For new members, here are some great web sites. Try GENDEX-it's wonderful. Type in a surname and it matches with other researchers working on that line. Karen ------------ >From Ancestry Daily News: May 21, 1999 THE BEST GENEALOGY SITES ON THE WEB Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Web http://www.cyndislist.com/ Cyndi Howells has, over the past several years, compiled the definitive collection of over 41,700 categorized sites (at this writing) for excellent research reference. If you're looking for any genealogical research topic, Cyndi's list is the place to start. I don't know how she continuously adds, refines, and maintains this massive resource, but Cyndi is my "Web goddess" for all the work she does to consistently provide this excellent site. (Brava, Cyndi!) Family Search - http://www.familysearch.org The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has recently established a Web site. It provides access to an online database providing an exceptional search facility for locating ancestors with references to the Mormon (LDS) resources that are available in or through LDS family history centers, Web sites, and other materials of interest. The site is still in beta test mode at this writing, and has some periods of down time and excessive busy usage, but it is a tremendous new resource and it is free. USGenWeb Project - http://usgenweb.org/ This is the central Web site for the nationwide project to organize, state by state, county by county, genealogical resources onto Web pages. You will find everything you need to understand each state's resources -- from archives, genealogical and historical societies, special historical resources, special projects and more -- all produced, presented and maintained by volunteers on a vast collection of Web sites. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this effort and the depth of content you will find in these Web sites. I salute all the volunteers who have made this project the ongoing and expanding success story it is! GENDEX Index of Surnames - http://www.gendex.com:8080/ This tremendous free database is a compilation of many genealogists' research and one of the best organized integrated databases around. Here you can search by surname, then ranges of given names, locate specific names, and view vital information for the individual. If parent or spouse information exists in the database, you can surf through links to other records in the database to see records for those people as well. RootsWeb - http://rootsweb.org/ RootsWeb provides access to an incredible collection of genealogical resources. One of the most important resources here is an up-to-date listing of every genealogical mailing list (listserv), and instructions for how to subscribe. At this writing, there are more than 63,000 mailing lists! If you aren't subscribed to mailing lists for the surnames you are actively researching, geographical areas you are researching, historical periods, military conflicts, and a vast array of other topics, you are missing out on a major investigative opportunity. In addition, there are some state databases and archives of some of the mailing lists' messages, surname resources, links to other Web sites, and many other online resources. National Archives and Records Administration - http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/ and http://www.nara.gov Often called the U.S. government's "attic," the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the location of tens of millions of records of historical and genealogical interest. Their Web site is a tremendous repository of genealogical "how-to" information, and their NAIL database (National Archival Information Locator) can provide you access to a database containing many thousands of catalogued and/or digitized records. You will also learn what physical records, such as military service records, ships passenger lists, Native American resources, etc., are stored in NARA facilities, and you'll learn what forms you can Census Online - http://www.census-online.com/ This site contains the beginnings of the project to transcribe and place all census material online. You will find material categorized by state, county, then census year. Within the year, names are organized alphabetically. The Census Online (And other important data bases) - http://www.doitnow.com/~moravia/census.html This site contains census records, passenger lists, and other materials online. It is well worth a look. Civil War Rosters - Arranged by State - http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9787/cw.html This is an excellent resource for the Civil War researcher, providing rosters of soldiers organized by state and unit. Although it is still in the development process and many units are not yet catalogued, new materials appear to be added on a regular basis. A Barrel of Genealogical Links - http://cpcug.org/user/jlacombe/mark.html Here is another collection of links to many excellent Web sites. Once you get past the author's personal material, there is much great data for your reference. Ancestry.com - http://www.ancestry.com Ancestry, the venerable publisher of high quality genealogical reference books, is also the leading commercial genealogical Web site on the Internet. Their free and pay databases provide a treasure trove of research materials that, in years past, would have taken us months or years to locate, access, and work with. The site contains free access to their searchable GEDCOM files in an integrated database through which you can surf up and down family groups using hyperlinks. The Social Security Death Index (SSDI), once only available as a CD-ROM purchase elsewhere, is available here for free. A searchable database containing 1790-1870 census records to their pay database area which provides indexed access to the censuses, some mortality and veterans schedules, and a number of other records, was recently added to Ancestry's pay database area. In addition, this site offers a growing collection of "how-to" materials, online genealogy columns (complete with an archive of past columns), Juliana's Links to other Web sites, a store where you can purchase the very best genealogical reference books, magazines, and CD-ROMs anywhere, and other resources. Genealogy Records Service (GRS) - http://www.genrecords.com/ GRS has compiled a nice, utilitarian site with a collection of terrific forms, charts and online help facilities that every genealogist can use. Each of these is available free of charge. You must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free from http://www.adobe.com, in order to read and print the forms. In addition, there are references for how to calculate Soundex codes (and an online calculator), lists of old time occupation and illness names, and some common genealogy definitions. The Genealogy Forum on America Online - http://www.genealogyforum.com/ I certainly have to recommend the Web site for the Genealogy Forum on America Online. It is the home of a huge and varied content and the strength of almost 150 staff and volunteers. This Web site contains descriptions of the tremendous reference resources of this venerated AOL facility for genealogists. While you cannot access the forum from here unless you are a member, you can download AOL software and join AOL. Take a look at what the Genealogy Forum offers and know that other resources on AOL such as maps, encyclopaedia, dictionaries, ethnic and geographic reference resources, photography, Revolutionary War and Civil War forums, and a host of other reference materials complement the Genealogy Forum. All of these combined resources will certainly make you interested in joining AOL for your research. Librarians Serving Genealogists - http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis/genealib/ This Web site was created for genealogical librarians who serve the genealogists who use their libraries and archives. It is an excellent resource from that perspective, but also provides us with access to those same librarians' online reference resources links to genealogy ==== QUAKER-ROOTS Mailing List ==== Post a Quaker Query - http://www.rootsweb.com/~quakers/queries.htm