Free Online Montana Digital Archives

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

(Updated November 2023)

The Free Online Digital Archives for the state are listed below, preceded by Archives that are available for the region or the country:

Multistate Archives

• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Public Library of America
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• Mountain West Digital Library
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• Smithsonian Digital Library
• Western Waters Digital Library

Montana Archives

• Access Genealogy – Montana
• Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
• American History & Genealogy Project – Montana
• Ancestry Free Index Collections
• Carroll College Digital Collections
• Chronicling America – Montana
• Cyndi’s List – Montana
• David Rumsey’s Historical Maps
• Dead Fred
• Death Indexes – Montana
• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Public Library of America – Montana
• FamilySearch
• FamilySearch – Montana Online Genealogy Records
• FamilySearch Catalog
• FamilySearch Wiki – Montana
• FindAGrave
• Genealogy Trails – Montana
• Google
• Google Books – Montana
• HathiTrust – Montana
• I Dream of Genealogy
• Interment.net – Montana
• Internet Archive – Montana
• LDS Genealogy – Montana
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• Linkpendium – Montana
• Montana Historical Society Online Collections
• Montana Memory Project
• Montana State Genealogical Society
• Montana State University – Billings Digital Collections
• Montana State University – Bozeman Digital Collections
• Montana State University – Northern Digital Collections
• Montana Technological University Digital Collections
• Mountain West Digital Library
• National Archives and Records Administration
• National Archives at Denver
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• National Archives Resources for Genealogists
• Nationwide Gravesite Locator
• New Horizons Genealogy – Montana
• Northwest Digital Heritage
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• Rocky Mountain College Digital Collections
• RootsWeb.com
• Salish Kootenai College Digital Collections
• Sanborn Maps
• Sanborn Maps – Montana
• Smithsonian Digital Library
• The Official Land Records Site
• University of Great Falls Digital Collections
• University of Montana – Missoula Digital Collections
• University of Montana – Western Digital Collections
• US GenWeb – Montana
• US GenWeb Archives – Montana
• Western Waters Digital Library