Free Online Virginia 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

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

• A Digital Collection Celebrating the Founding of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU)
• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Library of Appalachia
• Digital Public Library of America
• Documenting the American South
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• Smithsonian Digital Library

Virginia Archives

• Bristol Public Library
• Christopher Newport University Digital Collections
• College of William and Mary Digital Collections
• Encyclopedia Virginia
• FamilySearch – Virginia Online Genealogy Records
• George Mason University Digital Collections
• Hampton University Digital Collections
• Handley Regional Library
• Hollins University Digital Collections
• James Madison University Digital Collections
• John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg
• Jones Memorial Library
• Liberty University Digital Collections
• Longwood University Digital Collections
• Marymount University Digital Collections
• National Archives and Records Administration (Archives I)
• National Archives at College Park, Maryland (Archives II)
• National Archives at Philadelphia
• National Genealogical Society
• Old Dominion University Digital Collections
• Portsmouth Public Library
• Radford University Digital Collections
• Regent University Digital Collections
• Roanoke County Public Library
• The Library of Virginia
• University of Mary Washington Digital Collections
• University of Richmond Digital Collections
• University of Virginia Digital Collections
• Virginia Commonwealth University Digital Collections
• Virginia Historical Society, Collections and Resources
• Virginia Memory
• Virginia Military Institute Digital Collections
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Digital Collections
• Virginia State University Digital Collections
• Virginia Theological Seminary Archives
• Virginia Union University Digital Collections
• Virtual Jamestown
• Washington & Lee University Digital Collections
• Washington National Records Center