Research your genealogy by using the library resources available to you below. Before you dig in, here are a few things to remember:
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- Spelling names correctly or consistently was not overly important to our ancestors. Think of every possible way that a name could be spelled, and check them all. Also try searching last name first AND first name first.
- Research siblings, too. You never know when you’ll find a record for one of them that connects to more information on the whole family.
- Interview your living relatives ASAP!
- Remember that borders changed frequently. Check Google historical timelines and histories of your ancestors’ countries.
- Document your sources – this will not only help prove your information, but keep you from searching the same place more than once.
- Just because it’s on the Internet, doesn’t mean it’s true. It’s best to find more than one resource for your “facts”. But, DO record approximate dates, i.e. “ab. 1904” or “May 1905” until you have a solid, real date.
- Printable forms can be downloaded from Ancestry and Cyndi’s List.
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Best known for its health reports, 23andMe also has an enormous pool of DNA testers: over 10 million. This makes it a great place to look for DNA matches (relatives) who may know something about your origins that you don’t. It doesn’t have as many tools to help reconstruct your family tree using DNA as AncestryDNA or MyHeritage DNA, but its genetically-oriented Family Tree is unique and helpful.
American Ancestors® is a national nonprofit center for family history, heritage & culture based in Boston, Massachusetts, that has been setting the gold standard for family history research since its founding in 1845.Today, American Ancestors serves more than 400,000 members and online subscribers through AmericanAncestors.org, one of the world’s largest online collections of free family history resources, scholarship, educational programming and events.
Ancestry, Library Edition (in library use only)
Discover your family’s history using this collection containing more than 4,000 databases and 1.5 billion names covering the U.S. and U.K.
More than 15 million people have taken DNA tests here, making it a prime place to connect with genetic relatives. Powerful tools help users compare their family trees with each other and figure out how they might be related. The proprietary Genetic Communities help reveal ancestral migration patterns.
This is a budget-friendly, scaled-down version of Ancestry.com, its owner. The core historical record collections are for the United States, so this may be a good option for beginning researchers who believe their families have been in the United States for several generations.
Search an enormous, free GPS-tagged database of tombstone images, or upload your own with the companion app. Users can add personal history information to individual photos and link them to other tombstone images. Subscribers can access premium features, including cemetery maps showing plot locations, enhanced GPS mapping and alerts for your previous searches.
Consider Cyndi Ingle’s free site your table of contents for online genealogy. You’ll find lists of sites dedicated to researching particular places, types of records, ethnic and religious groups, and more. Check out the Beginner’s category for guides and tips just for newbies. But also watch for topics you’re interested in, like military research or DNA.
The Library of Congress’ portal to historical newspapers has two important areas of content: digitized newspaper pages (1777–1963)—and a comprehensive index to all known newspapers published in the United States and where to find them today. Check back frequently for new content. To learn more about using the site, including what’s on it and what’s not, click on the Help section.
Family Search, Affiliate Edition (in library use only)
Homewood Public Library is a Family Search Affiliate Library. Utilizing this site provides in library access to over two billion digitized records, including 400 million images not currently available to the public outside of an Affiliate Library or a Family search Family History Center.
This DNA testing company offers more than the standard autosomal DNA test provided by others. Customers can also choose various levels of YDNA testing, to look at paternal-line ancestry (for men only), and mtDNA testing, to look at deep maternal ancestry (both women and men can take this test). Join different kinds of DNA projects to compare your DNA with others of the same geographic, cultural or surname origin.
Our own website offers abundant tools and how-to’s for beginners. Under Free Resources, find downloadable forms, ebooks, cheat sheets, our podcast and more. The cheat sheets can be especially helpful for beginners: don’t miss our Genealogy Essentials downloads, Record References, ethnic research aids and top online genealogy tricks. Join our Premium membership for access to articles on many topics for beginners and beyond or take an online class from one of our experts (find these under the Shop menu).
If you have roots in England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales, consider subscribing to gain access to millions of parish records, censuses, military and criminal records, and millions of British and Irish newspapers. Under the Help menu, explore the Getting Started section. DNA tests offered through Findmypast offer especially detailed geographic origins reports within Britain and Ireland.
Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials or add photos, virtual flowers and a note to a loved one’s memorial.
This is the go-to source for digitized US military records from the Revolutionary War forward. Using the Help link (which you can access without a login), learn basic finding strategies and how to add ancestral memorials or even organize a gallery of family content. This section may help you decide whether to subscribe, so you can search and see a lot of records that used to be accessible only through the National Archives.
GenealogyBank is home to more than 13,000 big-city and small-town newspaper titles; the site claims 95% are exclusive to their site. Search results are labeled as historical or modern obituaries, marriage notices, immigration records, and the like, making it easier to find what you’re looking for. Scroll to the bottom of the site for tutorials on researching various ethnicities and a portal to 260 million obituaries.
The Illinois State Archives preserves county and state records, including pre-Chicago fire documents. They have indexed vital records, early land grants, military records such as muster rolls and Civil War registers. All federal and state censuses are available. Their surname card index covers much of the collection
A record containing Irish baptisms, marriages, and burial records.
