Blog – The Ancestor Hunt

Free Online Idaho Death Records and Indexes

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists (as well as the largest of them all – FamilySearch), a great number of indexes to death collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific death information, and sometimes scanned images of the actual death certificates themselves. These free online collections have hundreds of millions of records in them in total.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include death information that are not included in the lists below. For example, newspapers and obituaries have death info, but most times obituary indexes include the date of the obituary but not the date of death. To find out which types of other records may include death information, please see:

21 Ways to Find Ancestors Death Information

The lists below are specific death indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state of Washington.

Note 1: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. In many cases there is a link to the digital collection in the middle of the page, but also near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. Please also note that I have listed below only BMD databases that are accessible digitally from your computer (or tablet/phone)

Note 2: I have included links to Free Ancestry records and indexes. You do not need a subscription, but do need an Ancestry account. Without a subscription, you can view indexes. If there is an image associated with a record, in most cases you will need a subscription, but the index does include very usable information.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Idaho Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Divorce Records
Naturalizations
Church Records
School Records
Coroner Records
Voter Records
Probate and Wills
Immigration
Mortuary Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records

Free Online Colorado Death Records and Indexes

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists (as well as the largest of them all – FamilySearch), a great number of indexes to death collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific death information, and sometimes scanned images of the actual death certificates themselves. These free online collections have hundreds of millions of records in them in total.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include death information that are not included in the lists below. For example, newspapers and obituaries have death info, but most times obituary indexes include the date of the obituary but not the date of death. To find out which types of other records may include death information, please see:

21 Ways to Find Ancestors Death Information

The lists below are specific death indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state of Washington.

Note 1: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. In many cases there is a link to the digital collection in the middle of the page, but also near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. Please also note that I have listed below only BMD databases that are accessible digitally from your computer (or tablet/phone)

Note 2: I have included links to Free Ancestry records and indexes. You do not need a subscription, but do need an Ancestry account. Without a subscription, you can view indexes. If there is an image associated with a record, in most cases you will need a subscription, but the index does include very usable information.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Colorado Links, click on the category of interest:

Free Online New Jersey Birth Records and Indexes

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists, a great number of indexes to birth and baptism collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific birth, baptism, or christening information, and sometimes scanned images of the actual birth documents themselves. These free online collections have millions of records in them in total.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

Note 1: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. In many cases there is a link to the digital collection in the middle of the page, but also near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. Please also note that I have listed below only databases that are accessible digitally from your computer (or tablet/phone)

Note 2: I have included links to Free Ancestry records and indexes. You do not need a subscription, but do need an Ancestry account. Without a subscription, you can view indexes. If there is an image associated with a record, in most cases you will need a subscription, but the index does include very usable information.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free New Jersey Links, click on the category of interest:

Free Online Maryland Birth Records and Indexes

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists, a great number of indexes to birth and baptism collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific birth, baptism, or christening information, and sometimes scanned images of the actual birth documents themselves. These free online collections have millions of records in them in total.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

Note 1: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. In many cases there is a link to the digital collection in the middle of the page, but also near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. Please also note that I have listed below only databases that are accessible digitally from your computer (or tablet/phone)

Note 2: I have included links to Free Ancestry records and indexes. You do not need a subscription, but do need an Ancestry account. Without a subscription, you can view indexes. If there is an image associated with a record, in most cases you will need a subscription, but the index does include very usable information.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Maryland Links, click on the category of interest:

Free Online Oklahoma Birth Records and Indexes

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists, a great number of indexes to birth and baptism collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific birth, baptism, or christening information, and sometimes scanned images of the actual birth documents themselves. These free online collections have millions of records in them in total.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

Note 1: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. In many cases there is a link to the digital collection in the middle of the page, but also near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. Please also note that I have listed below only databases that are accessible digitally from your computer (or tablet/phone)

Note 2: I have included links to Free Ancestry records and indexes. You do not need a subscription, but do need an Ancestry account. Without a subscription, you can view indexes. If there is an image associated with a record, in most cases you will need a subscription, but the index does include very usable information.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Oklahoma Links, click on the category of interest:

