[Wilfred Schlather, wschlather@satx.rr.com, sent us this file on 4/7/03.]

This information is compiled from Comal County Genealogy Society members’ favorite websites. Each of these sites has been ‘tested’ to ensure that the links work and that they are active. They are not listed in any sort of arrangement or priority. Try them all. Be sure to bookmark those that you think will be particularly helpful in your searches. I extend a special thanks to the following respondents to the request for favorite genealogy websites: Walter Bauer, Margaret Farris, Michelle Oatman, Wanda Qualls, Dick Robinett, and Marlena Schlather. Some of these sites were presented during the CCGS meeting of March 9, 2003 at the New Braunfels Public Library and are indicated by NBPL.

http://www.ancestry.com/ this is a pay site for much of its information. There are several free databases such as name lookups and Social Security Death Records. You must register one time online for the free databases. They will provide you with a password.

http://www.cyndislist.com/ has over 180,000 links to genealogy information in other sites. (NBPL)

http://rootsweb.com place your ancestor’s first and last names into the left-most set of blanks. The blank at the top of the page is an advertisement for Ancestry.com. Numerous databases are searched in Rootsweb. The next four sites below are part of the Rootsweb family and can be accessed directly.

http://searches.rootsweb.com/htdig/search.html takes you directly to the USGenWeb Archives Search Engine. This search keys on the surname and can lead to many, many hits.

http://rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/tx/txsearch.html takes you directly to the TXGenWeb Archives Search Page. Data entry

examples: (Punctuation matters, use quotes)

“lastname, firstname *” will generally find birth and death information from 1926 to about 1995.

“lastname firstname *” will generally find marriage and divorce information from about 1966 to about 2000. Apparently not all data was entered using the same format. You may wish to try both versions. The ‘*’ is a wildcard symbol used for right-hand truncation. This page also provides basic rules for Boolean (and, or, andnot) searches. Depending on the number of connections trying to access the server, this site can be slow at times.

http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com Social Security Death Index Interactive.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~txgenweb/map/txregion.htm shows a map of Texas that allows you to select a region. Then select a particular county from the list presented. You will be directed to that county’s genealogy society web pages.

http://www.usgenweb.com/ has links to every county in every state. (NBPL)

http://www.ccharity.com/ an excellent site for African American sources. (NBPL)

http://www.vitalrec.com/ birth and death certificate information for the United States. (NBPL)

http://www.genforum.com/ find others researching your family surname. (NBPL)

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp LDS maintains this site: family history and census information.

http://www.gencircles.com/ match your ancestor's names to others who are researching your family surnames. (NBPL)

http://www.herald-zeitung.com/ provides current obituaries that remain posted for about 10 days to two weeks. Many other newspapers now maintain websites – check with the paper in your hometown.

http://gedbas.genealogy.net/index.jsp this site is in German, but could be a good source of information. In many cases, this site includes descendents that immigrated to Texas.

http://quickdic.de/index_e.html this is a dictionary and translator from German to English and English to German. Be sure to watch for context; searches will result in numerous hits containing the word(s) you entered.

http://www.freetranslation.com/ this is a free text translator in which you can write a paragraph or phrase and have it come back with a translation. Text input can be translated to many different languages. You can also get a ‘professional’ translation for a fee.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/5933/ Germans in the Texas Hill Country. This is a beautifully designed website posted by one of our members, Kristine Ludwig, featuring the Ludwig, Weidner, Beierle, Fuhrmann, Koehn, Uecker, Wehe, Pfeuffer and Luerson families. A must-visit site that includes pictures and stories

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/ this site provides historical data for Texas geographic entities as well as historical references to organizations, towns and regions. It also references German names/locations after which many of our local communities are named. Try a search on ‘Prince Solms’ to get a feel for its usefulness.

http://www.tsm-elissa.org/immigration-login.htm Galveston immigration information – ship passenger lists. You have to sign up to gain access. There is no charge. The Texas Ship Museum will provide your logon ID. You may enter a surname or a ship’s name.

http://lois.vic.uh.edu/vrhc/manuscripts/indianola/home.cfm Indianola Immigrant Database – ship passenger lists provided by the Victoria Regional History Center. Select the initial letter of the surname you are searching for and click on “Search Now.”

http://www.countyclerk.bexar.landata.com/menuPublicRecords.asp?system=ML

marriage licenses for Bexar County that include birth dates when known. Excellent format. Click on “Search” to begin. An image of the marriage license is often available. Date range is 1964 to present – really current!

The following four websites are maintained by Wanda Qualls who is the county coordinator for these local counties. Each has a county history, local information, archives, contact points for lookups and many other items of information.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~txblanco/index.html BLANCO COUNTY

http://www.rootsweb.com/~txcomal/index.html COMAL COUNTY

http://www.rootsweb.com/~txgilles/index.html GILLESPIE COUNTY

http://www.rootsweb.com/~txguadal/index.html GUADALUPE COUNTY

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~frantzen/names/index.html is a database with names for the Erasmus Frantzen Family.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~txgilles/gpname.html Wanda Qualls’ list of surnames and associated family trees. Maybe you are in here.

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~pmg/genealogy.html Paula M. Goblirsch’s Genealogy Resources on the internet. Site primarily has to do with Minnesota and Midwest resources.

http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ National Parks’ Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System. Search for soldiers, sailors and units,

http://www.genuki.org.uk/ United Kingdom & Ireland Genealogy.

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ The Official Federal Land Patent Records Site.

http://www.worldgenweb.org/ is a free research guide from a world-wide network of volunteer genealogists.

http://catalog.loc.gov/ Library of Congress Online Catalog.

http://www.archives.gov/index.html National Archives and Records Administration. Click on “Research Room.”

http://www.gendex.com/ is a very large database available for online search by surname.

http://www.byubroadcasting.org/ Ancestors is the companion web site to the PBS family history and genealogy series. Click on Ancestors link.

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/acres/8310/gensearcher.html all-in-one genealogy search page.

http://www.genhomepage.com/ is another guide to researching ancestors and has files available for searching.

On to the GTHS Genealogy page.