Genealogy Books and Family History Research Books

The following books provide helpful information on the subject of Genealogy and family history research. All genealogy books are offered in association with Amazon.com.

For more information, visit our Genealogy page.

Genealogy Online for Dummies

Amazon.com Genealogy Book Review - The Helms have put together an excellent introductory guide to doing genealogical research online. They've avoided the usual trap of organizing their book by resources, which may be easy for the author but makes it harder on the user. So instead of devoting this chapter to useful Web sites, that chapter to valuable newsgroups, and so forth, they've organized the book in a way closer to the way you'd organize good family research. They begin with a series of chapters on preparation, including doing initial groundwork, developing a plan, picking the names to begin researching, and locating ancestors geographically. Next, they deal with the means for finding valuable records and then delve into getting the most from your resources. Chapter 8, for example, discusses organizing and presenting your findings, while chapter 9 deals with cooperating with other researchers so that you can all be more effective (and probably make some new friends in the bargain).

As is always the case with a Dummies series book, the Helms present a "Part of Tens" section, in this case four chapters each covering 10 top online genealogical sites, tips for designing your genealogical Web page, sites for beginners, and general tips for "smooth sailing." An enclosed CD-ROM contains nine genealogy programs plus a wide assortment of Internet tools and utilities. --Elizabeth Lewis

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Trace Your Roots with DNA: Use Your DNA to Complete Your Family Tree

Amazon.com Genealogy Book Description - Written by two of the country's top genealogists, this authoritative book is the first to explain how new and groundbreaking genetic testing can help you research your ancestry. According to American Demographics, 113 million Americans have begun to trace their roots, making genealogy the second most popular hobby in the country (after gardening). Enthusiasts clamor for new information from dozens of subscription-based websites, email newsletters, and magazines devoted to the subject. For these eager roots-seekers looking to take their searches to the next level, DNA testing is the answer. After a brief introduction to genealogy and genetics fundamentals, the authors explain the types of available testing, what kind of information the tests can provide, how to interpret the results, and how the tests work (it doesn't involve digging up your dead relatives). It's in expensive, easy to do, and the results are accurate: It's as simple as swabbing the inside of your cheek and popping a sample in the mail. Family lore has it that a branch of our family emigrated to Argentina and now I've found some people there with our name. Can testing tell us whether we're from the same family? My mother was adopted and doesn't know her ethnicity. Are there any tests available to help her learn about her heritage? I just discovered someone else with my highly unusual surname. How can we find out if we have a common ancestor? These are just a few of the types of genealogical scenarios readers can pursue. The authors reveal exactly what is possible-and what is not possible-with genetic testing. They include case studies of both famous historical mysteries and examples of ordinary folks whose exploration of genetic genealogy has enabled them to trace their roots.

Genealogy 101: How to Trace Your Family's History and Heritage

Amazon.com Genealogy Book Review - A recent Maritz Poll reported that 60% of Americans are interested in their family history. And with good reason. Through genealogy, you can go back into history to meet people who have had more influence on your life than any others -- your ancestors. And the better you get to know your ancestors, the better you will get to know yourself: the who's and what's and why's of you.

Barbara Renick, a nationally-known lecturer on genealogy, tells the uninitiated researcher the steps needed to find out who their ancestors really were, and brings together for even the more experienced genealogical researchers the important principles and practices. She covers such topics as the importance of staying organized and how to go about it; where and how to look for information in libraries, historical societies, and on the internet; recognizing that just because something is in print doesn't mean it's right; and how to prepare to visit the home where your ancestors lived.

Genealogy 101 is the first book to read when you want to discover who your ancestors were, where they lived, and what they did.

Online Roots: How to Discover Your Family's History and Heritage With the Power of the Internet

Amazon.com Genealogy Book Review - Researching family history is the second most popular topic on the Internet (after sex). In Online Roots, Pamela Boyer Porter, a Certified Genealogical Records Specialist, explains how to search effectively on the Internet, how to assess the value of what you find, and the best way to make full use of the resources of the Internet to trace your family's history and heritage.

