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Research Guides

Free expert guides to key topics in family history research

Research guides, developed by American Ancestors experts, provide how-to tips and methods, a listing of essential resources (in print and online), contextual background, and more.

Scattered pile of old photographs

Genealogy 101

Getting Started

Getting Organized

Genealogical Software

Using American Ancestors.org

Using the American Ancestors Research Center

Using The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center

Youth Education

Writing & Publishing Your Family History

Preserving Your Family Treasures

Research Topics A-Z

17th-C. New England Research

Acadian Genealogy

African American Genealogy

Armenian Genealogy

Catholic Records in New England

Chinese-American Genealogy

Connecticut Research

DNA and Genealogy

English Genealogy

French-Canadian Genealogy

German Genealogy

Heraldry in America

Irish Genealogy

Japanese-American Genealogy

Massachusetts Research

Maine Genealogy

Mayflower Resources

Native Nations of New England

Naturalization Records

New Brunswick

New Hampshire

New York Research

Newfoundland Genealogy

Nova Scotia Genealogy

Ontario

Pennsylvania Genealogy

Pennsylvania German

Polish Genealogy

Prince Edward Island Genealogy

Quaker Genealogy

Rhode Island Research

Scottish Genealogy

Swedish Genealogy

Town Guides

Vermont Genealogy

World War Veteran Research