Family History Books

There are so many good resources for family history out there on the Internet that sometimes we forget that there are some fantastic books that really dive deep into family history and genealogy research. The nice thing about books, is that they are portable, generally lighter than your computer, and they won’t short-out if they get wet (they just won’t look as good).

Genealogy and Family History Book Reviews

Below, we’ve listed a few of our favorites and helpful recourses. We’ve written up a short little description about each book to help you as you look for resources.

Order Your Best Picks

If you find a book that tickles your fancy you can order the book on Amazon.com and have it delivered to your door (Amazon.com prices are displayed next to the book images).

In Search Of Our Ancestors

A Fantastic book. There are plenty of family history books out there that will teach you how to research names or where to find resources. In Search of Our Ancestors tells the stories of people just like you and I who have searched and searched for records and have finally discovered what they were looking for, or sometimes, they weren’t quite “looking” but found records they needed.

The book is a very inspirational read and contains 101 stories from people from various different backgrounds and nations who have wonderful and sometimes incredible stories about finding the family history or genealogy records.

Definitely a must read especially if you’re in a slump and need inspiration to keep pressing forward in your research. Published in 2007, the book has 265 pages of content.

Getting Started in Genealogy Online

A concise resource, this book is 64 pages long and is proud of it. The book is an effort to slim down and simplify what you need to do to get going on your genealogy research. Getting Started in Genealogy Online will help you:

  • Get started collecting genealogy records
  • Find key online genealogy resources you should bookmark
  • Identify places you can physically visit depending on your local
  • Understand how family group sheets work and provides samples for you

The book was published in 2007 and has 64 pages of content. If you’re looking for a quick, easy read, Getting Started in Genealogy Online is it.

Genealogy Online for Dummies

This tutorial book provides a simple, yet fairly comprehensive look into what you need to do and where you need to go to get your family history and genealogy research going. An added bonus to this resource is that the book comes with the Family TreeMaker software and other resources on a CD. Discover a multitude of good ideas.

Get help with:

  • Researching different ethnicities (African, American Indian, Hispanic, European, and Asian)
  • Running your computer and equipment you’ll need
  • Sharing your family history
  • Searching for records in government archives
  • Creating a website for your surname
  • Helpful databases

The book has 302 pages of content and was published in 2004.

Complete Idiot’s Guide To Genealogy

A resource to help simplify the genealogy research process, the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Genealogy has lots of content and stories to help get you going.

This genealogy resources will help you:

  • Get started documenting
  • Record your research
  • Census research
  • Learn how to request records
  • Research military records
  • DNA testing information
  • Become better oriented with online resources
  • Search for records
  • Citing articles
  • Get tips for when you find problems in the records
  • Plan for visits to where your ancestors lived and tips for what to do when there
  • Take advantage of library resources

The book also contains a few blank forms from census records that you can use to write down info you find in a census. You’ll be able to see the differences between the 1800-1810, 1820, 1830-1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and the 1930 U.S. Censuses. This book has 342 pages of content and was published in 2005.

Family Tree Guide to Finding Your Ellis Island Ancestors

A great resource for learning about how to search and obtain records from Ellis Island.  If you had ancestors that came to the United States, this is a great resource.  Learn about:

  • The extent of the records at Ellis Island
  • How to search the records
  • The process that immigrants went through when they came to the island
  • History of the island
  • Information on deportation
  • Lists of other resources to help you in your ancestry search
  • Information about the Wall of Honor

The book contains 152 pages of content and also has blank immigration forms from the various years that you can use to transcribe information you find.  The book was published in 2005.