Rock Island Public Library

Rock Island County Illinois Genealogical Society — The Society collects materials relating to the history of the Rock Island County and Mercer County area as well as Illinois in general.

Rock Island County Historical Society — The Historical Society houses a variety of materials that may be used for genealogical research, including the Blackhawk Genealogical Society collection.

The ILGenWeb Project — This site is Illinois’contribution to the USGenWeb Project. Its goal is to provide everything you ever wanted to know about Illinois genealogy, Illinois history, life in Illinois, and Illinois in the Civil War. The site includes a variety of genealogy research aids.
 

Beginning Your Genealogical Research — The National Archives and Records Administration offers tips for people new to genealogical research. NARA also provides information on using their resources, such as census records.

RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees — Here you can find ideas about where and how to begin discovering your ancestry.  It includes free downloadable charts and forms in pdf format.  There are several book suggestions at the bottom of the web page.

Ancestry.com — According to Ancestry.com, they offer access to over 1 billion names in over 3,000 unique databases, including Social Security, military, and immigration records. Some information may be accessed for free, while other resources require a subscription.

RootsWeb.com — RootsWeb, now a part of Ancestry.com, is an online community for genealogists. In addition to interactive guides and research tools for genealogy, the site includes a registry of nearly one million surnames submitted by online genealogists.  Some of its features and services are free.

FamilySearch Internet Genealogical Service — Sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, this site provides a database that allows users to search for their ancestors in various genealogical resources.

Association of Professional Genealogists — If you don’t want to or cannot do this yourself, you can seek assistance from professional genealogists. They will charge from $30 - $60 an hour for their services.

Census Online — Links to Online Census Records.

Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System — An excellent source of Civil War service records for both North and South.

The Ellis Island Web Site — Search passenger arrival records.

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild — Passenger lists of early ships that came to America bringing your ancestors!

The Genealogy Home Page — A Web Portal to genealogy pages on the World Wide Web.

USGenWeb Project — The Project is the creation of volunteers with the goal of providing sites for “genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States.” The site provides links to state sites, which then list county sites. The site also provides links to national genealogical projects sponsored by the group.

The USGenWeb Census Project — 2.7 gigabytes of transcribed census data on-line.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — Information about the Immigration and Naturalization Historical Reference Library, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security.

Nationwide Gravesite Locator — Search for burial locations of veterans and their dependants in military cemeteries.

The WorldGenWeb Project — Free research guidance from this world-wide network of volunteer genealogists!

GenealogyToday.com — GenealogyToday.com keeps track of new genealogy sites and services. It also includes name queries, research tips, articles, and search tools.

Helm’s Genealogy Toolbox — The Genealogy Toolbox has a large directory of genealogical links, as well as genealogical software profiles, search engines, and articles.

Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet — This is a comprehensive index to nearly 150,000 genealogy-related sites on the Internet.

Social Security Death Index — The SSDI lists names of American citizens (with Social Security numbers) who have died since 1962. The more detailed information you have for your search, the more likely you will find the person you are looking for. Basic information is free at this site. For a fee, the Social Security Administration will send you a copy of the individual’s Social Security number application form. 

AfriGeneas — AfriGeneas is a source for African American genealogy research. It includes research resources and message boards related to genealogical topics.

JewishGen — This site is a general resource for Jewish genealogy research. JewishGen provides discussion boards, databases, and special projects, like the Holocaust Global Registry.