Topics covered include:

Judging your sources
Checking modern lists and resources
Finding clues to primary sources
Researching military records
When an ancestor has a criminal record
Locating photographs on the web
Researching on the Internet can be fun and challenging. Online Roots makes your search more effective and creative.

Your Guide to Cemetery Research

From Library Journal - Slogging through graveyards armed with a camera and notepad may sound morbid, but it is high adventure to most genealogists. Indeed, according to Carmack (Organizing Your Family History Search), cemetery research provides valuable information about the dearly departed, and it can actually become a family tradition. Carmack begins her demystification of the process with a discussion of the various records created at the time of death (death certificates, funeral home records, and more) and the task of locating an ancestor's grave or cemetery. Once a burial site is established, a visit to the cemetery is in order. Carmack details the different kinds of cemeteries, grave decorations, and veterans' markers and explains the benefits of analyzing a cemetery's "community." A very helpful chapter on capturing a tombstone's information follows. Carmack covers American burial customs and the value (and pitfalls) of cemetery transcription and preservation projects. Finally, she offers ways to make cemetery visits a family affair. Examples of the artwork, epitaphs, and poetry found on tombstones are provided, as are an appendix of symbols and their meanings, a historical time line of America's epidemics and disasters, and a medical glossary. Genealogists and local historians of all stripes will find this book invaluable. Highly recommended for public and genealogy libraries. Elaine M. Kuhn, Allen Cty. P.L., Ft. Wayne, Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy

Amazon.com Genealogy Book Review - If you've ever thought of find your roots, Emily Anne Croom's is the genealogy guide to get you going. She's got sensible chapters on how to get started, the meaning of names, the difference between a family history of dates and a family history of stories, how to gather sources, who to interview, and how to fit it all together. Croom breaks the process into bite-sized pieces to turn it into a fun project that takes shape and grows with each new family scrap.

The Organized Family Historian: How to File, Manage, and Protect Your Genealogical Research and Heirlooms

Book Description - It can take hours to research family history and it is easy to become inundated with stuff - paper records, recordings, photographs, notes, artifacts, and more information than one would imagine could ever exist. The usefulness of the collection is in the organization - using computers, archival boxes, files, and forms to help you put your hands on what you need when you need it. Also included, in this book, are instructions on the best ways to store and preserve one-of-a-kind family relics.

Fifth in the National Genealogical Society's Guide series, The Organized Family Historian will follow the same user-friendly format that makes the other books helpful at any level of genealogical experience. The NGS offers readers 100 years of research and experience.

Finding Your Roots Online

Book Description - While other guidebooks to online genealogy provide a multitude of Web sites, none of them tells readers how to use and analyze the sites themselves. Finding Your Roots Online is the first to offer readers a step-by-step reference, using real examples, for using the Internet effectively in genealogical research.

Nancy Hendrickson's structured, easy-to-follow approach covers the basics of sound genealogical research, then launches readers online armed with the proper tools for getting the most success with the least amount of frustration. They'll learn how to get the most out of Internet resources and recognize when a research problem can't be solved online.

Nancy Hendrickson is a contributing editor to Family Tree Magazine and author of the self-published electronic book How To Find More Ancestors Through Online Networking. Nancy has fifteen years of experience with online genealogy and is the publisher and editor of Internet Genealogy, a free electronic newsletter for Internet genealogists. She lives in San Diego, California.

The Handybook for Genealogists : United States of America

Book Description - The highly anticipated 10th edition of Everton's Handybook for Genealogists is one of the most valuable genealogy bibliography collections currently available. It is an indispensable resource for any genealogist attempting to trace their heritage using the county record system of the United States.
The Handybook contains: well-researched histories of each state, state capital and the territories, descriptions and addresses for each state's major record collections and protocol for requesting vital records, information on researching records for nineteen foreign countries , complete contact information for libraries, repositories, and historical/genealogical societies, detailed county maps and over 120 migration trail maps

The Handybook also incorporates an in-depth tracking system for every county in each state, including counties that no longer exist, to help genealogists determine which county records to research. This timesaving feature makes this volume the most comprehensive resource for county information in the United States available today.

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