Welcome to the USA Portal!

The USA Portal is here to facilitate those researching ancestors or relatives in the United States, or elsewhere in the world but with American roots.

We encourage everyone with links in the United States to communicate and explore a common ancestry.

In this portal you will find sources and discussions that will help you with your research. In case you have a particular genealogical challenge, or if you have interesting information to share, simply start a discussion about it via the link at upper right.

Using the Portal

Use the USA Portal to:

• Ask questions
• Collaborate on your research
• Share knowledge you have gained
• Start your own related sub-project
• Start or take part in a discussion

For instructions on how to use Geni, refer to the Geni Help Portal

Geni Resources

• USA Genealogy Sources
• Geni Curators
• Geni Research Volunteers
• Collaboration Pool
• Curator Assistance Thread

State Sub-Portals

We are in the process of setting up individual sub-portals where you can find research tips and existing projects specific to each state. Join an existing sub-portal or help create a new one!

Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming

Topical Sub-Portals

• American Politicians
• Colonial Americas
• Education in the United States
• Freemasons in America
• U.S. Pioneers
• United States National Cemeteries Portal

Ethnic Sub-Portals

• African Americans
• Alutiiq and Aleut Americans
• Brazilian Americans
• Cherokee Americans
• Chickasaw Americans
• Creole Americans
• Croatian Americans
• Czech Americans
• Finnish Americans
• Irish Americans
• Jamaican Americans
• Jewish Americans
• Lebanese Americans
• Mormon Americans
• Native Americans (General)
• Norwegian Americans
• Osage Americans
• Slovene Americans
• Swiss Americans
• Welsh Americans

Genealogy Website Tutorials

• Ancestry.Com (Tutorial)
• Guide To Ancestry.Com (Chapters 1 -15) (Appendixes A - D)
  • Chapter 1 - Getting Started With Ancestry.Com
  • Chapter 2 - Using Ancestry.Com Family Trees
  • Chapter 3 - Mastering Ancestry.Com Search
  • Chapter 4 - Using The Ancestry.Com Card Catalog
  • Chapter 5 - Making The Most Of Census Records and Voter Lists
  • Chapter 6 - Delving Into Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
  • Chapter 7 - Working With Military Records
  • Chapter 8 - Using The Immigration And Travel Collection
  • Chapter 9 - Digging Into Newspapers, Publications, And Maps
  • Chapter 10 - Searching Stories, Memories, And Histories
  • Chapter 11 - Exploring Historical Pictures
  • Chapter 12 - Making The Most Of Schools, Directories, And Church Histories
  • Chapter 13 - Using The Tax, Criminal, Land, And Wills Collection
  • Chapter 14 - Exploring Genetic Genealogy With Ancestry DNA
  • Chapter 15 - Maximizing Collaboration Opportunities
  • Appendix A - Ancestry.Com Quick Links And Shortcut Keys
  • Appendix B - The Ancestry.Com Corporate Family
  • Appendix C - Ancestry Library Edition
  • Appendix D - Records Checklists And Research Forms)
• My Heritage. Com (Tutorial)
• Find My Past.Com (Tutorial)

