RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees
Online, interactive lessons on beginning to trace your family tree.

Cyndi's List: How-to
List of sites for information on beginning genealogical research.

Tools/Guides

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
More than 65,400 links!

Genealogy Toolbox 
Resources include a list of over 70,000 links to genealogical resources on the Internet, informative news and articles on family history research, a guide to genealogical software, pages for posting research questions, a genealogical bookstore and a site to register your genealogical home page.

Christine's Genealogy Website 
Information about and links to African American genealogy including searchable databases such as the Freedman's Bureau.

US GenWeb Project 
Entrance to the massive US GenWeb project wherein volunteers across the United States maintain linked web sites about their states and counties.

Databases

Death Records Indexing Project (DRIP)
Sponsored by the Virginia Genealogical Society and made available online via the Library of Virginia's Digital Library Program, over 60 volunteers are working to index 1853-1896 death registers.  This project is still in process, but many counties are already available.

Social Security Death Index 
This is a list, updated quarterly, of more than 50 million people for whom a request for a Social secuirty death benefit was filed.

Immigrant Ships Transcriber's Guild
Founded by a small group of people in late September of 1998, they now have nearly 500 volunteers who work diligently to decipher and transcribe passenger lists which are then uploaded to our website.

Ancestry.com 
Primarily a subscription database, it also offers the search of many FREE databases as well.

RootsWeb.com 
"The Internet's oldest and largest FREE genealogy site."

FamilySearch 
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Ancestor Search searches: Ancestral File, International Genealogical Index, Pedigree Resource File, and Web sites

Organizations

The Library of Virginia 
Historical and genealogical information of Virginia.

Virginia Genealogical Society 
The Virginia Genealogical Society was organized in 1960 to foster interest in genealogical, biographical, historical and heraldic research; to publish information pertaining to genealogy; and to share genealogical methods, techniques and knowledge among the members of the Society.

Tidewater Genealogical Society 
The primary geographical area of interest is Virginia, with emphasis on that part east of the Fall Line.  The Society is dedicated to encouraging and sustaining interest in genealogical affairs through education and research programs designed to assist members in their search for ancestors.

Virginia Society for Black Historical and Genealogical Research 
A chartered member of Afro American Historical & Genealogical Society and is also known as AAHGS-Hampton Roads.  The VSBGR was formed to provide support for its members and others interested in knowing about their ancestry.

National Genealogical Society 
The National Genealogical Society is a service organization that leads and educates the national genealogical community, assisting members in tracing family histories since being founded in 1903.

RAND Genealogy Club 
A genealogy forum for RAND employees, it nonetheless hosts the Roots Location List, Roots Surname List and a Soundex converter, as well as many other links organized by type and/or region.

Genealogy and History of the Eastern Shore of Virginia (GHOTES)
For the sharing of information about the genealogy and history of Virginia's  Eastern Shore, Accomack and Northampton Counties.

U.S. Government

How to obtain birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.

National Archives and Records Administration 
Contains useful how-to information, as well as the NARA Archival Information Locator (NAIL) database.

Library of Congress 
Repository of almost every county and family history ever written.  Search the catalog, and don't forget the manuscripts collection!

Bureau of Land Management 
The Official Federal Land Patent Records Site.

International

WorldGenWeb Project 
The WorldGenWeb Project is a genealogical organization dedicated to the free access of genealogical information by anyone in the world. Our mission is to have every country in the world represented by an online website and hosted by researchers who either live in their own country or who are familiar with their country's resources.