text: These may help get you started.\n\nhttp://www.cyndislist.com/\n(240,000+ links, all cross-indexed.)\n\nhttp://www.familysearch.com\n(Mormon's mega-site)\n\nhttp://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi\n(450,000,000+ entries, of varying quality)\n\nhttp://www.usgenweb.net/\n(Subdivided into state sites, which all have county sites.)\n\nhttp://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi\n(Social Security Death index - click on "Advanced".)\n\nhttp://find.person.superpages.com/\n(US Phone book, for looking up distant cousins)\n\nhttp://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln=\nSurname meanings and origins\n\nA word of warning - there isn't a magic site that will take your name in and give you a 12-generation pedigree. Genealogy takes time.\n\nA second W. of W. - You won't find living people on any of the sites except the phone book one. You will have to find your grandparents' or great grandparents' birth dates and maiden names somewhere besides the Internet.\n\nA third W. of W. - The free sites are supported by advertising, just like TV. You can't watch the Super Bowl without seeing a beer commercial, and you can't surf for dead relatives without seeing an Ancestry advertisement. Don't complain about advertisements. They bring you the "free" sites. There's no such thing as a free lunch.