Genealogy.com

DESCRIPTION:

Few other family history sites are as trusted or as visited as Genealogy.com, which offers a wide range of family and local histories, vital records, military records and much more. The foundation of their genealogy services include Family Tree Maker, the #1-selling family tree software, and the Genealogy Library.  

Family Tree Maker guides you through the process of developing the information you currently have available to you, searching for additional ancestors to fill out your family tree, then to design your family tree by adding photographs, background pictures, special fonts, etc.

The Genealogy Library references hundreds of millions of people across 5 centuries. This dynamic genealogy collection is a must for researching your family history. It's a complete resource that includes marriage, vital and military records; genealogies, society journals, land records and pedigrees; 1850 census images, and family histories. In addition, they continue to add hundreds of thousands of records every month.

If you need to dig even deeper, you can access their U.S. Census Collection, which offers online access to images and indexes for all 15 publicly obtainable U.S. Censuses — over 140 years of American history from 1790 to 1930. New data will be added each month until the collection includes all the images and indexes for every available state and decade from 1790-1930.

In addition, there's International and Passenger Records which can be an invaluable primary source for tracing the vast majority of immigrants to the United States, particularly in the 19th century. And there's also their World Family Tree Collection, which contains customer-generated linked pedigrees. Finding one ancestor in a World Family Tree can instantly add entire branches to your family tree.

PROS: This is one of five anchor sites MyFamily has created to bring together a collection of services to help you discover your roots, document your heritage and sustain your family legacy with current and newly discovered relatives throughout the world. The other sites are MyFamily.com, Ancestry.com, RootsWeb.com, and Ancestry.co.uk. Overall, it's hard to find a more comprehensive website of ancestry resources.

CONS:

As comprehensive as the informational resources can be, it can also be confusing trying to decipher which website is your best choice and how they distinguish themselves from one another. You just have to spend some time poking around until you feel comfortable with the layout and services.

SUMMARY:

It's difficult to find a better collection of resources for tracing your family's ancestry. You can choose which will most benefit your particular situation, and if you're just starting out, there's the Genealogy Learning Center, where you'll find how-to articles, genealogy classes and other resources to help you dig deeper. This is well worth a visit.

PRICE: Genealogy.com offers three annual membership levels:

   Gold Annual Membership (includes Family Tree Maker, Genealogy Library, World Family Tree, U.S. Census, International & Passenger Records, and Technical Support) – $199.99
   Deluxe Annual Membership (includes Family Tree Maker, Genealogy Library, World Family Tree) – $99.99
   Basic Annual Membership (includes Family Tree Maker, Genealogy Library) – $69.99
    
TO FIND OUT MORE: Genealogy.com

Handybook For Genealogists

The highly anticipated 10th edition of Everton's Handybook for Genealogists is one of the most valuable genealogy bibliography collections currently available. It is an indispensable resource for any genealogist attempting to trace their heritage using the county record system of the United States.