Free Online Michigan Birth Records and Indexes

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists, a great number of indexes to birth and baptism collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific birth, baptism, or christening information, and sometimes scanned images of the actual birth documents themselves. These free online collections have millions of records in them in total.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

Note 1: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. In many cases there is a link to the digital collection in the middle of the page, but also near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. Please also note that I have listed below only databases that are accessible digitally from your computer (or tablet/phone)

Note 2: I have included links to Free Ancestry records and indexes. You do not need a subscription, but do need an Ancestry account. Without a subscription, you can view indexes. If there is an image associated with a record, in most cases you will need a subscription, but the index does include very usable information.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Michigan Links, click on the category of interest:

Free Online Minnesota Birth Records and Indexes

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists, a great number of indexes to birth and baptism collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific birth, baptism, or christening information, and sometimes scanned images of the actual birth documents themselves. These free online collections have millions of records in them in total.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

Note 1: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. In many cases there is a link to the digital collection in the middle of the page, but also near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. Please also note that I have listed below only databases that are accessible digitally from your computer (or tablet/phone)

Note 2: I have included links to Free Ancestry records and indexes. You do not need a subscription, but do need an Ancestry account. Without a subscription, you can view indexes. If there is an image associated with a record, in most cases you will need a subscription, but the index does include very usable information.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Minnesota Links, click on the category of interest:

20 Special Collections of Online Historical Newspapers

Most people who search newspapers for articles about their ancestors focus on what I will call “geographically-based collections.” For example, if I have ancestors in Kentucky or Wales, I might look for online collections that house those specific newspapers published in that state or country. That is highly useful, but you should know that there are a lot of “special collections” that are based on a specific ethnic group, religion, event, or even occupation.

If you are looking for special U.S. collections, you can use Chronicling America to hone in on them. For specific ethnic-oriented collections, you can do a search on the Library of Congress Chronicling America site. Click on “All Digitized Newspapers” and then click on “Ethnicity”. There you will have the option to find newspapers in that collection such as African-American, French, German, Indians of North America, Irish, Jewish, Latin-American, Mexican, Pacific Islander, Spanish, and many others. You can also search for newspapers in 22 different languages.

Below I have summarized links to some special collections for you that I have accumulated from a variety of sources.

You can check these out here:

Many universities and other libraries have access to special collections as well. There are too many to name here so I recommend checking with your library of choice and see what they have available. Most require community access registration or a library card for access online.

So check out ethnic, language, religion and topic-based collections. You just might find some nuggets about your ancestors not available anywhere else! You might want to look at the Newspaper Links tab on this site to find links for geographically oriented collections as well as others.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

Historical Swedish American Newspapers Online

Thanks to a partnership of the Minnesota Historical Society, Kungliga biblioteket (National Library of Sweden), the American Swedish Institute, and the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, many historic Swedish American Newspapers are now available to search online!

The newspapers are located on the Minnesota Historical Society’s website and are both browsable and searchable. There are over 300,000 pages available from 32 different titles, published in 11 different states. The date range is from 1859 to 2007.

I have also added some other online Swedish-American newspapers that are available to search. Here is the complete list:

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD)

California

Colorado

Svensk-Amerikanska Western

Illinois

Iowa

Sioux City, Iowa, 18??-1939 – Svenska monitoren.

Massachusetts

Michigan

Arbetaren (Cadillac, Mich.) 1890-1904

Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minn. – Allarm (12/1/1915 – 5/1/1918)
Minneapolis, Minn. – Minnesota stats tidning (1877-01-04 – 1882-03-07)
Minneapolis, Minn. – Svenska amerikanska posten (1885-03-24 – 9/11/1940)
Minneapolis; St. Paul – Svenska folkets tidning (1881-10-05 – 8/25/1927)
Red Wing, Minn. – Minnesota posten (1857-11-07 – 1858-10-13)
Red Wing, Minn. – Skaffaren (1878-12-01 – 1882-04-26)
St. Paul, Minn. ; Minneapolis, Minn. – Minnesota stats tidning (1895-10-30 – 6/17/1903)
St. Paul, Minn. ; Minneapolis, Minn. – Skaffaren och Minnesota stats tidning (1882-05-03 – 1885-03-11)
St. Paul, Minn. ; Minneapolis, Minn. – Skaffaren (1885-03-18 – 1895-10-23)
Forskaren
Minneapolis, Minn., 1915-19?? – Allarm.
Minneapolis, Minn., 1877-1882 – Minnesota stats tidning.
Red Wing, Minn., 1878-1882 – Skaffaren.
Red Wing, Minnesota, 1857-1858 – Minnesota posten.
St. Paul, Minn. ;, 1882-1885 – Skaffaren och Minnesota stats tidning.
St. Paul, Minn. ;, 1885-1895 – Skaffaren.
St. Paul, Minn. ;, 1895-1939 – Minnesota stats tidning. [volume]