Genealogy Research Aids

• Research Aids (British Isles-Continental Europe-United States-Canada)
• Perpetual Calendar
• Relationship Chart
• How to Read the Handwriting and Records of Early America (Chapters 1 - 6) (Appendix A - D) - Introduction
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1 - The Care In Use Of Original Records, Books And Manuscripts
  • Chapter 2 - Reading Or Interpreting The Original Record
  • Chapter 3 - Early American Handwriting Examples
  • Chapter 4 - Searching In Original Records-Introduction
    • Representative Documents Of America
    • The Taking of Notes, Copying of Records
    • The Use of Indexes in Original Records
  • Chapter 5 - Reading The Microfilms Techniques At The Reading Machine
  • Chapter 6 - How To Obtain Copies Of Original Records For Documentary Proof
    • Library of Congress
    • National Archives
    • County Court House And Records
  • Appendix A: Calligraphy And Illumination
  • Appendix B: German Manuscript Alphabets
  • Appendix C: Examples Of Handwriting In America
  • Appendix D: Glossary of Legal Terms and Phrases, etc.
• United States and Genealogy Research. (Articles 1 of 12)
  • A Guide To Research
  • U.S. Military Records
  • United States
  • Arkansas
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Massachusetts
  • South Carolina
  • Southwestern States
  • Texas
• Research In American Genealogy
  • Section I: The Approach To Genealogical Research (Chapters 1 thru Chapters 10)
    • Chapter 1 - How To Start The Genealogical Record
    • Chapter 2 - How To Make And Take Notes And Organize Information
    • Chapter 3 - How To Extend The Pedigree and Continue the Record)
    • Chapter 4 - How To Do Research By Correspondence
    • Chapter 5 - How To Approach The Genealogical Research Problem
    • Chapter 6 - How to Use Maps and County Histories in Research
    • Chapter 7 - How To Use Newspaper Files In Genealogical Research
    • Chapter 8 - How To Search In Vital Records
    • Chapter 9 - How To Search In County Records
    • Chapter 10 - How To Search In Religious Archives
  • Section II: The Search for Records (Chapters 1 thru Chapters 9)
    • Chapter 1 - Searching for Records in the Home
    • Chapter 2 - The Search at the Library
      • Genealogical Libraries - By States
    • Chapter 3 - The Search In City Records
      • Census Searching In Large American Cities
    • Chapter 4 - The Search In County Records
      • Inventories of County Archives - by States
      • Origin Of Counties By States
    • Chapter 5 The Search in State Archives
      • Vital Statistics Of United States - By States
      • Survey Of Public Vital Statistics - By States
      • State Census Records by States
      • Survey of State Archives - by States
    • Chapter 6 - The Search in National Archives
    • Chapter 7 - The Search In Religious Archives
    • Chapter 8 - The Search In Canada
    • Chapter 9 - Loyalists Of The American Revolution
  • Section III: American History for the Genealogical Researcher
    • Introduction
      • Arranged Alphabetically by State
  • Appendix
    • Associations And Societies In U.S.. Selected)
    • Book Dealers In The United States
    • Current Genealogical Publications
    • Finding Aids
    • Forms Of Address In Correspondence
    • Genealogical Text Books
    • Glossary, Definitions And Abbreviations, Etc.
    • Map Publishers And Their Catalogues
    • Maps 1790 Alphabetical By States
    • Maps, 1790 Alphabetical by States
    • Maps, 1823 Period Maps Of The United States
    • Nicknames In Common Usage
• Genealogical Reading - Articles 1 - 34
  • Article 1 - Pitfalls In Genealogical Research
  • Article 2 - A Few Odd Ways By Which Family Records Have Been Preserved
  • Article 3 - Dates And The Calendar
  • Article 4 - English And American Heraldry
  • Article 5 - Is Genealogy An Exact Science
  • Article 6 - English Research - Corporation Records
  • Article 7 - Tradition And Family History
  • Article 8 - Deeds Enrolled
  • Article 9 - Royal Ancestry
  • Article 10 - Benefit Of Clergy
  • Article 11 - Probate Law And Custom
  • Article 12 - Genealogical Research In Session Laws And Statutes)
  • Article 13 - Marriage
  • Article 14 - The Identification Of Emigrant Ancestors
  • Article 15 - Interpreting Genealogical Records
  • Article 16 - Use Of An Alias In English Surnames
  • Article 17 - Commercialism In Genealogy
  • Article 18 - On The Marring Of Research Sources
  • Article 19 - Noted Europeans Of American Descent
  • Article 20 - English Feudal Genealogy
  • Article 21 - Tricks In Using Indexed Genealogical Books
  • Article 22 - Local History And Genealogy Room Library Of Congress
  • Article 23 - Public Officials And Professional Genealogists
  • Article 24 - Some experiences In Genealogical Work
  • Article 25 - Age Of Girls At Marriage In Colonial New England
  • Article 26 - Genealogical Research In The National Archives
  • Article 27 - Fraudulent Pedigrees
  • Article 28 - Marital Rights In The Colonial Period
  • Article 29 - Lost Ancestral Estates
  • Article 30 - Smith And Jones And Brown (Poem)
  • Article 31 - Genealogical Periodicals Represented In This Anthology
  • Article 32 - Pedigree (Poem)
  • Article 33 - Genealogical By-Ways
  • Article 34 - Mathematics And My Cousin Lucretia
• Writing Family Histories and Memoirs (Introduction, Chapters 1 - 16)
  • Table of Contents
  • Chapter 1 - What Kind of Book Do You Want to Write
  • Chapter 2 - Why Do You Want to Write It
  • Chapter 3 - What Will Be Its Scope
  • Chapter 4 - How to Start Your Research
  • Chapter 5 - Ideas for Topics to Include
  • Chapter 6 - You the Author as Private Eye
  • Chapter 7 - Where to Find What
  • Chapter 8 - Organizing Your Resources
  • Chapter 9 - How Much Research Is Enough
  • Chapter 10 - Format And Writing Style
  • Chapter 11 - Establishing A Writing Schedule
  • Chapter 12 - The First Part of Your Book
  • Chapter 13 - That Very Important First Chapter
  • Chapter 14 - How Writers Avoid Middle Book Sag
  • Chapter 15 - Self-Editing Your Final Manuscript
  • Chapter 16 - Publishing Your Book

