Free Genealogy Resources

Showing posts with label births. Show all posts

Freebie for Newfoundland Genealogy

Yesterday I was poking around on the internet and came across a great site for those tracing ancestors from Newfoundland. According to the Newfoundland's Grand Banks website, it offers "genealogical and historical data for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador." I'm still exploring to learn the true depth of the site, but from what I've found so far, it could be an invaluable free resource for those tracing their genealogy.

The site offers a message board for genealogists researching families from the area, a wide array of transcriptions and historical information on the area. Specific genealogical data you can expect to find includes

Cemetery Transcriptions
Census (Newfoundland, US, Canada and British
Directories
Family Bibles
Legal Documents
Newspapers
Photographs
Passenger Lists
Parish Records
Voter's Lists
Vital Statistics
Wills

On the historical side, the site offers

Colonial Office Records
House of Assembly Records
Historical information on some communities
Disasters
Military Records
Stories

If your family has a connection to Newfoundland and you haven't yet checked out this free genealogy resource, make sure to add it to your to-do list. You may be surprised what you can find.

Resource for Adair County, Iowa Newspapers

Newspapers can hold a variety of information on our ancestors lives. In addition to announcements of births, marriages and deaths, they can allow you a peek into your ancestor's life at a specific time period.

Today's resource is the Adair County Anquestors Genealogy Society's Significant Life Events Index. The society has gone through microfilmed papers and created an index of birth, marriage, divorce, anniversary, obituary and reunion announcements. They are organized by topic. Just click on the links near the top of the page.

The birth announcements give the name of the parent (including some maiden names for mothers), sex of child, child's name (if available), newspaper name and date published. The final column, location is left blank when the child was born in Adair County, but will list the location if the child was born elsewhere.

The marriage announcements give the name of the bride and groom, newspaper name, publishing date and location. The divorce announcements page gives the couple's names, the name of the newspaper and the date the announcement appeared. The anniversaries page lists the couple, which anniversary they were celebrating, the newspaper and date published.

The obituaries announcement page is a little different because you need to know the year. After clicking on the year, you get an alphabetized list of the surname, first and middle name, maiden name for women, newspaper and date. Some years have a comments column which may offer additional information.

The reunion page is for announcements of family reunions. These are organized by name and give the family name, newspaper and date published.

It doesn't note on the page whether you can get copies of the actual newspaper announcement, but the society's main page does say that they accept research requests so you probably can get a copy for a fee.

Free Genealogy Resource for California

Recently I was doing some research into California records in an effort to trace my husband's great grandmother who passed away there. Along the way, I came across a transcription of Early California Wills, which was published by the DAR in 1952.

The transcription is broken up into six volumes. Volume 1 covers Los Angeles County wills from 1850 to 1885. Volume 2 picks up where the first left off and covers 1885 to 1890. Volume 3 covers wills in San Diego County from 1848-1899.

Volumes 4 and 5 offers bonuses. Volume 4 offers wills from Placer, Shasta and Yuba Counties. It also has Shasta County births, marriages, deaths and divorces from 1927 and Placer County marriage licenses from 1852 to 1856. Volume 5 has Kern County wills 1876-1899 and marriage licenses 1850-1900.

Volume 6 has wills from Santa Clara and Solano Counties. It doesn't say what years are covered.

Clicking on the volume will take you further down the page where there is information on the volume, transcribers, and an overview of the book. It appears that each page is transcribed separately. Clicking on the page takes you to the information on that page.

This is a great free genealogy resource for those researching California ancestors. Information varies between entries, but from scrolling through, it looks like some have the names of parents, spouses, children and even in-laws. I'm not sure if this is common, but I did notice one entry that had a note about the spouse's later marriage as well. Makes sure to check who the executor and witnesses are as well. These may be family members or close acquaintances.

Delaware Resource

The state of Delaware has two free genealogy resources available online in the public finding aids section. The first is the Bastardy Bonds Database. The second is the Probate Records Database.

When children were born out of wedlock in Delaware, the father was required to file a bastardy bond. This was to ensure the child's welfare was provided for so they would not become a burden on the county. The bonds were administered by trustees. These bonds can yield a wealth of information including parents' names, date of birth and sex of the child, names of sureties and witnesses, amount and conditions of the bond and residence information for the mother. In most cases, the child's name is not given.