Nebraska

Omaha-posten (Omaha, Neb.) 1904-1954

New York

Oregon

Texas

Washington

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

Historical Japanese Internment Camp Newspapers Online

When I was an undergraduate at Cal Berkeley in 1966, I had a good friend who was born in one of the Japanese internment camps that were established in the United States during World War 2. She never spoke of it much (at least to me); and since I believe she was born in 1945, she probably didn’t remember much of anything personally. Of course, her parents experienced the hardship the most, and I do not know if it was discussed much in her family. I didn’t think about it much then, but I recognized later and now that it certainly was one of the major disgraces in America’s history, especially since the great majority of those imprisoned were American citizens.

If you are interested, the National Archives has quite a bit of information on a web page entitled Japanese Relocation and Internment During World War II. There also is an abundance of online and other resources if you happen to have ancestors or relatives who were imprisoned or were employed at the camps. Another great source is the Densho Digital Archive. It has newspapers online, a large variety of documents and photos, and life stories and many family collections are available. This site is a gold mine.

If you are a frequent reader of this website, you know that its main focus is historic newspaper research. What has that to do with the Internment Camps you ask? Well, guess what – the camps had a daily or weekly newspaper! And there was tons of info about the internees as well as those employed. It was used as a means to disseminate information and also a way for the residents to share information about events, hobbies, sports, etc.

Here are the main links to the newspapers published at each of the ten camps (from the Densho Archives), which were in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming:

(Updated June 2021)

Did you know that prior to movement of internees to these more permanent camps, there were first “Temporary Assembly Centers”, where internees “lived” for several months and where the conditions were deplorable. From Densho: “In spring 1942, the Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA) hastily prepared temporary “assembly centers” to house the individuals of Japanese ancestry who were removed from their homes after the signing of Executive Order 9066. The centers were surrounded by barbed-wire fences and patrolled by armed military police. People were housed in animal stalls and barracks with communal bathrooms and mess halls. After spending up to six months in the “assembly centers,” Japanese Americans were moved inland to permanent concentration camps.”

These Temporary Assembly Centers also had newspapers. Here’s a list of those that have been digitized:

And here are all the online Interment Camp newspapers from the Library of Congress, the Temporary Assembly Centers, and other digital archives, all presented by state:

