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)
______________________________________
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:
West Virginia Archives
- A Digital Collection Celebrating the Founding of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU)
- Access Genealogy – West Virginia
- Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
- American History & Genealogy Project – West Virginia
- Ancestry Free Index Collections
- Chronicling America – West Virginia
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
- Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library
- Cyndi’s List – West Virginia
- David Rumsey’s Historical Maps
- Dead Fred
- Death Indexes – West Virginia
- Digital Commons Collections
- Digital Library of Appalachia
- Digital Public Library of America – West Virginia
- Documenting the American South
- e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia
- FamilySearch
- FamilySearch – West Virginia Online Genealogy Records
- FamilySearch Catalog
- FamilySearch Wiki – West Virginia
- FindAGrave
- Genealogy Trails – West Virginia
- Glenville State University Digital Collections
- Google Books – West Virginia
- Hathitrust – West Virginia
- I Dream of Genealogy
- Interment.net – West Virginia
- Internet Archive – West Virginia
- Kanawha County Public Library
- LDS Genealogy – West Virginia
- Library of Congress Digital Collections
- Library of Virginia
- Linkpendium – West Virginia
- Marshall University Digital Collections
- Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library
- National Archives and Records Administration
- National Archives and Records Administration (Archives I)
- National Archives at College Park, Maryland (Archives II)
- National Archives at Philadelphia
- National Archives Online Exhibits
- National Archives Resources for Genealogists
- Nationwide Gravesite Locator
- New Horizons Genealogy – West Virginia
- Ohio County Public Library
- Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library
- PastPerfectOnline Collections
- Patriot and Grave Registry
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston Archives
- Sanborn Maps – West Virginia
- Shepherd University Digital Collections
- Smithsonian Digital Library
- The Official Land Records Site
- United States Social Security Death Index
- University of Charleston Digital Collections
- US GenWeb – West Virginia
- US GenWeb Archives – West Virginia
- Washington National Records Center
- West Virginia Division of Culture and History
- West Virginia State University Digital Collections
- West Virginia University Digital Collections
- West Virginia University Libraries Digital Collections
- West Virginia University Regional History Center
- West Virginia Wesleyan College Digital Collections
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!