There are a wide variety of local history and genealogy resources available online for free. These may be accessed from any computer or device with internet access. If you are looking for records in a specific state or county, try Googling the area. For example, most states are beginning to host online digital archives so a Google search for "Washington State Digital Archive" may produce some great websites to look at. Another great place to look is state historical societies and archives. The real gems are often found at small, local locations like public libraries. These sites often offer small, digitized projects that are very specific to their town or county. Looking for an area library and then searching their webpage for their genealogical resources can be a tremendous help. Evansville Vanderburg Public Library is a great example of this. Their database of local genealogical data was compiled from more than 537,000 index cards created by Charles Browning, an area resident and span the decades from 1900 to current day! State Digital Resources - list compiled by the Library of Congress; lots of great sites here! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Illinois Illinois State Archives: Many online databases to search. Edgar County Genealogical Society: Many Clark County families also have Edgar Co. roots! Illinois Digital Archives: Repository for the digital collections of libraries across Illinois. Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection: Newspapers digitized by University of Illinois. Pape Funeral Home: over 275,00 names in database from Danville, IL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indiana Vigo County: Vigo County Online Indexes: Online index of Vigo County obituaries; images of marriage records New Albany-Floyd County Public Library - great list of websites available through this library. Some great local Indiana resources. Knox County: Sullivan County: Sullivan County Public Library ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michigan: Seeking Michigan - online home of the Michigan Historical Center, includes Archives of Michigan research guides and indexes, a blog, and educator resources Missouri: Missouri Digital Heritage - Through the Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative, the Missouri State Archives and the Missouri State Library, in partnership with the State Historical Society of Missouri, are assisting institutions across the state in digitizing their records and placing them online for easy access. Washington: Washington State Digital Archive - This is a wonderful collection of state resources with many scanned documents available to print directly from the site for no cost. Includes birth, death, land, cemetery records and more. Wisconsin: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where To Write for Vital Records: This document from Publications.USA.gov provides information about individual vital records maintained only on file in State or local vital statistics offices. Digital State Archives : Links to many state archive pages throughout the U.S. Civil War Soldiers and Sailors : The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Other information on the site includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, which will be amended over time. US City Directories: City Directories, arguably one of the most over-looked resources by genealogists, have been around since the 1700s. This web site will attempt to identify all printed, microfilmed, and online directories, and their repositories, for the United States. Bureau of Land Management Land Records : Offers images of original land patents  Roots Web : Many resources available here - state sites, message boards, and more. Family Search : Many records available from this free site run by the Church of Latter Day Saints. MyHeritage.com : Free family tree building website. Find A Grave: Volunteer based virtual cemetery. Many photos and some obituaries can be found here. Digital Public Library of America: The vision of a national digital library has been circulating among librarians, scholars, educators, and private industry representatives since the early 1990s. Efforts led by a range of organizations, including the Library of Congress, HathiTrust, and the Internet Archive, have successfully built resources that provide books, images, historic records, and audiovisual materials to anyone with Internet access. Many universities, public libraries, and other public-spirited organizations have digitized materials, but these digital collections often exist in silos. The DPLA brings these different viewpoints, experiences, and collections together in a single platform and portal, providing open and coherent access to our society’s digitized cultural heritage. (description from DPLA website) |
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