The Bastardy Bonds Database can be searched by father, mother or child's name. It doesn't appear that you need the full name. I was able to search by surname only. The initial results screen will give you the father's name, mother's name, child's name (if available), child's date of birth and county. The county is abbreviated with SC indicating Sussex County and KC indicating Kent County.

To the right of the result is a details hyperlink. Clicking on it will take you to another screen which lists what folder, container and series the bond is stored in. It also gives the parents' names, information on the child, and comments/notes.

The Probate Records Database covers all three Delaware counties from around 1680 to circa 1925. This free genealogy resource searches the index of deceased individuals for whom the file was originally created. You can search by last name, first name, date, race and county, or any combination of these. The race option is only available for Kent and Sussex Counties.

You can use a partial first name, as short as a single letter, if you have input a full last name. If you are not sure of the spelling of the last name, you can put the first letter of it and leave the first name box blank to search all surnames beginning with that letter. In the year box, you can search a year or year range. Keep in mind that the database does require the full four digit year.

The results screen will give you an alternate spelling for the surname to check and then list all the records that match your search inputs. It will list the name, date, race (if available) and county.

If you find your ancestor in either of these databases, you can request the records from the archives. Information on requesting records can be found here. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to download a request form. It doesn't appear that there is a search fee for requests. However, there is a copy fee.

Free Genealogy Resource for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

I recently came across a free genealogy resource for those researching ancestors in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds has a website offering information on births, deaths, marriages, real estate and historical real estate.

The birth records cover 1913 to present. You can search by name, range of date of birth or certificate number. The results screen will give you the child's name, date of birth and certificate number.

Death records are available from 1913 to 1980 and 1991 to present. Records from 1981 to 1991 are added to the database as they are requested so they are hit and miss. As with births, you can search by name, date range or certificate number. The results screen gives you the name, death date, certificate number, and, in some cases, the address (which is usually town only).

No specific date range was given for the marriage database so I played around to see if I could find anything. After a few trials, I got an error message that stated that "Dates for the inquiry system must be after Jan 1, 1753" so it may be possible to get records that far back. You can search by bride or groom's name, date range or license number. The results screen gives you the marriage date, name of bride and groom, and license number.

Real estate records appear to date back to 1913. This database can be searched by document type, grantor/seller, their role, grantee/buyer, their role, date range of filing, range of instrument number, book and page. The results screen will give you the date of filing, instrument number, book and page, description (if available), first grantor, document type and first grantee.

Clicking on the details button will take you to a screen which gives additional grantor or grantee names (only one name appears on the results screen) and related documents. From that screen, you can click on the document icon to view the actual document. The document can also be retrieved by clicking on the images button on the original results screen.

The historical real estate can be searched by name or browsed. It appears to date back to 1763 and go through 1840.

If you find one of your ancestors in these free genealogy resources and want more information, you can request a copy of the actual certificate, license or real estate document. There is a fee for this however.

Three Free Genealogy Resources from the Minnesota Historical Society.

If you have ancestors from Minnesota, you may want to check out some of the free genealogy resources offered by the Minnesota Historical Society. Volunteers have compiled both a death certificate index and a birth certificate index.

The Death Certificate Index covers the years 1904 to 2001 and is searchable by name. You can narrow your search by mother's maiden name, death year and county of death.

The results screen gives the name of the individual, date and place of birth, mother's maiden name, date and county of death and death certificate number. Some entries may not have as much information as others.

The Birth Certificate Index covers the years 1900 through 1934. There are approximately 2700 records from before 1900. It is also searchable by name and can be narrowed down with additional information.

The results screen gives you the name of the individual, date and county of birth, mother's maiden name and certificate number. As with the death index, some entries have more information than others. I did notice that some of the mother's maiden name entries had the first name rather than the surname so be on the lookout for that.

Last, but not least is a third free genealogy resource, the Minnesota State Census. Census records are available for the years 1849, 1850, 1853, 1855, 1857, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905. Since there are limited 1890 federal census records, the 1885 and 1895 state census records can be a boon to genealogists with Minnesota roots.

