When researching your genealogy, it helps to know where documents and other resources are. Here is a list of 50 top institutions in the United States. The list includes museums, genealogy centers, libraries, societies, etc. Visit these websites and the institutions in person if you are able.
| Name of the Institution | City and State | URL | Digital Collection Highlights |
| Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center | Fort Wayne, Indiana | https://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy | Periodical Source Index (PERSI); digitized family and local histories; specialized digital gateways for African American, Indigenous, and military research. |
| American Antiquarian Society | Worcester, Massachusetts | https://www.americanantiquarian.org/collections/digital-resources | Extensive digital collections of historical newspapers and periodicals; online exhibitions and research tools. |
| Atlanta History Center | Atlanta, Georgia | https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com | Atlanta yearbooks, photos, archives |
| Bancroft Library | Berkeley | https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/visit/bancroft | Manuscripts and archives strong in western U.S. history, land records, immigration, and family papers important to regional genealogy. |
| California State Library | Sacramento | https://library.ca.gov/ | State archives, county histories, newspapers on microfilm, census substitutes, and California-focused genealogical collections. |
| Center for Jewish History | New York, New York | https://www.cjh.org | Jewish genealogy, community records, manuscripts |
| Chicago History Museum | Chicago, Illinois | https://www.chicagohistory.org/ | Local Chicago and Cook County records, photographs, directories, and family papers useful for urban genealogy. |
| Connecticut Museum of Culture and History | Hartford, Connecticut | https://www.connecticutmuseum.org/ | Recognized as a notable historical society with records for genealogy research. |
| Daughters of the American Revolution Library | Washington, DC | https://www.dar.org/collections/library | Extensive genealogical books, DAR membership files, manuscript collections, and specialized resources for colonial and Revolutionary-era research. |
| Detroit Historical Society | Detroit, Michigan | https://www.detroithistorical.org | Detroit photos, oral histories, local history |
| Detroit Public Library | Detroit, Michigan | https://detroitpubliclibrary.org/research/subject/biography-and-genealogy | On-site access to Ancestry and MyHeritage; digitized historical newspapers like the Detroit Free Press. |
| Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration | New York, New York | https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/family-history-center/ | Free online database of over 65 million passenger records and ship manifests for those arriving at the Port of New York, 1820-1957. |
| FamilySearch Library | Salt Lake City, Utah | https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/ | World-leading family-history collection: millions of microfilms, books, maps, and extensive digital access to international vital, church, and census records. |
| Heinz History Center | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/ | As an affiliate of the Smithsonian, the Detre Library & Archives has a strong focus on Western Pennsylvania. They provide online access to digital collections, including historic Pittsburgh newspapers, maps, photographs, yearbooks, and finding aids for their extensive manuscript collections. |
| Historic New Orleans Collection | New Orleans, Louisiana | https://www.hnoc.org | Louisiana photos, manuscripts, maps, oral histories |
| Historical Society of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | https://www.portal.hsp.org/for-genealogy | Recognized as one of the most complete genealogy centers in the nation and the largest in the Mid-Atlantic region. |
| History Colorado | Denver, Colorado | https://www.historycolorado.org | Colorado newspapers, manuscripts, photos |
| Houston Public Library – Clayton Library | Houston, Texas | https://houstonlibrary.org/fhrc | Specializes in Southern U.S. records; digital photo archives with African American and Mexican American family collections. |
| Huntington Library | San Marino, California | https://www.huntington.org/ | Rich manuscript and rare-book collections including family papers, immigration sources, maps and oversized local-history materials. |
| Indiana Historical Society | Indianapolis, Indiana | https://indianahistory.org | Indiana photos, yearbooks, oral histories |
| International African American Museum | Charleston, South Carolina | https://iaamuseum.org/center-for-family-history | Digital archives for African American genealogy; largest collection of United States Colored Troop records outside of NARA. |
| Kansas Historical Society | Topeka, Kansas | https://www.kshs.org | Kansas newspapers, directories, manuscripts |
| Library of Congress | Washington, DC | https://loc.gov/research-centers/ | The largest library in the world, with a vast genealogy collection. Much of their collection is digitized and available through their website, including city directories, local histories, newspapers (via Chronicling America), and maps. |
| Library of Virginia | Richmond, Virginia | https://www.lva.virginia.gov/ | Virginia state and local records, wills, land patents, county records, and family papers for colonial and southern research. |
