LibGuides: Genealogy & Family History: Online Databases, Forums, etc.

Marriage Records Search
State-by-state guides on how to locate marriage records. Please note, though, that some of the ultimate sources are available by subscription only.
Ellis Island
Database of more than 22 millions passengers and ships' crews that came through Ellis Island the the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924
FamilySearch
Major search tool from the Church of Latter Day Saints. Their search engine will search Ancestral Files, the International Genealogical Index (IGI), Pedigree Resource Files, and Web Sites.
Rootsweb
Huge site; claims to be the Internet's oldest oldest and largest. Hosts thousands of Web sites and mailing lists on counties and surnames. Links to many searchable databases. Provides an excellent service, WorldConnect, for hosting your Gedcom files and turning them into searchable databases.
U. S. Genweb Project
"The USGenWeb Project consists of a group of volunteers working together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. The Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free access for everyone. Organization is by county and state, and this website provides you with links to all the state websites which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties."

National, state and local government agencies or departments can be a good source of historical and genealogical information.

National Archives
As the nation's record keeper, the National Archives preserves important U.S. government materials for historical and legal reasons. Some examples of records retained are census records, court records, passport applications, land records, military records, immigration and naturalization records, treaties, maps, charts, drawings and photographs.
Bureau of Land Management
Contains over two million land patents and provides live database access to federal land conveyance records for 32 states issued between 1820 and 1908. This does not include the original 13 colonies, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Hawaii. Land patents document the transfer of land ownership from the federal government to individuals.
Chronicling America
This site allows selected American historical newspaper pages currently covering 1836-1922 to be searched and viewed. Produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program and the Library of Congress

Geographical Names Information System
Search for place names across the United States. This database includes populated places, cemeteries, streams, mountains and more.
Historic Topographic Maps
Digital versions of thousands of maps across the country.
David Rumsey Maps
Over 55,000 historical maps, focusing on rare 18th and 19th century North and South American maps.

Genealogy & Family History