General Sources
Free Family Tree Templates for Organizing Research - from Ancestry.com
www.familysearch.org - great place to start!
www.usgenweb.org - free site maintained by volunteers - information varies state to state, county to county
www.cyndislist.com - links to thousands of useful sites (some free, some not--explore away)
HeritageQuest - Available through public library--requires a library card and PIN number - best source for census records
Specialized Searches and Sites
American
Family Immigration Center - Ellis Island information
http://www.ellisisland.org/
Social Security Death Index
Interactive Search
http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/
Color Landform Atlas of
the U.S.
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html
Historical County Lines
http://jrshelby.com/hcl/
Commercial Sites - some useful information here, but explorations frequently "dead end" unless you are a paying member to the site.
www.genealogy.com
www.ancestry.com
(free trial-- need password)
www.rootsweb.com
For Those Who Get Hooked On This Project:
Free, Self-Paced Genealogy Online Course