Arkansas – Communiqué.
Arkansas – Denson Tribune
Arkansas – Rohwer relocator.
Arkansas – Rohwer Outpost
Arizona – Poston Chronicle (Poston, Ariz.) 1942 to 1945
Arizona – Gila News-Courier (Rivers, Arizona) 1942 to 1945
Arizona – Press Bulletin (Poston, Ariz.) 1942 to 1942
Arizona – Official Daily Press Bulletin (Poston, Ariz.) 1942 to 1942
Arizona – Official Information Bulletin (Poston, Ariz.) 1942 to 1942
Arizona – Gila Bulletin ([Rivers, Ariz.]) 1945 to 1945
Arizona – Gila Co-Op News ([Rivers, Ariz.]) 1943 to 1945
Arizona – Relocator News Week ([Rivers, Ariz.]) 1943-194?
Arizona – Poston Christian Church (Poston, Ariz.) 1942 to 1945
Arizona – Gila News-Courier
Arizona – Poston Chronicle
Arizona – Gila River Relocation Center: Gila Co-Op News 1943-1945
Arizona – Gila River Relocation Center: Gila News-Courier 1943-1945
Arizona – Gila River Relocation Center: Relocator News Week 1943-1944
Arizona – Gila River War Relocation Center: Gila Bulletin 1943-1945
Arizona – Poston War Relocation Center: Poston Chronicle 1942-1945
Arizona – Poston War Relocation Center: Press Bulletin 1942-1945
California – Arbo-Gram (4)
California – Fresno Grapevine (45)
California – Manzanar Free Press (Manzanar, Calif.) 1942 to 1945
California – Manzanar Free Press (409)
California – Mercedian (21)
California – Newell Star (110
California – Newell – The Tulean dispatch
California – Newell – Daily Tulean dispatch
California – Newell – The Tulean Dispatch
California – Newell – Tulean Dispatch daily
California – Pinedale Logger (9)
California – Pomona Center News (24)
California – Salinas Village Crier (8)
California – Santa Anita Pacemaker (Santa Anita, Calif)
California – Santa Anita Pacemaker (105)
California – Stockton El Joaquin (34)
California – Tanforan Totalizer ([San Bruno, Calif.]) 1942 to 1942
California – Tanforan Totalizer (20)
California – The Daily Tulean Dispatch (Newell, Calif.) 1942 to 1943
California – The Newell Star (Newell, Calif.) 1944 to 1946
California – The Tule Lake Wra Center Information Bulletin (Newell, Calif.) 1944 to 1944
California – The Tulean Dispatch (Newell, Calif.) 1943 to 1943
California – The Tulean Dispatch (Tule Lake, Calif.) 1942 to 1942
California – Tulare News (30)
California – Tulean Dispatch Daily (Newell, Calif.) 1943 to 1943
California – Tulean Dispatch (430)
California – Turlock TAC (7)
California – Walerga Wasp (10)
Colorado – Amache Hi It
Colorado – Granada Christian Church News
Colorado – Granada Pioneer
Colorado – Junior Pioneer
Colorado – Pulse
Colorado – Kakushu jiji = Colorado times.
Colorado – Rokkī shimpō = Rocky shimpo.
Colorado – Granada Pioneer
Colorado – Bulletin.
Idaho – Minidoka Irrigator
Oregon – North Portland Evacuazette
Utah – Topaz Times
Utah – Topaz Times (Topaz, Utah) 1942 to 1945
Utah – Trek ([Topaz, Utah]) 1942 to 1943
Utah – All Aboard (Topaz, Utah) 194?-194?
Utah – Bussei Life (Topaz, Utah) 1943 to 1943
Utah – Topaz Times
Washington – Puyallup Camp Harmony News-Letter
Wyoming – Heart Mountain Sentinel
Wyoming – Heart Mountain Sentinel 1942 to 1945
Wyoming – Hāto Maunten senchineru : Japanese edition of Heart Mountain sentinel.

Another excellent resource for these newspapers and other information is the Japanese American Relocation Digital Archives, provided by the University of California.

So if you have ancestors or relatives who resided or worked in the camps, it would be worth your time to search/research these resources, and you might just find out how they lived while imprisoned there.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

The lists below are specific death indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state of Washington.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

The lists below are specific death indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state of Washington.

(Updated June 2021; recently added links are in BOLD):

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors.

There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include birth information that is not included in the lists below. These different types can be found in 27 Ways to Find Ancestor Birth Information

If you are interested in baptism indexes that may include the birth date as well as baptism information, make sure and check out Church Records.

The lists below are specific birth, baptism, and christening indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state.

Below I have summarized links to some special collections for you that I have accumulated from a variety of sources.

You can check these out here:​​

Many universities and other libraries have access to special collections as well. There are too many to name here so I recommend checking with your library of choice and see what they have available. Most require community access registration or a library card for access online.

So check out ethnic, language, religion and topic-based collections. You just might find some nuggets about your ancestors not available anywhere else! You might want to look at the Newspaper Links tab on this site to find links for geographically oriented collections as well as others.

​Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

The newspapers are located on the Minnesota Historical Society’s website and are both browsable and searchable. There are over 300,000 pages available from 32 different titles, published in 11 different states. The date range is from 1859 to 2007.

I have also added some other online Swedish-American newspapers that are available to search. Here is the complete list:

Here are the main links to the newspapers published at each of the ten camps (from the Densho Archives), which were in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming:

(Updated June 2021​)

You can check these out here:

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

(Updated June 2021)