The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is October 2024)
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The Ancestor Hunt has been cataloging and listing links to free online genealogy collections in over 24 different record categories since 2014. These are available for you to view and use via the Resources tab above.
There is a massive amount of genealogy and historical material that can help us researchers as we discover who belongs in our family tree, and more importantly, what is their life story. But much of this genealogical and historical material doesn’t fit nicely into a specific genealogy record category.
As researchers, we should avail ourselves of the types of materials listed below. They definitely will help us in our genealogy and family history research These online resources are available generally at state libraries and archives, larger public libraries, and college and university digital collections. Hence the creation of these lists of links to free online digital archives for the state. I hope they prove useful to you in your pursuit.
Types of Information Available in Digital Archives
- Scrapbooks
- Diaries
- Family Papers, Biographies, and Other Collections
- Letters
- Oral Histories
- Maps
- Bulletins and Newsletters
- Corporate Collections
- Local Community and County Histories
- Photographs and Postcards
- Rare Books and Manuscripts
- Government Publications and Documents
- And yes, Genealogy Record Collections and Indexes
The Free Online Digital Archives for the district are listed below:
District of Columbia
- Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
- American History & Genealogy Project – District of Columbia
- American University Digital Collections
- Ancestry Free Index Collections
- Bureau of Land Management Eastern States Office
- Chronicling America – District of Columbia
- City of Fairfax Regional Library
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
- Cyndi’s List – District of Columbia
- Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library
- David Rumsey’s Historical Maps
- Dead Fred
- Death Indexes – District of Columbia
- DigDC
- Digital Commons Collections
- Digital Public Library of America – District of Columbia
- District of Columbia Archives
- District of Columbia Public Library People’s Archives
- Documenting the American South
- FamilySearch
- FamilySearch Catalog
- FamilySearch Wiki – District of Columbia
- FindAGrave
- Freedmen’s Bureau Online
- Gallaudet University Digital Collections
- Genealogy Trails – District of Columbia
- George Washington University Digital Collections
- Georgetown University Digital Collections
- Google Books – District of Columbia
- HathiTrust – District of Columbia
- Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit
- Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
- Howard University Digital Collections
- I Dream of Genealogy
- Interment.net – District of Columbia
- Internet Archive – District of Columbia
- LDS Genealogy – District of Columbia
- Library of Congress Digital Collections
- Linkpendium – District of Columbia
- National Archives and Records Administration
- National Archives and Records Administration (Archives I)
- National Archives at College Park, Maryland (Archives II)
- National Archives Online Exhibits
- National Archives Resources for Genealogists
- Nationwide Gravesite Locator
- New Horizons Genealogy – District of Columbia
- PastPerfectOnline Collections
- Patriot and Grave Registry
- Sanborn Maps – District of Columbia
- Smithsonian Digital Library
- The Catholic University of America Digital Collections
- The Official Land Records Site
- United States Social Security Death Index
- University of the District of Columbia Digital Collections
- US GenWeb – District of Columbia
- US GenWeb Archives – District of Columbia
- Washington National Records Center
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!