The Midwest Genealogy Center (MGC) is often described as a physical genealogy library—but that description undersells its value. MGC also provides significant online resources, digital collections, databases, and research tools that can be used by genealogists anywhere in the country. While its geographic strength is the Midwest, its collections and databases support research for: For […]
The Italian Genealogy Group (IGG) is one of the most valuable free genealogy destinations for researching Italian-American ancestors—yet it remains unknown to many hobbyists. Unlike general genealogy sites, IGG hosts specialized databases, transcriptions, and indexes created specifically to support Italian-American research. For genealogists, IGG is especially useful for: This site is not a blog or […]
The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) Genealogy Center is a major genealogical research destination, even for researchers who never set foot in Indiana. While best known as a physical library, the Genealogy Center also provides extensive online databases, digital collections, indexes, and research tools that are freely accessible. For genealogists, the ACPL Genealogy Center is […]
The Digital Library on American Slavery (DLAS) provides free access to legal and legislative records related to slavery, primarily from Southern states. Unlike narrative history sites, DLAS focuses on documents that name people—both enslaved individuals and enslavers. For genealogists, this site is valuable for: Download the Quicksheet PDF To obtain a two-page Quicksheet PDF of […]
The Dawes Rolls are one of the most important record groups for researching Native American ancestors connected to the Five Civilized Tribes: Created between 1898 and 1914, these rolls documented individuals eligible for tribal citizenship during the allotment of tribal lands in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Download the Quicksheet PDF To obtain a two-page Quicksheet […]
A “feature” of older newspapers is the use of the hyphen. Hyphenated words were often used heavily to save space and due to the limitations of fixed-width type. This Quicksheet includes a description, with examples, of the benefits of searching for hyphenated words in your online search of old newspapers. It will get you as […]
Most genealogists have heard of Google — far fewer have used Google Scholar. Those who do often assume it is “only for academics.” In reality, Google Scholar functions as a quiet discovery engine for obscure publications that frequently contain names, places, institutions, and community information relevant to genealogy. Google Scholar is not a genealogy database.It […]
Are you researching newspapers and getting everything you should out of your research? Here are 33 different types of information that you may not have considered that are available in old newspapers. Download the Quicksheet PDF To obtain a two-page Quicksheet PDF of the information, download it by clicking on the Download button below: For […]
The Official Federal Land Records Site—commonly called the BLM GLO Records site—is one of the most important land research tools available to genealogists. It documents the transfer of federal public land into private ownership, primarily in states created from public-domain land. If your ancestor: This site may contain the original land patent that put that […]
Most genealogists have either never heard of JSTOR or assume it is “only for professors.” In reality, JSTOR quietly hosts millions of digitized pages that can contain direct references to people, schools, churches, organizations, towns, occupations, and institutions connected to family history research. JSTOR is not a genealogy database.It is a content discovery platform — […]