Reply #2: I've used all of those. [View All]

[CBHagman]

Plus the Census (up through 1930, anyway) is at the National Archives.

Frankly, I find the forums at Genforum and the like more useful than Ancestry.com in general, which I use at the library (free subscription). Genforum has turned up actual relatives who help flesh out the family history.

In addition, I've used county and GenWeb and RootsWeb sites for general research.

Ellis Island only applies to the other half of my family (non-Irish), who arrived after it opened. The Irish ancestors probably landed at Castle Garden in NYC.

I've run into people who think genealogy is all done online at this point. It's not quite that way, at least for now. You still have to look at the microfilm and correspond with the staff at libraries, churches and courthouses. And there's a trip to a graveyard in your future if you are any kind of a genealogist!

Here are some sites I've used, with varying degrees of success:

www.ireland.com/ancestor/

genforum.genealogy.com/

www.rootsweb.com/

www.usgenweb.org/

www.ellisisland.org

www.familysearch.org

www.interment.net/