| Los Angeles Public Library | Los Angeles, California | https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-guides/genealogy | Online indexes for local genealogy and history; digitized Los Angeles-area city and street directories; large digital map collection. |
| Massachusetts Historical Society | Boston, Massachusetts | https://www.masshist.org/collections | Offers research guides to other institutions, including NEHGS and state archives, for a broad range of genealogical records. |
| Midwest Genealogy Center | Independence, Missouri | https://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy | Parent institution of the Midwest Genealogy Center, recognized as one of the largest public genealogy libraries in the U.S. |
| Minnesota Historical Society | St. Paul, Minnesota | https://www.mnhs.org | Minnesota newspapers, photos, directories |
| Missouri Historical Society (Missouri History Museum) | St. Louis, Missouri | https://mohistory.org/society | Missouri directories, maps, photographs |
| Museum of the City of New York | New York, New York | https://www.mcny.org | NYC photographs, maps, ephemera |
| National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) | Washington, DC | https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy | Extensive digital holdings of U.S. federal records, including census, military service files, immigration and naturalization records, and land records. They have a massive catalog that can be searched online. |
| National WWII Museum | New Orleans, Louisiana | https://www.nationalww2museum.org | WWII oral histories, photos, documents |
| New Bedford Whaling Museum | New Bedford, Massachusetts | https://www.whalingmuseum.org | Maritime records, crew lists, logbooks |
| New England Historic Genealogical Society (American Ancestors) | Boston, Massachusetts | https://americanancestors.org | A comprehensive collection focused on New England and beyond, with digitized vital records, gravestone photographs, obituaries, and family genealogies. This is a subscription-based site, but many libraries offer free access. |
| New Mexico History Museum | Santa Fe, New Mexico | https://www.nmhistorymuseum.org | New Mexico photographs, manuscripts, local history |
| New York Genealogical & Biographical Society | https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/ | Specialized New York-focused genealogies, manuscript collections, and research guides for New York City and state families. | |
| New York Public Library | New York, New York | https://nypl.org/about/divisions/milstein | The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History & Genealogy has an extensive collection. While not everything is digitized, they provide on-site access to premium genealogy databases like Ancestry and Find My Past. They have digitized city directories, newspapers, and images. |
| New York State Library | Albany, New York | https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/ | State records, county histories, census substitutes, manuscripts, and extensive New York-focused vital and land records. |
| Newberry Library | Chicago, Illinois | https://www.newberry.org/ | Major humanities and local-history collections: published genealogies, local/county records, church records, newspapers, maps, and subscription databases on-site. |
| New-York Historical Society Museum & Library | New York, New York | https://www.nyhistory.org | New York newspapers, manuscripts, photos, rare books |
| Ohio History Connection Library & Archives | Columbus, Oio | https://www.ohiohistory.org/ | Ohio-focused genealogical resources: county histories, newspapers, manuscript collections, and state records. |
| Oklahoma Historical Society | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | https://www.okhistory.org | Oklahoma newspapers, maps, oral histories |
| Seattle Public Library | Seattle, Washington | https://www.spl.org/genealogy | Largest collection in the Pacific Northwest; on-site access to Ancestry and FamilySearch Affiliate collections; digitized local newspapers like the Seattle Times. |
| Smithsonian Collections Search Center | Washington, DC | https://collections.si.edu | Cross-museum search, photos, manuscripts, artifacts |
| South Carolina Historical Society (SCHS) | Charleston, South Carolina | https://schistory.org/archives/start-research/ | Digitized manuscript collections, images, and oral histories in partnership with the Lowcountry Digital Library; specialized guides for African American and Native American resources. |
| Tennessee State Library & Archives | Nashville, Tennessee | https://sos.tn.gov/tsla | State vital records, wills, county records, Civil War and military records, and manuscript collections for Tennessee families. |
| Texas State Library and Archives Commission | Austin, Texas | https://www.tsl.texas.gov/arc/genfirst | Digitized Sanborn Maps and county records; Galveston Immigration Database; access to TexShare databases for Texas residents. |
| University of Cincinnati Libraries | Cincinnati, Ohio | https://libraries.uc.edu/libraries/arb/services/genealogy-research.html | Digitized vital records for Cincinnati and Hamilton County (births, deaths, wills); online access to university yearbooks and student newspapers. |
| Virginia Museum of History & Culture | Richmond, Virginia | https://virginiahistory.org | Virginia manuscripts, photos, maps |
| Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland History Center) | Cleveland, Ohio | https://www.wrhs.org | Ohio family history, local newspapers, photos |
| Wisconsin Historical Society | Madison, Wisconsin | https://www.wisconsinhistory.org | Wisconsin newspapers, photos, genealogy databases |