The census records are searchable by name and can be narrowed by census year and county. The results screen gives the individual's name, age, ethnicity, birthplace, county, city or township, sex and census year. You will also notice a census id number with each entry.

If you decide that you want a copy of a birth certificate, death certificate or census record, they can be ordered through the same website. Just click on the "add to order" button on the left side of the entry to add it to your shopping cart. There is a fee for copies.

Missouri Resource

Today's free genealogy resource was suggested by Joyce on our Facebook page. Like many state archives, the Missouri State Archives can be a boon for genealogists. There are quite a few databases that can be helpful when tracing family that lived in the state.

The Missouri Judicial Index contains a wide variety of abstracts from court cases ranging from the county level all the way through the supreme court. These include criminal and civil cases. You can search by party name, year or record group. You will taken through a couple screens that request additional information.

The results will then be shown with a brief overview of the case including date, party name, subject, cause of action and case summary. Clicking on the view record detail button will give you more information such as the court, case disposition and identifying information to help locate the records.

The death certificate index contains information on deaths that occurred in Missouri from 1910 to 1958. These are searchable by name, county or year. The results screen will give you the name, date of death, city and county of death, and the certificate number. The last column contains a link that takes you to the image of the certificate which can be saved to your computer or printed.

A third database, the Missouri Birth & Death Records Database, is actually two databases accessible from the same page. It searches events that occurred prior to 1910. You can search by name or county.

For births (which includes stillbirths), the results screen will give you the child's name, place and county of birth, date of birth, father and mother's name, and in some cases, the mother's maiden name. The right-hand column has a details button you can click on for additional information on the birth. For deaths, the results screen gives you name, age, sex, color, date of death and county. As with births, you can click on the details button for more information.

The Civil War Provost Marshall Index is another nice free genealogy resource found in the online archives. It can be searched by name, keyword or county. The results screen gives the name, county, city, subject, date and reel number. Subjects vary, but may include oaths, statements, prisoner records and more. If one of the results seems likely, you can look it up on microfilm with the given reel number to get more information.

The Coroner's Inquest Database covers inquests ranging from the early 1840s to the early 1930s. You can search by record group, name of deceased, cause of death or year range. The results page gives you the deceased's name, county, date of death and cause of death. Clicking on the view details hyperlink will take you to another page which gives a few more details as well as information on what box, folder and reel you can find the actual inquest papers at the archives.

The Land Patents Database cover the years 1831 to 1969 and can be helpful in locating where an ancestor lived. You can search by name, county or year. The results screen gives the record number, purchaser's name, location of the land and the year purchased. Clicking on view in the far right column will take to a screen which may offer additional information including where to find the land patent entry, type of land, size of property and price per acre. Some entries offer more information than others.

Other helpful databases include the Local Records Inventory, Missouri Supreme Court Historical, Naturalization Records, St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records and Soldier Records: War of 1812-World War I.

When it comes to free genealogy resources, the Missouri Archives has quite a bit to offer.

Ohio Resource

If you are searching ancestors in Preble County, Ohio, I have a free genealogy resource for you. The Genealogical and Historical Records of Preble County, Ohio is a large database provided courtesy of the Preble County District Library. The database includes records from Bibles, births, cemeteries, censuses, churches, courts, deaths, directories, estates, guardianship papers, local histories, maps, marriages, military, minutes, newspapers, obituaries, schools and wills.

To search for a record, simply type in the surname you are seeking information on and click the search button. The database will also search the given name as other parts of the name, including first name, middle name or maiden name.

The database is capable of searching partial names, a nice feature since spelling variations can sometimes make it difficult to find the person you are researching. It will search the given letters in all parts of the name. Searching for Smith, for instance, will return records on people named Smith, Arasmith, Goldsmith, etc.

The results screen will give you the name, year of the record, record type and record ID #. Clicking on the hyperlinked text in the ID# column will take you to a page with the actual image. The image can be saved or printed. To save, right click on the image and click on save image as. To print, right-click on the image and select view image. Once the page loads, you can either hit Ctrl+P or click on file in your browser toolbar and go down to click print.

