Blog – Page 4 – The Ancestor Hunt

Free Minnesota Online Voter Records

Voter registration records are available online and offline from all over the world and are what I consider a hidden gem of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

Most of the voter registration records are still in paper form or have been microfilmed. There is quite a bit online though, and I am capturing those links and they are below. The paid subscription sites such as Ancestry, Fold3, My Heritage, and FindMyPast have voter registration collections also.

Below are links to voter records available online. Unfortunately, some just list the voter’s name. Although that is sparse information it can help you find a person’s residence at a certain point in time, again helpful to find where ancestors resided between the census years.

Note 1: There may appear to be duplicate titles in the links. This is because there are scanned images of an original typed list or scanned images of original applications, and also a transcribed copy of a voter registration list.

Note 2: Many of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. 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.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Minnesota 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 Missouri Online Voter Records

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For other Free Missouri 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 South Dakota Online Voter Records

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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

Free North Dakota Online Voter Records

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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

Free Nebraska Online Voter Records

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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

Free Kansas Online Voter Records

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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

Free Iowa Online Voter Records

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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

Free Oklahoma Online Voter Records

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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

Free Michigan Online Voter Records

Here are several reasons why voter records are such a wonderful tool for researching (and finding) ancestors:

They fill in the gaps between censuses – in the ten years between censuses – people move, they die, they get married, etc. The advantage of voter registration records is that they can tell you their address, their occupation, etc. And like city directories, they are published yearly or every couple of years.
Naturalization information – in some records from the 1800s, the date, and place of naturalization is included, which can provide leads for obtaining their detailed naturalization records.
Middle names – often a complete name is included in voter registration records – in fact, the only place that I ever found my great grandfather’s middle name was in several of these records. Prior to finding them, I only knew his middle name as an initial.
You can find a spouse – after 1920 for all of America, women could vote – so at that time their names began to show up in Voter Registration records. Some states had passed women’s suffrage laws prior to 1920, but just a few. To be complete – women in some states in the late 1700s had voting rights until they were all taken away by 1807. The given name of a woman is sometimes included in the voter registration record.. If a man and a woman with the same last name lived at the same address on the registration list, one could surmise that they were married to each other or they could be siblings or have a parent-child relationship. But there is a good possibility that they may be married to each other, providing more clues.
Nativity – again in the 1800s, the place of birth is entered, which is especially helpful for finding naturalized immigrants.
Physical Characteristics – in a few states, the voter registration form includes the applicant’s age, height, complexion, eye and hair color, as well as any distinguishing marks or scars.
Political party or affiliation – usually abbreviated as Dem or Rep, but you will find other party names as well in addition to “None”. Remember that Democrats and Republicans from years ago did not necessarily align with the same principles as the parties do today.
Migration – a few voter registration forms include a question regarding how long the voter lived in the state, the county, and the precinct. This can be useful to determine when they moved, which can help determine their whereabouts for additional research.

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

For links to other states go to the Voter Records page.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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

Free Online Wisconsin Military Records

Military records are yet another very useful set of records that will help you in finding more about your ancestors. There are a ton of records that are available for free online, and there are some very robust collections (such as Fold3 and Ancestry) that have sizable online military collections as well.

Typically, military records online fall into 5 different categories:

Military Service Records:
Includes enlistment information, such as location and date enlisted. Also includes demographic information, such as full name, birth date and location, residence, and occupation, plus contact information of next of kin, medical and military information, and unit assignations while in the military.
Selective Service Records:
Includes full name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, contact information, physical description, and other information.
Bounty Land Warrant Applications:
Includes similar information as in service records as well as other information. Only used between 1775 and1855.
Pension Records:
Will include birth, marriage and death records, demographic inormation, plus information about the spouse, and possibly children.
Special Records:
May include information if the person was a prisoner of war, was wounded or killed in action. 1910-1940 Census Records include questions about military service. Includes those buried in Veteran’s cemeteries.

A good primer on Miltary Records is found at FamilySearch’s Military Records page, available on their wiki.

Note: Some of the links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. 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. To take full advantage, please make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

Below, listed by state are links to military records that are available for free online. Included in each state’s page are links to free nationwide collections since there are a sizable number of collections that are available for the entire country.

National

Wisconsin

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!