101 Best Websites for Genealogy in 2012: European Family History Sites

Avotaynu

Danish Demographic Database

Your Danish ancestors await in these free databases of censuses from 1787 onward; emigration records on 400,000 Danes who departed from Copenhagen or via Hamburg (1868 to 1908); and probate records from Thisted, Viborg, Aalborg and Randers counties. You even can find Caribbean kin in censuses from St. Croix when it was a Danish colony.

Digitalarkivet

A new server adds search flexibility to this rich site from the National Archives of Norway, with a growing collection of parish and land records in addition to the 1801, 1865, 1875, 1900 and 1910 Norwegian censuses.

Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies

Click on your ancestral homeland on this site’s Resource Directory map and discover the wealth of records and research tips here, from Switzerland in the west to Russia in the east and all points between.

Genlias

Records of Dutch settlers of New York (New Amsterdam until 1674) are now available from this site, which is also adding early Netherlands parish records and inheritance declarations. The core of Genlias’ more than 15 million records on more than 64 million individuals remains its post-1811 civil registers, the most important source for Dutch ancestors.

JewishGen

Start your quest for Jewish ancestors at this free, easy-to-use site affiliated with the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Databases include the Family Tree of the Jewish People, Family Finder database of 400,000 surnames and towns, ShtetLinks for 200-plus communities, the Online Worldwide Burial Registry, and the 1.5-million-entries Yizkor Book Master Name Index.