Books

General Books

The complete idiot's guide to genealogy 
Rose, Christine 
Second edition, New York: Alpha Books, 2005 
929.1072073 ROS 
(Copies are available at the Nichols, Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

Discover your roots: dig up your family history and other buried treasures 
Blake, Paul 
New York: Penguin, 2007 
929.1072 BLA 
(Copies are available at the Nichols, Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

The everything family tree book: research and preserve your family history 
Powell, Kimberly 
Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2006 
929.1072073 POW 
(Copies are available at the Nichols, Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

Family history 101: a beginner's guide to finding your ancestors 
Melnyk, Marcia Yannizze 
Cincinnati, OH Family Tree Books, 2005 
929.1072073 MEL 
(Copies are available at the Nichols and 95th Street libraries.)

The family tree problem solver: proven methods for scaling the inevitable brick wall 
Rising, Marsha Hoffman 
Cincinnati, OH: Family Tree Books, 2005 
929.1072073 RIS 
(Copies are available at the Nichols, Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

Genealogist's Address Book 
Bentley, Elizabeth Petty 
Sixth edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2009 
Reference 929.1 BEN 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

Genealogy online 
Crowe, Elizabeth Powell 
Eighth edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008 
Reference 929.10285 CRO 
(Copies available at the Nichols, Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

Genealogy online for dummies 
Helm, Matthew L. 
Fifth edition. Hoboken,NJ: Wiley Pub, 2008 
929.10285 HEL 
(Copies available at the Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

Give your family a gift that money can't buy: record and preserve your family's history 
Bockman, Jeffrey A. 
Naperville, IL: Alenjes Publishing, 2007 
929.1 BOC 
(Copies are available at the Nichols, Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

The troubleshooter's guide to do-it-yourself genealogy 
Quillen, W. Daniel 
Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Press, 2010 
929.1072 QUI 
(Copies are available at the Nichols, Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

Topical Books

The American genealogist: being a catalogue of family histories 
Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1971 
Reference 929.1016 AME 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

County courthouse book 
Bentley, Elizabeth Petty 
Third edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2009 
Reference 929.3025 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

Genealogical encyclopedia of the colonial Americas: a complete digest of the records of all the countries of the Western Hemisphere 
Schaefer, Christina K. 
Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1998 
Reference 929.107207 SCH 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

Genealogies cataloged by the Library of Congress since 1986 
Library of Congress 
Washington, DC: Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, 1992 
Reference 929.1016 LIB 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

Handy book for genealogists: United States of America 
Eleventh edition. Logan, UT: Everton, 2006 
Reference 929.1072 HAN 
(Copies are available at the Nichols, Naper Boulevard and 95th Street libraries.)

International Vital Records Handbook 
Kemp, Thomas Jay 
Fifth edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2009 
Reference 929.3025 KEM 
(Copies are available at the Nichols and 95th Street libraries.)

Land and property research in the United States 
Hone, E. Wade 
Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1997 
Reference 929.1072 HON 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

Red book: American state, county and town sources 
Provo, UT: Ancestry Publishing, 2004 
Reference 929.1072073 RED 
(Copies are available at the Nichols and 95th Street libraries.)

The source: a guidebook to American genealogy 
Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2006 
Reference 929.107207 SOU 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

A survey of American church records: major and minor denominations before 1880-1890 
Fourth edition. Logan, UT: Everton Publishers, 1978 
Reference 929.3 SUR 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

U.S. military records: a guide to federal and state sources, colonial America to the present 
Neagles, James C. 
Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1994 
Reference 929.3 NEA 
(This is available at the Nichols Library.)

Web sites

General

Ancestry.com 
Ancestry.com offers access to millions of records, though the site does require a subscription (if you come into the library, you can use Ancestry Library Edition, which has many of the same records, for free). The Social Security Death Index and the message boards can be searched for free. This site also has free research charts and forms.

FamilySearch  
FamilySearch is the official Web site of the Family History Library of the Church of Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the largest genealogy site in the world, adding millions of new names annually to its database. Besides access to its microfilm, microfiche and books, the site features step-by-step research guidance, maps, forms and other research aids.

Cyndi's List 
Created and maintained by Cyndi Howells, this site provides links to more than 272,000 Web sites related to genealogy. They are listed and cross-referenced under more than 180 categories. A mailing list option allows you to be notified of updates and site changes.

Find A Grave 
This site features pictures and transcriptions of millions of graves taken by volunteers. If you know what cemetery your ancestor is buried in, you can post a request and a volunteer may fill it.  There are a lot of transcriptions for Naperville area cemeteries here.

Genealogy.com 
This site features a large collection of databases and a family tree maker. It is a subscription site.

Historical Newspapers Online 
This site from the Penn libraries lists historical newspapers that are available online free of charge.

Legacy.com 
This site features a number of life stories and obituaries.

Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection 

This site from the University of Texas at Austin features a variety of current and historical maps from the U.S. and rest of the world.

RootsWeb 
This site is a resource page with mailing lists and message boards, as well as a list of more than one million surnames and the people who are researching that name.

Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians from the National Archives 
The genealogy page of this site gives information about the archives' vast holdings, which include census returns, military service records and passenger lists. Information about how to access them is also found here.

USGenWeb Project 
The purpose of this site is to list the genealogy-related web sites for every county and every state of the United States. Organization is by state alphabetically, then county within the state alphabetically.

We Relate 
This is the world's largest genealogy wiki, with pages for over 1,800,000 people and growing.

Records

Bureau of Land Management 
The bureau maintains a searchable database of federal land patent records. Actual images of more than two million land title records for Eastern Public Land States, issued between 1820 and 1908, are also available here.

Requesting Military Records 
Information about obtaining military records from the National Archives.

Social Security Death Index 
Search the Social Security Death Index for free at FamilySearch.org.

Vital Records Information 
This site is an index to state and county vital records in the United States, and how to obtain them. Its vital records include birth, death and marriage certificates and divorce decrees.

Where to Write for Vital Records 
Maintained by the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics, this database provides addresses and links for government agencies retaining birth, death, marriage and divorce records.