Local libraries

FYI, King County Library System, Seattle Public Library and Sno-Isle Library System have a policy of reciprocity; if you have a library card from one of the three systems, you can get a card from the other two systems. The Everett Public Library has a reciprocity agreement with King County Library System and with Seattle Public Library. Contact the library or library system for which you want to have a card for details.

• Everett Public Library –  the link takes you to the e E-Resources Home; databases require a library account. Also check out the Northwest Room Digital Collections.
• King County Library System  – You’ll need an active KCLS library card to use premium databases but there are other free links and a helpful Frequently Asked Questions page.
• Seattle Public Library has free online genealogy tools and databases. A library account is needed to access them from outside the library.
• Sno-Isle Library System – Library editions, Ancestry Library editions and America’s Obituaries and Death Notices National.

General Genealogy

• U.S. Genweb –  volunteers working together providing free online genealogy help and information for every U.S. state and county.
• Ancestry.com $ – allows users to create virtual family trees, get “hints” about who else could be their ancestors and search for historical records that can be connected to family members and used as genealogical evidence.
• U.S. National Archives – preserves and documents government and historical records and increasingly provides public access to them.
• FamilySearch.org – millions of records from all over the world here, all for free
• FindMyPast.com $ – a popular Ancestry alternative from the United Kingdom
• My Heritage $ -another Ancestry type site that helps you build a genealogy-focused personal website, family trees, and find historical records.
• Linkpendium – their goal is to index every genealogy, genealogy, family history, family tree, surname, vital records, biography, or otherwise genealogically-related site on the Internet.
• Cyndi’s List – Links to almost everything and anything on and about genealogy.
• The Virtual Genealogical Society – monthly online meetings, webinars, social networking, annual conferences, and in-person meet-ups at conferences, institutes and events around the world (membership fee)
  

$ indicates that the site charges for full access to their content.

This is just a brief list of sites you may find useful. If you have a favorite you think we should add please let us know.

Washington State

The Washington State Genealogical Society has a Resource Guide to each of Washington’s counties.

• WA State Digital Archives – over 60 million Washington records online.
• WA USGenWeb Page – links to resources by county.
• Access Genealogy – WA – links to records; numerous American Indian links.
• The Virtual Wall – Washington State Vietnam casualties.
• Cyndi’s List – Washington – Cyndi Ingle’s list of resources by topic.
• Cyndi’s List – Washington Counties – Cyndi Ingle’s list of resources by county.
• FamilySearch – Location Research – Washington – many of the LDS records are on-line.
• Linkpendium > Genealogy > USA > Washington – directory to genealogically relevant info on the web.
• Washington Local History Network – historical and genealogical information.
• Family Search Wiki – FamilySearch.org’s resource to Washington State records.
• King County GIS Center  –  Online property maps and static maps on various topics, as well as information for ordering custom GIS maps.
• Local History  –  Seattle Public Library’s links to local history resources
• Snohomish County Historic Maps  – explore Snohomish County ca. 1910, find homesteads and maps from the first 100 years of the county, and explore an inventory of historic items in unincorporated Snohomish County.
• Snohomish County Maps – Online property maps and static maps on various topics.
• Washington State Maps  – List of state maps on the official state government Web site.

Canada

• Library and Archives Canada – Genealogy and Family History, National Archives of Canada, National Library of Canada.
• Geographic Names of Canada – Search for Canadian place names.

      Canada and the War of 1812*

• Libraries and Archives Canada
• A Canadian Perspective on the War of 1812
• War of 1812
• Historica Canada
• Canada and the War of 1812

U.S. and the War of 1812*

• Cyndi’s List – War of 1812
• Fold Three $
• Georgia Archives
• Illinois State Archives
• Early Military Records – Indiana
• Indiana Digital Archives
• Ohio – 1812 Roster Search
• National Archives (War of 1812)
• Request Military Service Records
• National Archives – St. Louis
• Library of Congress – Competing Narratives of the 1812 War – webcast transcript

       War of 1812 Lineage Societies

• General Society of the War of 1812
• National Society United States Daughters of 1812  

Other

• AfriGeneas – a site devoted to African American genealogy, with articles, resources, and databases.
• American Local History Network – Organized by state, historical and genealogical information.
• American Journeys – Contains more than 18,000 pages of eyewitness accounts of North American. exploration, from the sagas of Vikings in Canada in A. D. 1000 to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies.
• Atlas of Historical County Boundaries – shows how and when county boundaries changed over time.
• Background Notes – Country and regional reports from the U.S. Department of State.
• BlackPast.org – http://www.blackpast.org – Online reference guide to African American history including the Black West and global African history.
• Chronicling America – this library of Congress site has digital images for thousands of archived newspapers from across the county.
• Country Studies – The Library of Congress Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
• FindAGrave.com – free, a database of hundreds of millions of graves around the world, often with pictures and/or biographical info.
• GENUKI – (Genealogy of the United Kingdom and Ireland) Genealogical information pages run by volunteers covers England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Includes a link to the UK National Archives.
• Geographic Names Information System – (GNIS) Search for or download U.S. place names
• Infoplease Map Library – Countries and regions of the world, plus a collection of printable outline maps of the U.S.
• Map History/History of Cartography  – Directory with comments and sources for thousands of historic map Web sites.
• ThoughtCo.com – a “how-to” more than a record resource, this site has tutorials, database recommendations, surname meanings, search strategies, and ancestry charts.

Genealogy Software

• Legacy Family Tree 9 (Windows, can run on Mac with emulator, Standard Edition is free)
• Family Tree Maker (Windows & Mac)
• RootsMagic 7 (Windows & Mac, RootsMagic Essentials is a free)
• Family Historian 6 (Windows, free trial, UK company)
• Heredis 2017 (Windows & Mac, free trial, French company)
• Ancestral Quest 14 (Windows and Mac; Ancestral Quest Basics is free)
• Reunion 12 (Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, demo version available)

There’s a wide range of both software programs and options about what’s best.  Your best bet is to download a trial (if available) of the software you’re thinking about using and try it out using some of your data. (It isn’t unusual to try several programs before you find the best one for you.)

You can find more information about available software on:

• the FamilyTree Wiki for Windows and Mac,
• on Cyndi’s List,
• The Genealogy Guide,
• Family History Daily, and
• a Comparison of genealogy software on Wikipedia

Our thanks to Marge Reid for compiling many of the resources included above.
*Many of these resources originated with Gary Zimmerman’s presentation to the Society on The War of 1812 on 4 Mar 2015; our thanks to him.