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One of the biggest myths beginners hear is that you need a paid subscription to get serious about genealogy research. The truth is simpler: the best genealogy databases in the world are completely free. You can access billions of documents without spending anything.
Here are the seven sources every genealogy beginner should know about — what they cover, why they matter, and where they fit into your research toolkit.
1. FamilySearch.org — The World's Largest Free Genealogy Database
What it is: FamilySearch, run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holds over 13 billion digitized historical records. That's census data, vital records, immigration documents, military files, land records, church registers, and more from dozens of countries.
What makes it powerful: Scale and accessibility. The records aren't just indexed — they're digitized with the original images viewable. You're not reading someone else's transcription; you're reading the actual document. FamilySearch also maintains a collaborative global family tree that lets you see how other researchers have documented the same ancestors.
Core purpose: Your primary research foundation. Most genealogy research starts here.
2. FindAGrave.com — Cemetery and Memorial Records
What it is: A crowdsourced database of over 250 million cemetery memorials and burial records. Each entry typically includes the death date, burial location, grave location, and a photograph of the headstone (when available).
What makes it powerful: Instant confirmation of death dates, burial locations, and family connections. Headstones often contain information carved in by family members who knew the deceased personally — ages, maiden names, military service, religious affiliations.
Core purpose: Verify death information and identify cemetery records worth researching further.
3. USGenWeb.org — County-Level Resources and Local Records
What it is: A network of volunteer-maintained websites organized by county and state. Each county site aggregates local transcriptions, digitized records, cemetery listings, church archives, and links to county-specific repositories.
What makes it powerful: Access to records that never make it into national databases — small county courthouses, rural churches, local historical societies, family genealogies compiled by regional researchers.
Core purpose: Find records maintained by local institutions that national databases don't cover.
4. Chronicling America — Historical American Newspapers (Library of Congress)
What it is: The Library of Congress provides free access to digitized historical American newspapers from 1770–1963. Over 21 million pages are searchable across hundreds of publications from every state.
What makes it powerful: Newspapers publish announcements, notices, and obituaries that never appear in official records. Birth announcements, wedding notices, land sale advertisements, immigration arrival notices, obituaries with family details, military service notices — all captured in print.
Core purpose: Find context and details about your ancestors' lives that government records don't capture.
5. State Archives and Vital Records Portals
What it is: Every U.S. state maintains historical vital records (birth, marriage, death certificates), census records, naturalization files, and land records. Many states have digitized and made these records freely available online.
What makes it powerful: Primary sources created at the time of the event. A birth certificate from 1890 typically lists both parents' names, birthplaces, the attending physician, and exact date and location. That's an entire generation of research in one document.
Core purpose: Access original vital documents from your ancestors' home state.
6. Ellis Island Records — Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation
What it is: Free searchable access to passenger records for over 51 million immigrants and passengers who arrived through the Port of New York between 1820 and 1957. Original immigration manifests are viewable as digitized images.
What makes it powerful: Immigration manifests are packed with genealogical data: last residence in the home country, names and addresses of relatives they were traveling to meet in America, and sometimes relatives still in the home country. It's your bridge to ancestor research in Europe, Asia, or the Caribbean.
Core purpose: Establish your ancestor's immigration details and connections in their home country.
7. The FamilySearch Catalog — Access to Records Not Yet Digitized
What it is: A finding aid for genealogical records held at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and its network of Family History Centers worldwide. Searchable by location, subject, and record type — it covers collections that may never be digitized.
What makes it powerful: Millions of records exist only on microfilm: church registers, local vital records, probate files, land surveys, manuscript collections. Many can be borrowed through your local Family History Center for a small handling fee.
Core purpose: Find records that don't exist online — yet.
Why These Seven Matter
Each of these sources covers something the others don't. FamilySearch covers massive record collections. FindAGrave confirms deaths. USGenWeb accesses local records. Chronicling America gives you context from newspapers. State archives provide primary vital documents. Ellis Island connects you to ancestors abroad. The FamilySearch Catalog opens microfilm collections.
Together, they cover the vast majority of what genealogy research requires.
When You're Ready to Go Further: Paid Alternatives Worth Knowing
The seven sites above will take most researchers three to five generations back without spending anything. When you're ready to go further, two paid platforms fill gaps the free databases don't:
Archives.com — A beginner-friendly paid platform covering US census records, vital records, immigration documents, and military files. Often easier to navigate than Ancestry for first-time subscribers, and a useful comparison before committing to a larger subscription.
Newspapers.com — 750 million+ newspaper pages from the 1700s through the 20th century. Obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements, and local news that no official record captures. If Chronicling America (free, above) doesn't have the years or locations you need, Newspapers.com almost certainly does.
Fold3 — Specializes in U.S. military records: service files, pension records, draft cards, and casualty lists. If an ancestor served in any U.S. conflict — Revolutionary War through World War II — Fold3 is where those records live. The Civil War section is particularly deep.
When You're Ready to Add DNA
The seven sites above are free. When your paper research has hit a wall and you're ready to add DNA to the mix, LivingDNA is the standout option for beginners. It's the only major DNA test that includes autosomal, Y-DNA, and mitochondrial DNA in one kit — so you get cousin-matching, paternal-line tracing, and maternal-line tracing from a single swab. Their regional coverage spans 80+ world regions, making it especially strong for researchers with non-US ancestry.
Next: Learn the Research Methodology
Knowing which sites exist is just the first step. The research methodology — how to search effectively, which sources to prioritize, how to evaluate conflicting information, and how to work backward generation by generation — that's what separates researchers who build reliable family trees from those who hit dead ends.
That's exactly what our course teaches. The free lessons walk you through the full genealogy research process using these sources, with expert guidance on when to use which source and how to evaluate what you find.