The National Archives

The National Archives is very helpful to genealogists because it has records that come from every branch of the Federal government. I learned that they have access to census records, military records, immigration records, naturalization records, and land records. I also learned that The National Archives has a subscription to Ancestry.com and to Heritage Quest, but this does not mean that you can access those same records for free if you use The National Archives website as your starting point. You can find information on how to go about starting your genealogy research, and more details about what you can do on this website. There is also a link to frequently asked questions, which I found to be enlightening.

Unlike the other genealogy websites I have visited, I could not find a search engine on this website that would let me type in information, and have it provide me with a list of results. Instead, I learned that the genealogy information provided here is in the form of links to other sources. For example, if you keep clicking through the list of military related links, you can eventually end up on a website that is run by the United States Air Force.

There are a lot of resources here. However, it is going to take a very long time to go through them. I think that eventually, you can find a link that will take you to a resource that you can sort through to get the information you wanted. Sometimes, this will involved leaving your home, and traveling to the physical location where the record is being kept. Overall, I learned that this website is for the serious genealogist, who has already put together quite a bit of research about his or her ancestors, and is now seeking to put in the final pieces of the puzzle. This is the kind of website that requires a person to have a lot of patience, because it will not immediately come up with the exact information you hoped to find.