18 FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019

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by DAVID A. FRYXELL

They say hindsight is 20/20. And
from the vantage point of this 20th annual installment
of our 101 Best Websites list, it’s easy to see why some of
the honorees on our inaugural list continue to be among
the best.
Sites such as FamilySearch, Rootsweb, USGen-
Web, Heritage Quest and Ancestry have contin-
ued to evolve, adding data and becoming ever-
more relevant for research. Helpful resources
like Cyndi’s List and Genuki, along with special-
focus sites like the Foundation for East Euro-
pean Family History Studies and the Daughters
of the American Revolution, have remained laser-focused
on their missions even as the genealogy world has grown.
And institutional sites from our inaugural list—Library of
Congress, National Archives, Ellis Island, Bureau of Land

Management, Newberry Library, Allen County Public

Library—have expanded their off erings apace with tech-

nological advancement.

On the other hand, does anyone remember Hattie’s

Clothesline, which off ered family-reunion gear? And what-

ever became of Past Connect, which aimed to connect peo-

ple with their families’ lost memorabilia? Family

Storehouse, a one-stop shop for genealogy prod-

ucts, has gone to the great web browser in the

sky. Then there are all those sites at vanished or

much-altered hosting services like GeoCities,

Xoom and Tripod. With 20/20 hindsight, it’s easy

to see why these long-ago bests are now busts.

Will this year’s 101 honorees stand the test of

time? Take a look for yourself. As usual, sites that weren’t

on last year’s list are indicated with an asterisk (*), and

those that require you to pay to get much value from your

visit carry a dollar sign ($).

See your ancestors more clearly with our 20th

annual list of the 101 Best Genealogy Websites.

2019

101 BEST

WEBSITES