Genealogy Research Aids (Miscellaneous)

Search Engines

• Top 10 Free Genealogy Websites
• 10 Additional Free Genealogy Websites

Information

• Golden Rules of Genealogy

Research Resources

• Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
• Castle Garden Passenger records 1820-1880
• DAR Genealogical Research System
• Ellis Island passenger records
• FamilySearch vital records, census records and more
• Online World War II Indexes & Records
• United States - Genealogy Research Aids

Curator Contacts

If you need assistance, please use the discussions area linked at upper left. You can also contact a curator for assistance.

By State

• Alabama: Erin Spiceland, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey
• Alaska: Byron Whitesides
• Arizona: Dan Cornett
• Arkansas: Erica Howton
• California: Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Jim Wile
• Colorado: Hatte Blejer, Justin Swanström
• Connecticut: Hatte Blejer, Jessica Marie (Duffey) German, Ashley Odell
• Florida: Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey
• Georgia: Erin Spiceland, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey
• Idaho:
• Illinois: Hatte Blejer, Ann Fuller, John Dale Kessel
• Indiana: Hatte Blejer, Eugene Thomas, Jim Wile
• Iowa: Hatte Blejer, Dan Bodenheimer
• Kansas:
• Kentucky: Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Eugene Thomas, Linda Kathleen Thompson, Jim Wile
• Louisiana: Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey
• Maine: Jessica Marie (Duffey) German, Robert Hanscom, Erica Howton, Ashley Odell
• Maryland: Ben M. Angel, Linda Kathleen Thompson, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey, Jim Wile
• Massachusetts: Hatte Blejer, Jessica Marie (Duffey) German, Robert Hanscom, Ashley Odell
• Michigan: David Lee Kaleita, Noelle Ochotny
• Mississippi: Erin Spiceland, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey
• Missouri: Hatte Blejer, Eugene Thomas
• Nebraska: Ashley Odell
• New Hampshire: Jessica Marie (Duffey) German, Robert Hanscom, Ashley Odell
• New Jersey: Hatte Blejer, Eugene Thomas
• New Mexico: Ben M. Angel, Anne Brannen, Ric Dickinson
• New York: Ashley Odell, Eugene Thomas, Linda Kathleen Thompson, Jim Wile
• North Carolina: Dalton Holland Baptista, Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Ashley Odell, Eugene Thomas, Erin Spiceland, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey
• Ohio: Hatte Blejer, Ann Fuller, Tammy (Tucker) Swingle, Eugene Thomas, Jim Wile
• Oklahoma: Erin Spiceland, Eugene Thomas
• Oregon: Erica Howton
• Pennsylvania: Hatte Blejer, Tammy (Tucker) Swingle, Eugene Thomas, Linda Kathleen Thompson, Jim Wile
• Rhode Island: Jessica Marie (Duffey) German, Ashley Odell
• South Carolina: Hatte Blejer, Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Erin Spiceland, Eugene Thomas, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey
• Tennessee: Eugene Thomas
• Texas: Anne Brannen, Ashley Odell, Benjamin Schoenbrun, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey
• Utah: Randy Stebbing, Justin Swanström, Jim Wile
• Vermont: Jessica Marie (Duffey) German, Ashley Odell
• Virginia: Hatte Blejer, Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Erin Spiceland, Eugene Thomas, Linda Kathleen Thompson, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey, Jim Wile
• West Virginia: Erica Howton, Eugene Thomas, Linda Kathleen Thompson, Jim Wile
• Wyoming: Justin Swanström

