Free Online Washington Digital Archives

The Ancestor Hunt has been cataloging and listing links to free online genealogy collections in over 20 different record categories since 2014. These are available for you to view and use via the Resources tab above.

It occurred to me, however, that 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 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 free online digital archives. 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

• American Indians of the Pacific Northwest
• Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive
• Digital Commons Collections
• Digital Public Library of America
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• Mountain West Digital Library
• National Archives Online Exhibits
• Northwest Digital Heritage
• PastPerfectOnline Collections
• Smithsonian Digital Library
• Western Waters Digital Library

Washington

• Central Washington University Digital Collections
• Digital Collections (Everett Public Library)
• Eastern Washington University Digital Collections
• Evergreen State College Digital Collections
• Gonzaga University Digital Collections
• HistoryLink.org: The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
• Pacific Lutheran University Digital Collections
• Seattle Pacific University Digital Collections
• Seattle University Digital Collections
• St Martin’s University Digital Collections
• University of Puget Sound Digital Collections
• University of Washington Digital Collections
• University of Washington-Bothell Digital Collections
• University of Washington-Tacoma Digital Collections
• Walla Walla University Digital Collections
• Washington State Archives – Digital Archives
• Washington State Library Digital Collections and Resources
• Washington State University at Pullman Digital Collections
• Washington State University at Vancouver Digital Collections
• Western Washington University Digital Collections
• Whitman College Digital Collections
• Whitworth University Digital Collections