JewishGen serves as the global home for Jewish genealogy. Featuring unparalleled access to millions of records, it offers unique search tools, along with opportunities for researchers to connect with others who share similar interests.
The newest of the major genetic genealogy companies, this one is best known for offering the most detailed breakdown for ancestral origins in Britain and Ireland. It doesn’t yet have as robust a customer base as the others (limiting your options for finding DNA matches) or robust tools for determining the nature of relationships to genetic matches.
If you have more recent immigrant origins or are especially interested in finding overseas cousins, consider subscribing to MyHeritage, home to more than 17 billion historical records and DNA testing. This Israeli website is strongest for continental Europe, Scandinavian countries and Jewish research. You can pay just for family tree-building tools or historical record access or combine them.
The National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, and Presidential Library museums are open. Find out hours of operation on each museum’s website.
Access more than 120 million digitized newspaper pages dating to 1607. The site is easy on the eye and easy to navigate. Browse newspapers by state and city (and for other countries), or enter names and other keywords along with desired dates and locations. Click on Help to take tutorials on using the site.
Access more than 120 million digitized newspaper pages dating to 1607. The site is easy on the eye and easy to navigate. Browse newspapers by state and city (and for other countries), or enter names and other keywords along with desired dates and locations. Click on Help to take tutorials on using the site.
RootsWeb – the Internet’s oldest and largest FREE genealogical community. An award winning genealogical resource with searchable databases
Click the free site’s Humanities tab, then History & Culture > Genealogy to dive into dozens of free how-to articles covering genealogy research basics, online searching, and sharing and preserving the past. You won’t do actual research on this site, but you’ll learn a lot. Because each article leads to more detailed and related articles on the same site, it’s easy to lose track of what you’ve read. Refer back frequently to the main topics tabs (Basics, Surnames, Genealogy Fun and Vital Records Around the World) if you want to read systematically through everything offered.
A hands-on, try-this-now approach to finding answers from DNA testing—whether you’ve tested already or not. Under Learn, find easy-reading introductions to specific questions you can ask your DNA, such as ethnicity and geographical origins; finding biological relatives; and identifying unknown ancestors on your family tree.
As the custodian of our distant past and recent history, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is a key resource for all Canadians who wish to gain a better understanding of who they are, individually and collectively. LAC acquires, processes, preserves and provides access to our documentary heritage and serves as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.
We honor the immigrant experience and the pursuit of freedom through preservation efforts, educational initiatives, and community programs. As caretakers of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, we work to create bridges to history and to foster an appreciation for the rich tapestry of our national identity.
Includes sites to research emigration, immigration and naturalization, 100+ passenger list sites, ethnic research, libraries and archives, and passenger ships.
Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy 1719–1820
The fruits of 15 years of work by Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, this site employs powerful search tools to comb through data on 100,000 enslaved Louisianans.
Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy 1719–1820
AfriGeneas is a site devoted to African American genealogy, to researching African Ancestry in the Americas in particular and to genealogical research and resources in general. It is also an African Ancestry research community featuring the AfriGeneas mail list, the AfriGeneas message boards and daily and weekly genealogy chats.
Christine Charity’s site is an especially helpful one for researching African American ancestors. She’s got digitized wills and census schedules, plus good links and information about African genealogy and related articles and databases.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
Search names and regimental stories of the Union Army’s African American units, or link to other National Park sites that interpret Civil War history.
Digital Library on American Slavery
This resource from the library of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro searches information culled from thousands of slavery-related county court and legislative petitions, wills, estate inventories and civil suits, filed in 15 states and the District of Columbia from 1751 to 1867. More than 150,000 individuals are named in the documents, including 80,000 slaves and 8,000 free people of color.
Documenting the American South: North American Slave Narratives
This rich site from the University of North Carolina is especially strong on the African American experience, including such collections as “The Church in the Southern Black Community,” “Colonial and State Records of North Carolina,” and “North American Slave Narratives.”
Fold3 Black History Collection
Find more than 1 million photos and documents related to Black history, ranging from slavery to the 20th century civil rights movement.
Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware
Read through digitized record indexes for several Southern states.
Search records from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. The site also points you to related websites with Freedmen’s Bureau information.
International African American Museum Center for Family History
This handsome site is home to photos, videos, articles, a helpful blog and a growing collection of funeral programs, obituaries, historical documents and family histories.
This site focuses on records that document the heritage of African Americans in the historic rice-growing areas of South Carolina, Georgia and northeastern Florida, home to the distinctive Gullah/Geechee culture. Records include those of the wealthy Drayton family, which owned several plantations, plus Freedmen’s Bureau and Freedman’s Bank papers.
National Archives’ Guide to African-American Genealogical Resources
This guide to National Archive records is helpful in finding and researching African American ancestors, plus links to resources on other sites.
National Archives Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
Guide to federal records of the Freedmen’s Bureau in the National Archives.
This site examines the spread of American slavery into the borderlands between the United States and Mexico from 1820 to 1850. A database has population statistics for slaves and slaveowners.
Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative
This database, created by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and hosted by the Library of Virginia, lets you search or browse for those enslaved who lived in Virginia.