Beginning and General Genealogy Books

If you click on a cover (or title) you will be taken to Amazon.com or the publisher's website where you can make a purchase. All titles are softcover unless otherwise noted.

Unpuzzling Your Past
A Basic Guide to Genealogy

Unpuzzling Your Past
by Emily Anne Croom

Unpuzzling Your Past is one of the best guides for beginning genealogy. It will take you from the first steps of gathering information from family members to basic records research. Also recommended: Emily Croom's companion volume, Genealogist's Companion & Sourcebook

Genealogist's Companion
and Sourcebook

Ancestry's Red Book by Alice Eichholz

Ancestry's Red Book Third Edition
by Alice Eichholz (Editor)
(Hardcover)

A directory of American state, county & town records sources. Includes a map of each state showing county locations. Census records and indexes are discussed for each state, including territorial and state (non-federal) censuses.

They Came in Ships
A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record
by John P. Colletta

This small book discusses the available passenger arrival records for American ports with suggestions on how to locate your immigrant's ship list. Since many passenger lists have not been indexed the book contains a helpful chapter on searching the unindexed years. A handy two page chart in the back of the book takes you through the basic steps for finding the passenger list you need.

They Came in Ships

The Source, A Guidebook to American Genealogy

The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy - Third Edition
edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking
(hardcover - third edition published in 2006)

A compilation describing many available records for American genealogical research. Over 900 pages of examples, tables, descriptions, sources and suggestions for finding these records. The chapter on finding immigration records and immigrant origins is especially useful. For a more detailed description/review of the book see... Book Review: The Source - A Guidebook to American Genealogy

Climbing Your Family Tree
Online and Off-line Genealogy for Kids
by Ira Wolfman

This is an updated version of the popular "Do People Grow on Family Trees" and it now includes information about Internet searching. Billed as "the official Ellis Island handbook," this book is a fine introduction to genealogy for children and adults alike. Topics covered include "becoming an American," "how we got here," and "where the records are." Has an introduction by Roots author, Alex Haley, and a foreward by Cyndi's List creator, Cyndi Howells.

Climbing Your Family Tree

They Became Americans
Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins
by Loretto Dennis Szucs
An excellent overview of available naturalization records, what you can expect to find in them and where they are located. Included are numerous examples and photographs of actual records. Also covers the naturalization process, explaining each step from declaration of intention to finally becoming a citizen.

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