Maps & Geography » General Resources

One Place Studies

A one-place-study (OPS) considers your ancestors in their physical and social context. By learning about your ancestors' neighbours and studying the historical environment and events, big and small, that took place within a village, you can gain a greater understanding of your own genealogy.

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.

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.