FREE Web sites for genealogy research: rootsweb.ancestry.com--forums organized by surname, locality, and other topics such as royal ancestry, etc., originally not affiliated with ancestry, but it is STILL free, and has archived posts going back to the 1990s. usgenweb.org subdivides by states and counties, also message boards where inquiries can be posted. genealogy.com has free surname and locality forums. familysearch.org contains the LDS church's International Genealogy Index, formerly only available on microfiche at branch Family History Libraries. cyndislist.com has a wealth of websites/links on many, many genealogy subjects. Treasure Maps website: google the name to get the right address, because it's one of those sub-sub-sub-divided ones that I'll probably screw up. Also, google the surname, and/or an entire name, alone or combined with terms like "family" and genealogy. If it's a name other than Smith or Jones, misspell it in creative ways. My great-grandfather's surname (Braman) was misspelled on the census as late as the 1930s! As far as Ancestry goes, I subscribe to the United States option, almost solely because of access to scanned images of the US Census. Looking at microfilm using a viewer left me dizzy and nauseated:b. You can search or browse the records, and enlarge the image to decipher handwriting. To me, it is worth the price, but that's a personal decision. Other than that, I have found some useful info in the paid databases, but not a whole lot. All Censuses are available at the regional branches of the National Archives, on microfilm. Sorry this is so lengthy, but this IS the heavily edited version, LOL.

pat ... this is just such a wonderful gift for your family ...sharing this type of genealogy...beautiful! You did your GGM proud (& DM) on your blog page! Very pretty table!! The dishes, stemware & flatware are lovely on the bkgrd of your blue t'cloth. With our extensive technology today, our families will be able to "know us" in future yrs...& you certainly are creating an impressive keepsake with pics & stories! My Mom did a family history back in early 70's where the whole book is done by typewriter & Xeroxed photos. It is a precious keepsake for all of us. Thanks so much for sharing your family...lovely! Jeanne S. ps...I love your squirrel bookends, too! Next yr t'scape! LOL!

Family history can be facasinating and makes a wonderful hobby. However, in a few cases, you may make enemies when you get too close to uncovering a "skeleton in the closet". I found two in my history and these did not make for enemies, but were deeply hidden and were difficult to discover. One was a out-of-wedlock birth due to events in the Civil War and the other was a justifiable homicide. On the brighter side, I found: o Ancestors who married 3 times because of outliving their mates. o One of my g---Uncles was on hand at the surrender of Borgonne (sp?) at York, Va (end of the Revolutionary War) He also knew of Baron DeKalb, a mercernary who came with Lafayette to aid the new US. o I found a g---father who was in the war of 1812. o My g-g-grandfather was in the Seminole War in the Floridas under Andrew Jackson, and later was a Captain in the Black Hawk War. o I found disagreements between father and sons about church doctrine in the 1830s. They were Baptists and the Baptist church split in the 1830s. o Since I was able to trace my father's side back to a plantation in VA in 1735, I found this was a good way to connect to early American history. It gives a new perspective to our country's history.

Thank you all for the many responses! I was out all yesterday, but didn’t make it to the library. I thought I'd get there today, but the weather is keeping me home. Adellabedella, they had children, and I was able to track the two sons. But the other five were all girls. Thanks so much for the Chronicling America link. I used that a lot years ago, but had lost the bookmark in a computer change. I love that site, even if I’m not looking for anything specific. Those newspapers have numerous references to my grandparents, opera singers who performed all over the country. Rusty, it’s true that the Ellis Island site starts a year later than what I was looking for, but it’s a great site and I’m glad to know about it—thanks! I discovered FamilySearch recently, which is where I found the Census reports. I remember years ago not many of these were available. Lindsey, I'm always interested in the knowledge you share. I had no clue about Italian and German names. Seniorgal, our local Historical Society has a nice genealogy section, but all my family came from NYC. I'm sure the city has excellent resources, but it's a little vast. (That must be an oxymoron.) lol I haven't lived there in years. As some of you know, I’m a volunteer gravestone photographer for FindAGrave. Yesterday I happened upon FAG memorial pages for two of my children’s ancestors, and asked that management of the pages be transferred to me. I was happy to send the links to my kids and granddaughter. It’s funny that my 26-year-old granddaughter has a strong interest in family history that I thought she wouldn’t develop until much later. Thanks again!