Maps & Geography » General Resources

PlaceBeam.com

When a location is entered, the site will find nearby places. In addition to other locations - towns, villages, other fixed objects - towers, reserves, etc, it will provide information like distance from the original location, where the place is located, type of location, and possibly population. There are other categories that could be selected other than places that involve commercial enterprises. Use it to see how far other places are from the place of research.

Same Place, Different Name

Provides an example of how the modern county of Sullivan, Tennessee wandered between three different states over the course of its history.

the BIG Map Blog

A blog by a filmmaker/geographer providing enormous maps and access to the full-resolution file. All kinds of historic maps.

TreeAlive - Follow Your Ancestors Across Historical Maps

TreeAlive is a free genealogy visualization tool that turns GEDCOM files into animated migration maps and videos. Upload your family tree and see ancestors placed on era-matched historical maps from the 1500s to the present, with 98,000+ maps covering the United States, Canada, Australia, British Isles, and Europe. Features include a Time Machine that overlays historical maps from the David Rumsey Collection beneath ancestor locations, shareable map links, and FamilySearch integration. Works with GEDCOM exports from Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, Family Tree Maker, and RootsMagic. All processing runs in the browser with nothing stored on servers.

Walking in their Footsteps: Maps and the Family Historian

This post on The Parchment Rustler explores a range of practical mapping methods which can help you to amke decisions in your genealogy research. Illustrations depict the Outlier Method, used to identify possible errors or unusual points in your work, and Context Embedding, where you use maps to highlight other record sources to look at. A variety of digital resources and working tips are also included.

Wikimedia Commons Atlas

World Maps

Online maps of general interest. Maps of the world.