Resource Links and other helpful information
Domesday Book
Searchable Domesday Book - The Domesday Book is a detailed survey of the land held by William the Conqueror and his people, the earliest surviving public record, and a hugely important historical resource. Domesday Book (also known as Doomsday or Book of Winchester) was the great survey of England completed in 1086, for William the Conquerer. He
became King of what was probably the wealthiest and most well-governed kingdom in western Europe. While spending Christmas of 1085 in Gloucester, King William I "had deep speech with his counsellors and sent men all over England to each shire ... to find out ... what or how much each landholder had in land and livestock, and what it was worth." (Anglo-Saxon chronicle) It is a snapshot of life in 11th century England revealing what areas of the countryside were ploughland, pasture, meadow or woodland, and suggests regional variations. It tells us something about the people who held or worked the land and the social relationships between them. As an Anglo-Saxon chronicler wrote, not 'one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was there left out and not put down in his record'.
The main purpose of the survey was to determine who owned what so they could be taxed. The judgment of the assessors was final—whatever the book said about who owned the property, or what it was worth, was the law, and there was no appeal. It was written in Latin, although there were some vernacular words inserted for native terms with no previous Latin equivalent and the text was highly abbreviated. The name Domesday comes from the Old English word dom, meaning accounting or reckoning. Thus domesday, or dmsday, is literally a day of reckoning, meaning that a lord takes account of what is owed by his subjects. Medieval Christians believed that in the Last Judgment as recorded in Revelation, Christ would carry out a similar accounting of one's deeds—thus the term doomsday also referred to this eschatological event.
became King of what was probably the wealthiest and most well-governed kingdom in western Europe. While spending Christmas of 1085 in Gloucester, King William I "had deep speech with his counsellors and sent men all over England to each shire ... to find out ... what or how much each landholder had in land and livestock, and what it was worth." (Anglo-Saxon chronicle) It is a snapshot of life in 11th century England revealing what areas of the countryside were ploughland, pasture, meadow or woodland, and suggests regional variations. It tells us something about the people who held or worked the land and the social relationships between them. As an Anglo-Saxon chronicler wrote, not 'one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was there left out and not put down in his record'.
The main purpose of the survey was to determine who owned what so they could be taxed. The judgment of the assessors was final—whatever the book said about who owned the property, or what it was worth, was the law, and there was no appeal. It was written in Latin, although there were some vernacular words inserted for native terms with no previous Latin equivalent and the text was highly abbreviated. The name Domesday comes from the Old English word dom, meaning accounting or reckoning. Thus domesday, or dmsday, is literally a day of reckoning, meaning that a lord takes account of what is owed by his subjects. Medieval Christians believed that in the Last Judgment as recorded in Revelation, Christ would carry out a similar accounting of one's deeds—thus the term doomsday also referred to this eschatological event.
Find A Grave
Findagrave.com - Findagrave, the largest online burial database, is a great tool often overlooked by genealogists. Search for individuals, family names, or cemeteries. Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add 'virtual flowers' and a note to a loved one's grave. Search the photos of headstones, cemeteries and maps for over 100 million entries which contain a wealth of information. Researching nearby graves of persons of interest can lead to new links to family members and neighbors.
Fold3
Fold3 is a data base of Military records, census records and many other helpful records.
You can access it for free through your local library.
You can access it for free through your local library.
Open Library
openlibrary.org - The World's classic literature at your fingertips. Over 1,000,000 free ebook titles available.
usgwarchives.net - (US Gen Web) Historical records, census records, church records, cemetery records, deed/land records, court records, biographies...
Ancestry.com - birth/death records, marriage records, census records, immigration records, military records...