National and Out-of-State Research Links
Here is a list of links to free websites and databases that are helpful in researching historical and genealogical topics. They are not a complete list and we may add some more from time to time as we find them. For a more comprehensive list of links, you should visit Cyndi’s List.
Links for Nation-wide Resources
| FamilySearch | This is a free database with millions of records, most of which you have to skim through yourself, but it has more and different records than Ancestry. Used in combination, you can find a ton of information from these two sites. Used through a FREE subscription |
| US National Archives Research Database | Search through the National Archives Database and skim through US Censuses, some military records, videos, pictures, and more |
| Soldiers & Sailors Database | National Park Service database to search for Civil War soldiers and sailors. It’s very helpful for finding clues about ancestors who served on either side. |
| The Official Federal Land Records Site | Search through the database using names or township, range, section, meridian, and state information to find maps and land patent information. This is great for finding out about where ancestors lived. |
| Library of Congress Digital Collections | Search through the digital collections and maybe find information on counties or states that ancestors lived in. |
| Chronicling America | Library of Congress project to digitize American newspapers from across the country into a searchable database. |
| Community History Archive Newspaper Directory | This is a collaboration between libraries across the country that digitize newspapers and put it in a searchable database. Filter through the directory and then click on the map pin of a newspaper you want to search. |
| Find A Grave | Search through cemetery graves for clues on where your ancestors are buried. These are updated by public users. |
| Search ABMC Burials and Memorials | Search for names of casualties from WWI to the Vietnam War that have been buried at overseas military cemeteries, memorials, or are listed on the Walls of the Missing. |
| Ellis Island Passenger Search | Search for passenger records for immigrant ancestors that passed through Ellis Island. |
State Resources
| ALABAMA | ADAH Digital Collections | The Alabama Department of Archives & History digital collections database. This includes newspapers, historic records, pictures, and more. |
| ADAH – Explore Our Collections | ADAH Collections list with links to different databases and information. Databases include: Electronic Records Collections, Civil War Soldiers Database, 1867 Voter Registration Database, and World War I Goldstar Database | |
| Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections | Searchable database containing newspapers, books, historic records, and pictures. | |
| ALASKA | ||
| ARIZONA | Arizona Genealogy Record Search | Search for Arizona Vital Records and view images of vital records. |
| National Park Service Mission 2000 | Database for Pimeria Alta missions records in Arizona dating from the 1600s to mid-1800s in Southern Arizona and the Northern Sonora, Mexico. It contains records for deaths, births, baptisms, marriages, and other events. | |
| Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers | Database of Arizona newspapers through the Arizona State Library. | |
| Arizona Memory Project | Searchable collections of Arizona history including newspapers, oral histories, pictures, and more. | |
| ARKANSAS | Arkansas State Archives | This goes to the collections information page for the Arkansas State Archives. The page has links to regional collections (mostly from universities), of which some have viewable records. |
| Arkansas Death Certificate Search and Order Service | Searchable database for Arkansas death records between 1935 and 1961. | |
| Arkansas Gravestone Photo Project | This is a database project to digitize cemeteries in Arkansas | |
| CALIFORNIA | California Digital Newspaper Collection | Searchable database for newspapers in California |
| COLORADO | Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection | Searchable collection of over 2 million historic newspapers from Colorado. |
| Plains to Peaks Historic Newspapers | A joint project between the Colorado Historic Newspapers Project and the Wyoming Newspapers Project to make one searchable database to find articles from both states. | |
| Colorado State Archives | Searchable database for historical records in the Colorado State Archives | |
| Denver Public Library’s Digital Collections | Searchable database containing historic records, pictures, maps, and more | |
| Colorado Marriage Records 1858-1939 | Link to the Denver Public Library’s Digital Collections database. | |
| Colorado Gravestone Photo Project | Project to document cemeteries and headstones in Colorado | |
| CONNECTICUT | ||
| DELAWARE | ||
| FLORIDA | ||
| GEORGIA | ||
| HAWAII | ||
| IDAHO | ||
| ILLINOIS | Illinois State Archives Databases | A list of free, searchable databases from the Illinois State Archives. These include multiple death indexes, land records, veterans indexes, birth indexes, marriage indexes, case files, and more. |
| Illinois Digital Newspapers Collection | A project by the University of Illinois to digitize state newspapers into a searchable database. | |
| Lawrence County Digital Newspapers | A searchable database for local newspapers through Community History Archive | |
| INDIANA | Hoosier State Chronicles | A searchable database for Indiana newspapers, created by the Indiana Digital Historic Newspaper Program |
