Recommended Links
We have made an effort to include mainly non-commercial resources as well as commercial resources that may be accessed at no charge from libraries and other institutions. If you wish to submit a link for inclusion here, please keep in mind that we generally will not post links for CDs, DVDs, applications, etc. Please contact to suggest a link.
Note: The Reynolds Family Association offers this list as a public service and assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of information contained on these websites.
Archives
- The Library of Congress – Good resource for books and photographs; now with a new one-stop search engine
- Making of America – Digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction; a collaboration between the University of Michigan and Cornell University
- The National Archives – Few resources are online, but one
can prepare for a visit to Archives facilities, e.g., by
searching microfilm indices.
- Genealogists/Family Historians – Lists resources available to researchers
- What You Can Find Online – Lists the few records available online
Cemetery Record Locators
- Department of Veterans Affairs – Nationwide Gravesite Locator
- Find A Grave – Millions of Cemetery Records
- Interment.net – Cemetery Transcription Library
- Iowa WPA 1930s Graves Registration Survey – Searchable database of information originally collected by the Work Projects Administration
Census Records – United States
Many decennial U.S. Census records have been digitized as follows and are available at all National Archives facilities. Holders of public library cards often are given access to at least HeritageQuest Online from home.
- Ancestry.com – 1790–1940, with 1890 being a fragment
- HeritageQuest Online – 1790–1930, with 1890 and 1930 being fragments
- National Archives – 1790–1940, with 1830–1850 unindexed and 1890 being a fragment
Enumeration Districts (EDs) are useful in locating an individual for whom you know the address or neighborhood, but whose name has been mistranscribed in the above indexes.
- SteveMorse.org – Obtaining
EDs for 1900–1930 Censuses for large cities
- Also the Unified 1940 ED Finder
- USGenWeb – Ignore this page's title ("Census Transcription Volunteer Assignment Status Index by State") and click on a state to see ED info for some years
Census Records – Individual States
- Research Guides – Information for some state census records and other censuses taken during non-Federal Census years
Databases
- Bureau of Land Management – Land Patent Search
- FamilySearch – Includes Census, Social Security Death Index, and others
- Internet Surname Database – Contains 50,000 surname origin researches
- Massachusetts Archives
- Passenger Lists & Records (Professional genealogist Joe Beine)
- Patent and Trademark Search Tools
- Google Patents – Includes Advanced Patent Search
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- FreePatentsOnline.com – Expert and Quick Search options
- Social Security Death Index (SSDI) (RootsWeb.com and other websites)
Handwriting
- Sabina J. Murray's Deciphering Old Handwriting – This accredited genealogist provides tips on reading handwriting in old documents
Histories and Biographies
- Index to Politicians: Reynolds (The Political Graveyard)
- Sites with County or Local Histories or Biographies (Lovitt-Genealogy.com)
Land Records
- Bureau of Land Management – Land Patent Search
- Family Maps series of Land
Patent Books (Arphax Publishing)
- Also available: Texas Land Survey Mapsseries
Libraries and Library Catalogs
- Allen County Public Library – This county library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, houses a collection second only to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City
- Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah – Founded in 1894 to gather genealogical records and assist member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this library is the largest of its kind in the world, and is open to the public
- Mid-Continent Public Library's Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, Missouri – The largest stand-alone public genealogy research facility in the United States
- WorldCat – The world's largest library catalog; many items are available using inter-library loan at your local library
Maps and Gazetteers
- 1895 U.S. Atlas – Includes state and county maps, and a city index
- Family Maps series of Land
Patent Books (Arphax Publishing)
- Also available: Texas Land Survey Maps series
- Geographical Names of Canada
- Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names Online
- Mardos Memorial Library of On-Line Books & Maps
- Oddens' Bookmarks – Searchable database of maps, atlases, and gazetteers
- Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection – Historical maps of the U.S., at the University of Texas at Austin
- David Rumsey Map Collection
- U.S. Board on Geographic Names
- U.S. Names – It's an online "City County Finder"
- U.S. Census Bureau Mapping Resources
- U.S. Political Boundaries – Animated Maps (Ed Stephan)
Military Records
- Fold3 – A searchable database of military-related documents, many of them free
Newspapers
- Chronicling America – Historical American Newspapers, 1836–1922, from Library of Congress
- Northern New York Historical Newspapers – More than 20 newspapers
- The Olden Times Historic Newspapers Online – Newspaper articles indexed by surname
Societies and Other Organizations
- National Genealogical Society
- New England Historic Genealogy Society
- Texas State Genealogical Society
- The Genealogical Society of Utah
- Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness – Volunteers agree "to do a research task in their local area as an act of kindness"
- Stuff About Names
Subscription Services
These services, which offer digitized versions of many of the National Archives records, often are available to researchers at no charge through public libraries. Using your library card you can often access these services from your home. These services are also available at The National Archives. When accessed through libraries these sites may not offer as many services as are offered to individual subscribers.
- Ancestry.com – Available through libraries as Ancestry Library Edition
- GenealogyBank.com
- HeritageQuest
Surname Services
- World Names Profiler – Search for a surname to view its geographical location and statistics about its occurrence; also includes an area search and ethnicity search
Vital Records
- Genealogy Roots Blog – Genealogist Joe Beine's list of online vital records, including digitized death certificates; nine states represented as of 29 Jan 2008
- Massachusetts Archives – Vital Records Search (1841–1910)
Websites of General Genealogical Interest
- Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet – Be sure to see Cyndi's Myths, Hoaxes & Scams
- How to Do Genealogical Research by Kimberly Powell,
About.com Guide
- Evidence or Proof? How to Apply the Genealogical Proof Standard to Your Family Tree
- Cite Your Genealogy Sources: A Guide to Documenting Your Genealogy Research
- "It Is A Puzzlement": Suggestions for Amateur Genealogists – Includes discussions of unrelated people with the same name and slippery terms of relationship in genealogical records, from The Plymouth Colony Pages
- This and That Genealogy Tips by Shirley Elro Hornbeck – Our link is pointing to her "Nine Myths About Our American Ancestors," but the book is filled with other useful material
- Top Ten Sites For Free Public, Vital, or Historical Record Searches by Wendy Boswell, About.com Guide – Boswell gives tips about how to use even sites that you may be familiar with
- USA People Search Big List of Genealogy Links – Kinda says it all…
- USGenWeb Project – Links to autonomous websites for all counties in the U.S., containing useful links to information
- Reynolds PA to VA – A searchable database of Reynolds friends and families, PA to VA and All Points Beyond.
RFA Member's Web Sites
- Reynolds Family Circle – The web site of our President, Larry Joe Reynolds, Descendants of William Reynolds who married Jane Milliken on Aug. 23, 1790 in Greene County, Tennessee.
- RolandRhoades.com - Personal Website of Roland Rhoades Genealogist, Historian, and Time Traveler, Specializing in Maine Families.
- Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet II – Detailed research and chronology (with comprehensive source data) on the family of Christopher Reynolds, as well others of the Reynolds' families and individuals of early Isle of Wight, Surry and Lower Norfolk Counties of early Virginia.