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Genealogy
The Williamsburg Regional Library offers a growing collection of print and electronic resources for family history research. The collection focuses on the Tidewater region of Virginia, but also includes U.S. and international research guides, indexes, and online databases. Though WRL does not hold primary source materials, the Library owns copies of many of the important secondary sources for local and state history, including published vital records, county and parish histories, wills, military records, family histories, and biographies.
Most print resources are located at the Williamsburg Library, 515 Scotland Street. Family History Research computer stations can be found at the Williamsburg and James City County Libraries.
Recommended Web Sites
Databases | State and Local Links | Search for an Ancestor | Find Original Records | More Web Links
Heritage Quest Online
Examine census data and search through genealogical books and magazines. Explore special resources devoted to African-Americans and to the Revolutionary War. (Requires library barcode number.)Ancestry Library Edition--In-library use only
Wide range of unique resources for genealogical and historical research. Includes US census records, military records, court, land and probate records, vital and church records, directories, passenger lists, and more. Contains most of the records available to subscribers of ancestry.com.Footnote
Collections feature historical documents and genealogical records from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, naturalization documents, and more. In partnership with the National Archives, Footnote is digitizing Revolutionary War and Civil War pensions, muster rolls, and service records. Subscription service; users can search indexes and view some databases for free.Daily Press Obituary Index
"The main source of these obituaries is the Daily Press, which has been the City of Newport News’ local paper since 1898. The current obituary index covers 1898 through 1988. This index also covers obituaries from the Times-Herald from 1902 to 1915."Library of Virginia
The premier genealogical library in the state. The Genealogical Research page has links to many web sites of interest to Virginia genealogists. The librarians have also developed Research Guides and Finding Aids for items in the library's collection. Search book and manuscript catalogs, indexes, and image collections including Virginia land grants and patents (with images), marriage and obituary indexes to Richmond-area newspapers, and Virginia city and county death registers 1853-1896 (work in progress).Tidewater Genealogical Society
TGS's volunteers maintain a set of web links to local records, including census, tax, and mortality schedules; tombstone transcriptions; historical narratives; and more. The site also contains information about classes and field trips offered by the Society.Earl Gregg Swem Library Genealogical Resources
The Swem Library at the College of William and Mary has deep collections in early Virginia history, including census and vital records, local and family histories, and newspapers on microform. The Williamsburg and James City County page is a brief guide to finding Swem's local records and historical materials. The Manuscripts and Rare Books Departments hold unique records of early Virginia families, including Bibles, letters, and other documents.The John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg has created helpful bibliographies of available records and published sources related to early Virginia genealogy: Researching Seventeenth-century Virginians, Researching Williamsburg-area Virginians, and Researching Revolutionary War Virginians (pdf files open in Adobe Acrobat).
FamilySearch
The web version of the enormous genealogy databases available from the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Information on ancestors includes records submitted by other genealogists as well as records extracted from microfilmed church registers, civil records, etc. Research Outlines give valuable tips for searching in state-by-state and in locations all around the world. You may also want to search the Family History Library Catalog for books and microfilm that will help you in your search, or find a Family History Center near you.AfriGeneas
This site contains a mailing list, surname files, a slave data collection, census information, a library section with online books and articles and still more, all designed to help the African-American genealogist.RootsWeb
Home of the RootsWeb Surname List, containing over 760,000 surname entries, and the ROOTS-L Mailing List. You can search by surname and U.S. county, or check out the links for Canada, Australia and New Zealand.Genealogical Research at the National Archives
Be sure to look at the Genealogical Data and Research Guides put together by the staff of the National Archives; they include lots of helpful information for beginning and experienced genealogists alike. If you're ready to travel, check out the hours and locations for the main location in Washington, DC and the branches around the country. If not, you can still peruse the microfilm catalogs (Census Records, Military Service Records, Immigrant and Passenger Arrivals, Genealogical and Biographical Research, Federal Court Records, American Indians, Black Studies) and ask a librarian for help ordering the film. You may also join the NARA Census Microfilm Rental Program for a small fee, if you'd like the film sent directly to you.USGenWeb Project
Each state has a page, usually broken down into counties and cities. A typical state's page might include maps, county histories, surname registries and more. USGenWeb volunteers have also been busy transcribing original, source documents (including the US census!) and posting them to the web.Christine's Genealogy Website -- African American History
This site includes links to transcribed marriage records, census records, obituaries, a surname file and more. Beginners and experienced genealogists alike will be intrigued by the research stories told in the Articles section.Vital Records Information for the United States
Current prices, addresses and forms for obtaining vital records (birth, marriage and death certificates and divorce decrees) from US states and territories.Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records
A directory of links to websites with online death indexes, listed by state and county. Included are death records, death certificate indexes, death notices and registers, obituaries, probate indexes, and cemetery and burial records. Antiquus Morbus, an online glossary of archaic medical terms, can help decipher causes of death in records from the 19th century and earlier.Association of Professional Genealogists Directory
Hit a brick wall? Need some professional help? This searchable directory contains the names and contact information for over 1,000 professional genealogists; some listings include geographical or other specialties.Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System contains basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War and serves as an index to the 6.3 million soldier records in the National Archives.
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
More than 250,000 links are organized by location, topic and type of record. The library owns Cyndi's book, Netting Your Ancestors: Genealogical Research on the Internet (929.1 HOW), if you'd like to check it out. Cyndi's page on Virginia has hundreds of links for Virginia genealogists.Find a Grave
Index to 30 million burial records searchable by name, location, or cemetery, many with tombstone transcriptions and photos.Soundex Converter
From RootsWeb, this site will convert a surname into the appropriate Soundex code.We Relate
A genealogy wiki sponsored by the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy and the Allen County Public Library. Members can submit photos and documents to create pages about their family trees.
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