Free Genealogy Search Engines

Here you will find information on genealogy only directories and search engines to help you focus your search for surnames or family history Web pages. There are also a few "regular" search engines listed which are especially good for genealogy searches.

Searching for Surnames
Essential Web searching strategies and techniques for finding surnames, genealogy research sites and family Web pages on the Internet.

Genealogy Library at About.com
This directory is different than many because it does not rely on submissions. The best genealogy resources are actively searched out by a genealogy expert, and then organized into categories with descriptions.

Genealogy Library at About.com
This directory is different than many because it does not rely on submissions. The best genealogy resources are actively searched out by a genealogy expert, and then organized into categories with descriptions.

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Search this amazing list of over 65,000 genealogy sites by surname, place name, type of record, etc. Of special note is her outstanding

Genealogy Pages
This genealogy directory bills itself as the "World's Premiere Genealogy Portal." It has a nice, easy to understand format and also selects the top 5% for each category to help you focus your search.

GenealogyPortal.com
A joint venture of Steve Wood (The Genealogy Home Page) and Matthew Helm (Helm's Genealogy Toolbox), this site features eight separate search engines to assist you in researching your family history.

GeneaSearch.com
A genealogy directory with links divided up into categories. If you are looking for a surname, then check out their companion site, A Surname Site.

GenGateway.com
This site, run by Steve Lacy, indexes an unbelievable number of Web sites organized into "gateways." Especially useful are the Surname Search and the Obituary Gateway.

I Found It!
Use the I Found It! search engine to locate pages on a wide variety of genealogy topics. If you are looking for sites containing actual historical records or documents, then search I Found It!Archives.

Internet Family Finder
This search engine from Family Tree Maker covers millions of genealogy pages, but can sometimes produce too many results to be particularly useful as it also indexes the commercial pages of Family Tree Maker and GenealogyLibrary.com.

USGenWeb Archives
A "virtual courthouse" of actual transcriptions of public domain records on the Internet, including wills, census records, pensions, military documents, digital maps, cemetery transcriptions, and more. Search the entire archives or limit your search by state.