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Regional & Ethnic | |
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The 101 Best Family History Web Sites: 2004 Index | |
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August 2004 Issue | |
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Regional & Ethnic
Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History AfriGeneas Alabama Department of Archives & History Arizona Genealogy Birth & Death Certificates Christine's Genealogy Website Colorado State Archives Delaware Public Archives Florida State Archives Genealogical Death Indexing System Hispanic Genealogy Illinois State Archives Index of Native American Resources on the Internet Indiana State Library Kansas State Historical Society Library of Virginia Maryland State Archives Minnesota Historical Society Missouri State Archives Nevada Online Census Database Ohio Historical Society Oregon State Archives Pennsylvania State Archives South Carolina Department of Archives and History Tennessee State Library and Archives Texas State Library & Archives Commission Washington State Archives Western History Photography Collection Western States Historical Marriage Records Index Wisconsin Historical Society Find news and reviews on more great Web sites in the August 2004 Family Tree Magazine.
Paid Content
www.acadian-cajun.com
If you get an ancestral twinge when reading "Evangeline" or stomping to Zydeco music, this handsome, well-organized site is for you. Explore more than 750 pages of tips, links, queries and Acadian-Cajun history.
www.afrigeneas.com
This frequently updated site is an ideal spot to start exploring your African-American ancestry. It offers message boards and genealogy chats as well as databases. The latter include a surname database, slave manifests, deed abstracts, slave bills of sale and city directories of "Free Colored."
www.archives.state.al.us/dataindex.html
Typical of the online explosion that's added so many state archives to our 101 list, the Alabama Archives recently has added databases of Civil War service records, local government records, maps and photos, as well as two databases on its newspaper holdings.
genealogy.az.gov
In February, the Arizona Department of Health Services launched this searchable
database of 400,000 birth and death records. Arizona's not the first state to put vital records online, but what makes this site special is the ability to download images of the certificates in PDF format. (To view an image, you'll need the free Adobe Reader.) The database contains birth records from 1887 to 1928 and death records from 1878 to 1953. (Later records are sealed.)
www.ccharity.com
Another excellent roots resource for African-American researchers, Christine's site shares articles and links, as well as databases covering slave emancipations and lynchings.
www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives
The data collections here stack up almost as high as the Rockies. You'll find indexes to post-1900 birth certificates, graves of Colorado veterans, Civil War volunteers, Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees and even penitentiary inmates.
www.archives.state.de.us
This is a big site for such a small state. Databases cover Delaware probate records (1680 to 1925) and naturalization papers. Digitized archives include historical photos and a variety of documents, from Civil War muster rolls to pages from pauper books.
dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/fsa.html
Follow the link to the Florida Memory Project, which includes a searchable database of more than 100,000 photographs. Then click back to the State Archives site and peruse Sunshine State data collections, including Confederate pension application files, Spanish land grants and (a recent addition) World War I service cards.
www.mdch.state.mi.us/pha/osr/gendisx/search2.htm
If only every state had genealogical volunteers like Michigan's, who have been busy indexing death records and putting them online. So far, this continuous project covers 1867 to 1897. You can search by your male ancestors' names only.
home.att.net/~alsosa
Learn about Hispanic surnames and Spanish heraldry, get tips for finding your Hispanic roots and explore the lists of links on this comprehensive site.
www.ilsos.net/departments/archives/databases.html
One of the first states to put a wealth of genealogical goodies online, Illinois has kept pace by recently updating its statewide marriage index (1763 to 1900) and its servitude and emancipation files. Other databases cover public land transactions, veterans and deaths. You also can see what records are held in the state's regional archives.
www.hanksville.org/NAresources
Going beyond genealogy, this site will help you explore all facets of your American Indian heritage, from language to art to archaeology.
www.statelib.lib.in.us
Follow your Hoosier families with searchable statewide indexes of marriages through 1850, biographies, cemeteries, plus a variety of county records and newspaper indexes. Be sure to search the library's online catalog, too.
www.kshs.org
Don't be so taken with the handsome design of this site—the "Kansas Territory Online" section is a multimedia evocation of your Jayhawk ancestors' day—that you overlook the hard data hidden under the pretty exterior. Online databases and indexes include the 1895 state census, 19th Kansas Cavalry (1868 to 1869) enlistment papers, Topeka State Hospital cemetery records and 1906 Kansas cemeteries.
www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/gene
Though its pioneering Digital Library program was crippled by budget cuts, the Library of Virginia remains a valuable online asset, with 2.2 million original documents, photos and maps in more than 80 databases. Recent additions include a searchable index to names in Confederate Veteran Magazine from 1893 to 1932, more than 45,000 Virginia marriage and obituary entries published between 1780 and 1876, and marriage and obituary indexes for Richmond newspapers from 1804 to 1860. If you're curious about coats of arms, check out the library's new index to information about and illustrations of heraldic symbols.
