Welcome to Dixon-Genealogy. I am very happy that you are joining us here and I hope the experience will be beneficial. If there is anything I can do to make your experience more productive, please post a comment on the Future Enhancements page or email me at Bill@dixon-genealogy.com.

Surnames Covered on this site include over 1000 surnames with over 17,000 entries. Surnames with significant numbers of entries include: Adamson, Allen, Andersen, Anderson, Beeson, Brown, Browne, Carter, Clark, Cope, Cox, Davis, Dickson, Dixon, Downey, Ellison, Fitzpatrick, Frederick, Green, Gregg, Hadley, Hanna, Harlan, Hensel, Hiatt, Holloway, Hostetter, Imhoff, Jones, Keith, Korth, Ladwig, Leinen, Lindley, Mendenhall, Milhous, Nichols, Packer, Pennock, Ried, Rogers, Spencer, Stanley, Sutherland and Vernon. There are too many surnames to mention here however I can research any name to help you get your research jump-started. Just post a comment on the appropriate Genealogy Page on this site or send an email and I will respond with my research with any relevant information.

I am adding content on a regular basis so please check back often.

Site Navigation – The navigation tabs across the top of each page list the main pages only. Individual pages within Page Groups can be accessed at the top of the left sidebar. As an example, The Dixon Page can only be accessed from the left sidebar. I will find a way to include this information on the main navigation tabs on future updates.

Left Sidebar – The left sidebar contains all page navigation links at the top of the sidebar. As you move down the sidebar you will see links to several free research websites, tools and references as follows:

Free Genealogy Research Links:

Family Search – This is the Mormon Church (Latter-Day Saints) website. It has significant genealogical information and it can be very useful in researching your family tree. the tutorials are excellent and it is worth your while to get familiar with all of the resources available before digging in! Also, please be aware of the fact that many family trees are the result of member uploads. They aren’t always accurate so you will have to verify authenticity in many cases. Their site is updated frequently so it is worth while to check it frequently.

Ellis Island – This is a very useful website for tracking ancestors that immigrated to the United States. If they arrived in the early 1900’s and before, chances are that they came through Ellis Island. The Ellis Island Foundation has been making a concerted effort to digitize all records for years. If you initially cannot find what you are looking for, please check back. The site is also updated frequently.

Genealogy GenForums – This site is organized by surname and has a “blog-like” organization. Comments are left by researchers requesting information on family members and other researchers respond. It can be very time consuming because it is a popular site, however when you find difficult answers it is always well worth the time spent! The genealogy surname pages on this site are organized in a similar fashion

The above links should provide you with a good base for your research as further defined on the Getting Started page.

Free Genealogy Tools & References:

Family Tree Magazine – This website has a wealth of information including genealogy forms (I have a link to the 5 Generation Ancestor Chart). This site should be a regular part of your research efforts.

Right Sidebar – contains number of uses on the site currently, useful sign-in information and as you move down the sidebar you will see links to paid services and software as follows:

Number of Users – by clicking on the link provided you will be taken to a page which lists users by user name and other information that may or may not be useful!

Sign-in Box – This tab includes registration, sign-in, and logout links as well as other useful information regarding RSS feeds and the obligatory WordPress advertising link. If you are interested in creating your own free blog, WordPress is the way to go. This site is a WordPress site, however I am taking advantage of Content Management System capabilities which are only available by investing in your own domain name, hosting service etc. WordPress is an excellent choice for straight-forward blog sites as well and I cannot over emphasize how impressed I have been with the service and the capabilities for both kinds of sites.

Step-By-Step Genealogy Guide – I wish this guide was available when I started my genealogy research! I bought it recently to see just how good it was and decided to put it on this site. The charge is $21.00 and I believe it is worth every penny. I would recommend starting with the “Getting Started In Your Genealogy Research For Free” steps listed on the Getting Started page initially. My recommendations are a good “first step” to your genealogy research and the book covers more advanced topics, research sites, how to acquire primary and secondary sources, etc. You will reach a point in your research where you will know that it is time to pay the $21.00!

Family Tree Maker – This is the software that I use to manage my family tree. It now has over 17,000 entries as well as maps, images, hundreds of photos and family stories. It has excellent reporting capabilities and has an Internet connection service which provides access to literally hundreds of family trees. If you plan to spend money on family tree software – this is the product to buy.

My Family Website – I subscribed to this service when it first came out and even participated on the advisory board back then. This service is an excellent way to create a private family genealogy website which allows family members (and others that you care to invite) to join and participate. It is a very powerful way to share your research with others including family tree information, photos, photos, and more photos! There are also email capabilities, discussion areas, a file cabinet for useful topics like family stories, and on and on. If you want to share your research with other family members this is the way to go.

Ancestry.com – as you branch out from my recommendations (and I hope that you do!), you will undoubtedly run across this service time after time. Ancestry.com has the only Social Security Death Index now as well as numerous research topics of interest and it is a paid service. I include it here because I use it frequently. I explain on the Getting Started Page how I go about this to minimize my costs and maximize my useful time on this service. There is a free trial however you will find that the search results returned are limited and then you are asked to pay the fee to access the “thousands” of other search results returned. I view it as a very useful service in small doses.

The Getting Started Page – This page has information that will help you get started quickly and hopefully avoid the morass of incorrect information, terrible software products and bad references available on the Internet. As an example, a recent statistic says that approximately 90% of the U.S. population is interested in their family history. However, I am certain that a significant percentage of this population have attempted to find out about their ancestors on-line and gave up because the Internet can present so much confusing (and often incorrect) information. And to add insult to injury, a lot of these sites require that you pay for this information!

We are going to take a step-by-step approach to the research that should result in a 5 generation tree for starters. Once you have completed these basic steps you will become very comfortable with your future research. If not, please email me and I will do what I can to help you and update this site so that others can benefit as well.

The Genealogy Pages – These pages start with an overview page that provides information for general genealogy research and identifies some of the content available on each Surname page. The Surname Pages can be accessed from the top of the left sidebar, and they have content specific to the family name involved. This information includes research links specific to the surname, parts of my family tree in PDF format (no living relatives are listed for obvious reasons), and where possible, some history that may be of interest. I allow comments so that you can ask for specific help for areas of your research that are not yielding the needed family information. By posting a request, genealogists often find that other researchers have some or all of the information needed. All participants are welcome to help and I will do so as well.

Genealogy Videos – The Genealogy Video page has videos that provide useful tips for family trees and genealogy research in general. This page will continue to grow as more content is located.

Future Enhancements – This page is where users of this site can post comments requesting enhancements and additional information that will be of benefit to all. A list of future enhancements is also kept up to date here.

Users Online – This page displays the current number of users on this site currently. I like to see if anyone is actually deriving any benefit from the Dixon Genealogy website!

So, let’s begin!

William S. Dixon