| IOWA | Iowa Culture – Newspapers | List of Iowa newspapers that are digitized and online, with links to each database. |
| Digital Archives of Southeast Iowa | Newspaper collection through Advantage-Preservation. It’s a searchable database containing newspapers from southeast Iowa. | |
| Digital Archives of Monroe County Historical Society | Searchable database of newspapers from Monroe County | |
| KANSAS | Kansas State Historical Society | The research index for the KSHS with links to tons of searchable databases for Kansas history and genealogy. |
| Kansas Digital Newspapers | This is a link through the Kansas State Historical Society to view all Kansas newspapers that have been digitized with Newspapers.com for free. | |
| Kansas Memory | A digital archive with historical records and information from all across Kansas. Very useful for background research about areas where ancestors lived. | |
| Territorial Kansas Online, 1854-1861 | Compilation of records from Territorial Kansas through the University of Kansas Libraries. Good for background research. | |
| KENTUCKY | Kentucky Digital Newspaper Program | A searchable database for Kentucky newspapers created by the University of Kentucky. |
| LOUISIANA | ||
| MAINE | ||
| MARYLAND | ||
| MICHIGAN | Michigan Memories | A database collection for historical records from all over Michigan |
| Hoyt Local History & Genealogy Collection | A collection of databases of historical records and resources for Michigan, especially Saginaw, created by the Hoyt Library. | |
| MINNESOTA | ||
| MISSOURI | Missouri Digital Heritage | A collection of databases and records through the Missouri State Archives, the Missouri State Library, and other institutions and organizations in Missouri. |
| Missouri Digital Newspaper Project | This is a list of links to Missouri newspapers that have been uploaded to Newspapers.com and Chronicling America. With the Newspaper.com uploads, when you click on one, you are automatically taken to the Newspapers.com-Missouri site, and you can search the whole state for free. | |
| Missouri Birth & Death Records Database, Pre-1910 | Searchable databases for birth and death records before 1910. | |
| Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 – 1970 | This is a searchable database, with downloadable images of death certificates through Missouri Digital Heritage. | |
| The Missouri Death Index | Search for names and death dates of people who have died between 1968 and 2015. This is good for finding relatives that you already know the date of death and/or name of. | |
| Soldiers’ Records: War of 1812 – World War I | Searchable database of Missouri military records. Some have images attached to them. | |
| MISSISSIPPI | ||
| MONTANA | ||
| NEBRASKA | Nebraska Newspapers | Searchable database for digitized newspapers in Nebraska, created by the University of Nebraska. |
| History Nebraska | Link to the History Nebraska website, which has genealogy and historical resources for the state. | |
| NEVADA | ||
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | ||
| NEW JERSEY | ||
| NEW MEXICO | New Mexico Digital Collections | Database for historical documents and pictures through the University of New Mexico |
| New Mexico Historical Newspapers | Searchable digital newspaper archive created by the University of New Mexico | |
| Fray Angélico Chávez History Library Obituary Database | Searchable obituary database covering New Mexico newspapers from the 1860s to present, created by the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library. | |
| NEW YORK | ||
| NORTH CAROLINA | North Carolina Early Newspapers | Database through North Carolina State Archives to search in digitized newspapers from 1752-1898 |
| North Carolina Newspapers | Database from the North Carolina State Archives to search through digitized newspapers from 1752-present | |
| North Carolina Digital Collections | Joint project between the North Carolina State Archives and the North Carolina State Library to create a searchable database containing historic records, newspapers, pictures, and more. | |
| NORTH DAKOTA | ||
| OHIO | Ohio Memory | A Collaborative Program of the Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio. It is a searchable database for Ohio history, including historic records, newspapers, pictures, and more. |
| Ohio Memory – Newspapers | Link to a list of Ohio Newspapers that have been digitized. | |
| The Digital Shoebox Project | A collaboration between libraries in southeastern Ohio to make a searchable database with historic records from that area. | |
| OREGON | Oregon Historic Newspapers | Searchable newspaper database from the University of Oregon |
| PENNSYLVANIA | ||
| RHODE ISLAND | ||
| SOUTH CAROLINA | ||
| SOUTH DAKOTA | ||
| TENNESSEE | ||
| TEXAS | The Portal to Texas History | Database for Texas History, much like our Oklahoma Gateway. It includes searchable newspapers, books, pictures, and more. |
| Texas Marriage Certificate Search | Database of Texas Marriage Records from 1966-2013 | |
| Texas Divorce Search | Database of Texas Divorce Records from 1966-2013 | |
| Courthouse Direct | Searchable court record database for Texas, California, and New Mexico. | |
| UTAH | Utah Digital Newspapers | Searchable database for digital newspapers from Utah. |
| VERMONT | ||
| VIRGINIA | Virginia Chronicle | The Library of Virginia’s database containing newspapers from all over the state. |
| WASHINGTON | ||
| WEST VIRGINIA | ||
| WISCONSIN | ||
| WYOMING | Plains to Peaks Historic Newspapers | A joint project between the Colorado Historic Newspapers Project and the Wyoming Newspapers Project to make one searchable database to find articles from both states. |