By Topic

• African-American genealogy: Ashley Odell, Linda Kathleen Thompson, Kenneth Kwame Walsh
• Assyrian genealogy: John Dale Kessel
• Brazilian genealogy: Dalton Holland Baptista
• Chinese genealogy: Liu Yao
• Civil War genealogy: Maria Edmonds-Zediker
• Colonial America: Hatte Blejer, Will Chapman, Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Jeff Gentes, Jessica Marie (Duffey) German, Robert Hanscom, Erica Howton, Jeff Meyerson, Erin Spiceland, Randy Stebbing, Tammy (Tucker) Swingle, Linda Kathleen Thompson, Marsha Gail (Kamish) Veazey, Kenneth Kwame Walsh
• Daughters of the American Revolution: Faustine Darsey
• DNA/genetic genealogy: Adam Robert Brown, Ann Fuller, John Dale Kessel, Noelle Ochotny, Justin Swanström, Victar
• Estonian genealogy: Jaak Tulp
• Fraternal organizations: Ashley Odell
• French-Canadian genealogy: Jeff Gentes, Byron Whitesides
• Geni technology: Jeff Gentes
• Huguenot genealogy: Maria Edmonds-Zediker
• Irish genealogy: Anne-Marie
• Italian/Sicilian genealogy: John Dale Kessel
• Jewish genealogy: Hatte Blejer, Dan Bodenheimer, Adam Robert Brown, Ann Fuller, Kevin Hanit, Jaim Harlow, Randy Schoenberg, Benjamin Schoenbrun
• Latina/o genealogy: Ric Dickinson, Victar
• Loyalist genealogy: Michael van Beuren
• Mormon genealogy: Randy Stebbing, Will Chapman, Justin Swanström
• Native American genealogy: Erin Spiceland, Kenneth Kwame Walsh, Byron Whitesides
• New Amsterdam: Michael van Beuren, Hatte Blejer, Alex Moes
• Norwegian genealogy: Remi Trygve Pedersen
• Notables/celebrities: Erica Howton, Ashley Odell, Victar
• Polish genealogy: Noelle Ochotny
• Portuguese genealogy: Dalton Holland Baptista
• Quaker genealogy: Michael van Beuren, Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Janet (Conrow) Palo-Jackson
• Russian genealogy: Byron Whitesides
• Scots-Irish genealogy: Hatte Blejer, Erica Howton, Eugene Thomas
• Sports: Kevin Hanit
• Swiss-German genealogy: Jim Wile
• West Indian genealogy: Ashley Odell, Erin Spiceland, Kenneth Kwame Walsh
• Westward Expansion: Hatte Blejer, Jessica Marie (Duffey) German, Ashley Odell, Randy Stebbing, Justin Swanström, Jim Wile