www.mdarchives.state.md.us
The Archives of Maryland Online encompasses more than 470,000 historical documents, including military records. Dig a bit deeper, and you'll also find the Maryland Church Records, Deaths and Burials Index.
www.mnhs.org
Search for your Minnesota ancestor's death certificate in the 1907 to 1996 index at people.mnhs.org/dci/search.cfm, or picture his past in the searchable collection of 115,000 images at collections.mnhs.org/visualresources.
www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/resources.asp
The "Show Me" state lives up to its name by showing researchers a vital-records database of 185,000 pre-1909 records, plus a WWI service-cards database with abstracts of 145,000 Army and Marine cards and digitized images of 18,500 Navy records. You'll also see guides to local records, an online archives catalog, various court databases and even an index of Civil War provost marshals.
dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/shpo/nvcensus
Nevada is the first state to put all its federal census data online—a whopping 310,000 entries covering 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920. That's impressive enough, but the searchability here is eye-popping: You can search by any field in a given census, such as (for 1880) profession; place of birth; parents' places of birth; and even whether deaf, literate or insane. Want to identify all the widowed women supported by laundry work in Nevada in 1880? Just a few clicks here will find them.
NewEnglandAncestors.org
www.newenglandancestors.org
No other region enjoys a resource quite like this, so if you have New England kin, consider investing $75 for a Research Membership, which includes access to the New England Historic Genealogical Society's online databases—nearly 80 million names in records ranging from court documents to diaries and journals to vital records. Members also can get how-to articles, research information and discussion groups.
www.ohiohistory.org/ar_tools.html
Researchers of recent Ohioans will appreciate the death-certificate index, which covers 1913 to 1937. Those with Ohio ancestors further back in time can explore the complete adjutant general records for the War of 1812 and the Civil War, plus abstracts of more than 12,000 Civil War letters.
arcweb.sos.state.or.us/banners/genealogy.htm
The Oregon Historical Records Index covers census, vital, probate and naturalization records totaling more than half a million entries, including Portland births (1881 to 1902) and deaths (1881 to 1917). You'll also find helpful guides to using county and territorial records, maps and scenic images, plus a descriptive inventory of selected records for each of Oregon's 36 counties.
www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us
Another state that's made great strides in putting its archives on the Web, Pennsylvania has more than 600,000 records online, with more in the works. These include Civil War veterans' cards, Revolutionary War abstract cards, World War I service-medal application cards, Spanish-American War volunteer files, Mexican Border Campaign veterans' cards, and 1775 to 1800 militia officers' cards.
www.state.sc.us/scdah
This site's online index to more than 295,000 documents from 1675 to 1868 lets you search Confederate pension applications, will transcriptions, criminal journals, plats for state land grants and legislative papers. The powerful search engine enables you to pick your database or search across all documents using a combination of terms.
www.state.tn.us/sos/statelib/tslahome.htm
Besides indexes to Tennessee death records (complete from 1908 to 1912, partial from 1914 to 1925), you can explore databases of Confederate pension applications, Spanish-American War records, names from the Acts of Tennessee (1796 to 1850), Southern Claims Commission files, and even state penitentiary inmates (1831 to 1850). Look for the genealogical "fact sheets" for each Tennessee county, as well.
www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc
Deep in the heart of the Texas archives' site, you'll find databases including Confederate pension applications, vital records, claims documents and military service records. Search the archives' Map Collection for original and reproduced maps from the 17th century to the present. (For more maps, visit the Texas Historical Commission site, which has an online atlas of 200,000 historic sites.)
www.secstate.wa.gov/archives
Click on Historical Records Search to find your ancestors in county censuses (1847 to 1910); naturalization records; and prison, marriage and physicians' records. You can search all the databases at once, or check just a few.
gowest.coalliance.org
This online database of digitized historical photos comes from the Denver Public Library Western History/Genealogy Department and the Colorado Historical Society. It's the only photo collection sweeping enough in scope to make our list on images alone. The 100,000 images depict the whole history of the West, from railroads and mining towns to ranch life and recreation, American Indians and pioneers.
abish.byui.edu/specialcollections/fhc/gbsearch.htm
Among the 300,000-plus records you can search in this ambitious project are almost all pre-1900 marriages for Arizona, Idaho and Nevada; marriages in many Idaho, Nevada and Utah counties into the 1930s and later years; and a significant number of marriages from Wyoming, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, western Colorado and select counties in California. The advanced-search feature lets you narrow your search by county.
www.wisconsinhistory.org/library
The society's Wisconsin Name Index lets you search more than 100,000 obituaries and biographical sketches. Other digital resources include the Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, and images from the 19th and 20th centuries. A nice adjunct is the Wisconsin Genealogical Research Service, which lets you use the Web site to search for and request hard copies of pre-1907 Wisconsin birth, death, marriage and Civil War service records ($17.50 for out-of-state nonmembers).
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