Learn about collecting information, organizing what you've got and starting to look for the missing pieces. There's also a dictionary of genealogy terms and a helpful research directory. The list of five steps to starting genealogical research is very helpful, and the deciphering old handwriting section should speed you on your way through aged wills, letters and other documents. Claims to be the Internet's oldest and largest genealogy community. The site is home to the RootsWeb surname list of more than 700,000 entries and offers two e-newsletters and online genealogical courses.
Links extend to interests beyond genealogy, such as folklore, crafts and dancing.
RootsWeb will also host your personal genealogy Web site for free. The goal of this volunteer project is to create Web sites for genealogical research in every US state and county. The information's free, but the quality and quantity varies widely from site to site. Still, once you know what you're looking for, it's worth a shot. Many of the sites have local histories, original county boundaries, query boards and more.