Resources

If you’re new to genealogy, a good starting point is probably to make an account at one of the popular genealogy websites. Ancestry.com, myheritage.com, and familysearch.com are probably the most popular sites, and each has its pros and cons. Start with a free or trial account and see how you like it. There are also many genealogy experts blogging and making YouTube videos to help you get going. 

Wikitree is another amazing resource. It’s a crowd-sourced global family tree. Unlike the other genealogy sites, in which you make individual family trees, Wikitree is one single world-wide family tree that all users add to and maintain together. So while Eva Catherine Gravius von Medard Simmon may appear in a half dozen trees on ancestry.com, with various sources and spellings and connections, there is just one profile for her on Wikitree that any user can connect to or improve with better information and sourcing. Wikitree’s learning curve is a bit steeper than the other sites and it’s more rigorous in terms of providing sources for information (it’s a bit like Wikipedia in that respect).

Other resources that may be helpful include websites like newspapers.com (great for finding obituaries and other articles of genealogical interest) and findagrave.com (self-explanatory). 

Connect with local genealogy resources
Once you identify a particular geographic region of interest, there will likely be local resources that can enhance your searching. For the Simmon family, the resources in Rock Island County, Illinois proved invaluable. There are a few places that have some information and records about original setter families in the county, including the Simmons.

While websites and email can be a great starting place, often with local resources like these, picking up the phone and talking to a person who is actually there will be most useful.