
http://dictionaries.travlang.com/

Handwriting
Deciphering Old Handwriting
http://www.amberskyline.com/treasuremaps/oldhand.html

Heraldry
Heraldry on the Internet
http://www.digiserve.com/heraldry/
Includes family name and city and town coats or arms, a dictionary of heraldry, and heraldic clip art.

Letters
Sample letters to a church in several languages
http://www.genealogienetz.de/misc/letters/

Sample letters to an archive in several languages
http://www.genealogienetz.de/misc/letters/let-arc.html

Military Records

Lists of World War II war dead by state - Army and Army Air Force
http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/ww2/army-casualties/

Lists of World War II war dead by state - Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel
http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/ww2/navy-casualties/index.html

Korean War Casualty Lists
http://www.archives.gov/research/korean-war/casualty-lists/state-level-alpha.html

Vietnam War Casualty Lists
http://www.archives.gov/research/vietnam-war/casualty-lists/state-level-alpha.html

National Personnel Records Center--Military Personnel 20th Century Records
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/location/

Archives Records for Pre-WWI Records
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html

Online Photo Archives

 Dead Fred
http://www.deadfred.com/
Trace your roots with our searchable database containing thousands of identified and mystery photos for genealogy enthusiasts looking for long-lost family.

Ancient Faces
http://www.ancientfaces.com/
Includes over 30,000 photos, stories, recipes and more.

Primary Sources and Archives/Libraries

Library of Congress
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/
The Library of Congress has one of the world's premier collections of U.S. and foreign genealogical and local historical publications.  This site for the Local History & Genealogy Reading Room at the Library provides information about their collections, information about published U.S. Civil War regimental histories, bibliographies and guides to the Library's genealogy collections, and other Internet sources.

National Archives – all U.S. locations
http://www.archives.gov/locations/

National Archives and Records Administration Genealogy Page (Washington, D.C.)
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/genindex.html
Includes information about NARA'S research facilities, publications, workshops/courses, and online information.

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collection
http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/

New Jersey Public Records and Archives
http://www.state.nj.us/state/darm/

Primary Sources Repositories
http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html
Lists thousands of Web sites around the world which describe holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources. Organized by geographic region.
 

Searchable Databases
Ancestry: List of Databases
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/alldblist.asp
This is a list of all the databases available from Ancestry.com. Some are free, but many are not.

Ellis Island:  Passenger Search
http://www.ellisisland.org/default.asp
Now you can research the passenger records from ships that brought 22 million immigrants through Ellis Island and the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924 and view the original manifests with passengers' names.

Search Engines
http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/searches/

 

Social Security/Obituaries

ObitFinder
http://www.legacy.com/Legacy.asp
Find recent obituaries from more than 1,000 newspapers.

Obituary Daily Times
http://www.rootsweb.com/~obituary/ 
The Obituary Daily Times is a daily index of published obituaries.  This is an index and does not provide the actual obituary but provides the name of the newspaper in which it was published. 
 
Social Security Death Index
http://www.ancestry.com/ssdi/advanced.htm

Software

Computers (includes software)
http://www.genealogy.com/links/c/c-computers.html

Genealogical Software
http://www.lkessler.com/gplinks.shtml
Comprehensive list of websites with information about computer software for genealogy including evaluative comments.

Genealogy Software
http://www.genhomepage.com/software.html
 

Surnames & First Names

FamilySearch
http://www.familysearch.org/
This is The Church of the Latter-day Saints search engine. It includes millions of names from the Ancestral file and millions of names from the International Genealogical Index. You can search by surname and keyword or perform a custom search for surnames, Web sites, books, and more.

Global Surname Search
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi
Search an entire country or the world for your surnames.

The Roots Surname List Name Finder
http://rsl.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/rslsql.cgi
Searchable index of surnames leading to other genealogists researching the same name.

Surname Springboard
http://www.geocities.com/~alacy/spring.htm
The purpose of this site is to compile a comprehensive listing of surname genealogy sites which include "Indexed" Family Trees.

Surname Web
http://www.surnameweb.org/
List the surnames you are researching here and search the database.

Surnames.com
http://www.surnames.com/
Includes surnames by nationality, surname websites, and reunion announcements.

U.S. Surname Distribution
http://www.hamrick.com/names/index.html
Provides a map showing the distribution of a given surname within the 50 states. The source of the information is the U.S. Census. Nifty site!

Vital Records
Funeral Net
http://www.funeralnet.com
Extensive funeral home directory covering the U.S. and Canada plus additional helpful information.

VitalChek Network
http://www.vitalchek.com/
Obtain birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and other vital records.

Vital Records Information: United States
http://vitalrec.com/index.html
Includes how to obtain both U.S. and foreign vital records information, other vital records links, and adoption resources.

Print sources available at the Camden County Library related to these cool sites:

Cemeteries of the U.S.
Burek, Deborah, Ed. (Ref 929.0125 Cem)

International Vital Records Handbook
Kemp, Thomas J. (Ref 929.1025 Kem and 929.1025 Kem)
This book has sample forms for requesting birth, death, etc. records from overseas.

U.S. Military Records
Neagles, James (Ref 929.3097 Nea)
This book tells how to access records from various wars.


Camden County Library Pathfinder
http://www.camdencountylibrary.org/pathfinders/coolsite.htm