History at Home: A Guide to Genealogy

This website's introductory article outlines the core principles of genealogical research and sources of information.

The USGenWeb Project offers step-by-step instructions with links to useful tools and a list of common research mistakes.

Try one or more of these tips to break into genealogy.

The PBS show History Detective Special Investigations solves historical mysteries, and this article shares their detective techniques for finding family history clues.

This article introduces methods for collecting and organizing family research and ways to improve these skills.

Download an ancestral pedigree chart, a family group sheet, and other forms to organize genealogical research.

The National Archives site offers many resources for genealogists, and this article is a guide for researching military records.

The U.S. Coast Guard explains how to access service records for officers, enlisted and civilian personnel, and lighthouse keepers.

Finding the right immigration and nationality records is simplified by this outline of dates and resources from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The U.S. Department of Interior explains how to begin a search for ancestors, with a special emphasis on Native American genealogy.

This article describes what type of research genealogists should do before going to the Library of Congress and what resources they can expect to find in its Local History and Genealogy Reading Room.

Information on millions of ship passengers arriving at Ellis Island and the Port of New York can be accessed through this site: Just click the blue “Passenger Search” button in the upper right corner.

The Mayo Clinic identifies the health reasons for knowing three generations of your family history.

The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation merges traditional genealogy with DNA to find more connections in the family tree.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers advice on topics such as how adoptees can locate information and how knowing family history can lower one’s health risk.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the majority of Americans do not have a record of their family’s health history, and they can begin to create that record by accessing the My Family Health Portrait Tool on this site.

Maps are an important tool in tracing the movement of a family, and the U.S. Geological Survey discusses how to use maps, the best types of maps, and where to find them.

Have a little fun and test your family research knowledge

This is a list of 83 questions that can be used to generate a family history interview.

Check out a comprehensive outline of the process of planning and recording an interview, including tips on how to ask questions, pinpointing problems, and self-evaluation.

The National Park Service put together this useful guide to researching land records that pertain to the family tree.

This fascinating article about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt highlights some of the very things a genealogist looks for: interesting relatives, a marriage certificate, and juicy family stories.

This introductory guide includes cautions for wise use of the Internet, verifying information, and respecting the privacy of relatives.

Historical documents can be fragile, and this article gives practical advice for preserving photos, papers, and books.This link was selected by the Knox Historical Museum website administrator after the original link did not work.

This expansive article covers surname origins, cemetery searches and how to take an impression of a gravestone, the difference between primary and secondary sources, African American and Native American genealogy resources, and more.

An explanation of the British tradition of recorded genealogies and the development of family history societies can be found here.

Knowing the history of a home can yield clues to the families that occupied it, and this guide demonstrates how to track down the information.Note: the Knox Historical Museum administrator selected this link after the original link failed to work.

The curator of sound and visual collections at the Minnesota Historical Society gives advice on how to identify and store photos.

Discover the factors that can damage historical memorabilia, and learn how to preserve textiles, paper, photos, and items made of metal, leather, or wood.