Subject Guides
Guide Contents
Major Family History Websites
- Ancestry.com
Slightly different from Ancestry Library Edition (see the Subscription Databases tab). A paid subscription is required, but also offers a limited free trial. Note: several New York repositories have formed a partnership with Ancestry.com to digitize family history records and make them available online for free to New York State residents. This access requires a free Ancestry.com New York account. Go to the New York State Archives Ancestry.com partnership web page to begin.
- FamilySearch
A free account is required to view some resources. Founded as the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1894, FamilySearch is dedicated to preserving historical and genealogical records and helping people connect with their ancestors through easy access to historical records. FamilySearch works together with records custodians to help them provide timely, economic, secure, and broad access to their records while maintaining access control and identity. The collections of FamilySearch include documents such as civil registration records; church records; and probate, census, land, tax, and military records. The collection also contains compiled sources such as family histories, clan and lineage genealogies, oral pedigrees, and local histories. Their Research Wiki is particularly helpful in locating potentially useful resources.
- American Ancestors
Membership-based site which provides access to numerous digital resources and genealogical publications.
- Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
A comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links to genealogical research sites, but can be overwhelming at first glance. The easiest way to get started is by choosing the "Categories' tab at the left of the page and narrowing your search from there.
Maps & Atlases
- Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
A project of the William M. Scholl Center for American History and Culture at The Newberry Library in Chicago, the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries is a powerful historical research and reference tool in electronic form. The Atlas presents in maps and text complete data about the creation and all subsequent changes (dated to the day) in the size, shape, and location of every county in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia. It also includes non-county areas, unsuccessful authorizations for new counties, changes in county names and organization, and the temporary attachments of non-county areas and unorganized counties to fully functioning counties. The principal sources for these data are the most authoritative available: the session laws of the colonies, territories, and states that created and changed the counties.
- Sanborn Maps from the Library of Congress
A searchable database of the fire insurance maps published by the Sanborn Map Company housed in the collections of the Geography and Map Division at the Library of Congress.
- David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Now housed at Stanford University, this collection includes more than 200,000 maps, focusing on rare 16th through 21st century maps of North and South America, as well as maps of the World, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The collection includes atlases, globes, wall maps, school geographies, pocket maps, books of exploration, maritime charts, and a variety of cartographic materials including pocket, wall, children's, and manuscript maps.
Other Useful Genealogical Resources
- Find a Grave
This crowdsourced project provides information about cemeteries and individual memorials, with more than 226 million records. This can be useful as a starting point, but you will want to verify information by other means, due to the unverified nature of the site.
- New York Heritage Digital Collections
A portal to digitized archival collections from around New York state.
- NYS Historic Newspapers
Provides free online access to a wide range of newspapers chosen to reflect New York's unique history, with more than 13 million pages images available.
- PERSI
The premier subject index for genealogy and local history periodicals, produced by the staff of The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library (Indiana). Provides more than 3.1 million citations to readily-available periodical sources.
- SlaveVoyages
A collaborative digital initiative that compiles and makes publicly accessible records of the largest slave trades in history. Search these records to learn about the broad origins and forced relocations of more than 12 million African people who were sent across the Atlantic in slave ships, and hundreds of thousands more who were trafficked within the Americas. Explore where they were taken, the numerous rebellions that occurred, the horrific loss of life during the voyages, the identities and nationalities of the perpetrators, and much more.
- US GenWeb Project
Established in 1996 by a group of genealogists who shared a desire to create free online resources for genealogical research. Originally beginning with online directories of text-based resources, their vision has grown into a network of over 3,000 linked websites, all individually created and maintained by a community of volunteers. Today you may find a variety of unique county and state resources including photos, maps, transcriptions, historical documents, helpful links, and much more.
Special Collections Librarian
Jeremy Dibbell
he/him
Contact:
Special Collections, Bartle Library
jdibbell@binghamton.edu
607-777-4823
jdibbell@binghamton.edu
607-777-4823
Subjects: Special Collections
