Free U.S. Genealogy Resources

This page lists several of the major free genealogy web sites. We're not attempting to recreate Cyndi's list, but rather highlight the very most useful sites. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

General Resources

Family Search/Family History Library
USGenWeb (includes links to each state GenWeb site)
Roots Web (sponsored by Ancestry.com)

Vital Records Online

Two states provide online copies of vital records documents. If you know of others, please use the Contact Us link (see left) to let us know.

Missouri Secretary of State Archives - Death Certificates from 1910-1957
Utah State Archives - Death certificates from 1905 through 1956.

Ordering Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates by Mail

See the The National Center for Health Statistics for state-by-state information on where to write for vital records. Refer to Ancestry's Red Book for more details about where records are held and who to order them from. The AVGS Research Center has a copy.

Major Vital Records Indexes

Social Security Death Index
California Birth Index
California Death Index
Illinois State Archives
Kentucky Vital Records Indexes
Maryland State Archives Vital Records Index
Massachusetts Archives
Ohio Death Certificate Index
Oregon Historical Records Index
South Carolina Death Indexes
South Dakota Birth Records over 100 years old
Tennessee State Library and Archives

Family History Photo Sharing

Ancient Faces
Dead Fred

Memorials, Cemetery Inscriptions, and Headstone Photos

Find-A-Grave
Interment.net

Land Records

BLM General Land Office records, including searchable index and online images of Federal land patents.