Cheshire, England Resource

If your family comes from the Cheshire Parish of England, the Cheshire Parish Register Project is one free genealogy resource you don't want to miss. Like many genealogy-related projects, this is a work in progress. Participants in the project are transcribing the information found in the parish registers of the county of Cheshire. It includes baptisms, marriages and burial in the county.

You access the search screen by selecting Dababase on the left side of the page. Once the database page loads, you have to scroll down to select the type of event (baptism, marriage or burial) to search. Unfortunately, the database doesn't appear to be capable of searching all events at one time so you have to keep going back to the original search screen if you want to check other events.

The next page has a dropdown allowing you to choose the parish code. If you're not sure which one is correct, you can search all of them. Below that is a box to put in the surname you wish to search. Then just click on the submit query button to begin your search.

The results screen has a column for notes, parish, full, dated, surname, forename, residence and keycode. In the notes column, you may see a green dot. This indicates that there is a note attached to the record. Notes are compiled from other sources and may have information on the individual that is unrelated to the record.

Selecting the circle in the full column and clicking on the button below it will take you to the full record, which may or may not offer more information than the results screen.

The database doesn't offer a great deal of information as most registers didn't offer a lot. However, if you're trying to nail down a date or location, it can be helpful as a free genealogy resource.

Texas Resource

They say everything is bigger in Texas. The State Library and Archives is no exception. It offers a wide variety of historical records and documents. The jewel of the library is the genealogy collection. It features several databases, many of which are available online.

The Vital Statistics Indexes covers births, deaths, marriages and divorces. Births are available from 1903 with a few delayed births dating back to 1880. Deaths are also available from 1903. Marriage indexes begin with 1966. Divorces begin in 1968. Like most states, more recent vital statistics aren't available.

The indexes are not available online. However, you can submit a request via mail or email for a librarian to check the index for a specific name. They ask that you limit your search to five names at a time and provide a specific name rather than a general surname search. Information from the index can be used to order the actual certificate from the Department of State Health Services or the clerk of the county where the event occurred.

The Confederate Pensions Database searches the index of over 50,000 pension applications submitted by Confederate veterans or their widows. It includes both approved and rejected ones. It is searchable by name with the option of narrowing the search by county. The search results will give you the applicant's name, application number (unless rejected or home designation), county, husband's name (if applicable) and in some cases will link the husband's application.

Once you have located your ancestor in the database, you can request a copy of the application and any supporting documents from the library. Requests can be made over the telephone or through the mail or email. Requests are limited to ten pension applications per week. There is a fee for copies and you will receive an invoice with the copies.

The Texas Adjutant General Service Records span the years 1836 to 1935. Information available in these records can vary widely. In some cases, the file consists of little more than a scrap of paper. In others, you may find details such as pay records, oaths of allegiance, discharge records, general orders and more.

The database is searchable by name. If known, you can narrow the search by selecting the organization the individual served in. The results screen gives you the name, organization served in, call number and in most cases, a link to a PDF image of the record.

If your ancestor lived in Texas when it was a republic, you may want to check out the Republic Claims Database. These records hold claims for payment, restitution or reimbursement submitted to the Republic of Texas between the years of 1835 and 1846 by citizens. There are also a few claims available after 1846. The database is searchable by name. The results screen gives you the claimant's name, other names mentioned in the claim, type of claim, claim number, microfilm location, a link to images and the ID number

Another free genealogy resource found in the archives is the Confederate Indigent Families lists. These lists contain the names of Confederate families that were eligible for relief from the Texas government. Not all counties are represented and the amount of information varies between entries.

You can browse the database by name or county. The results screen gives only the person's name and county. The actual records have been transcribed and are available by requesting the book Confederate Indigent Families Lists of Texas 1863-1865 by Linda Mearse through interlibrary loan.

If researching property owned by a Texas ancestor, the County Tax Rolls may be helpful in your search. The rolls begin at each county's formation and go through 1921. The rolls are incomplete; some counties have missing years. They are not available online, but can be viewed at the archives. It isn't stated, but you may be able to request a lookup by the library staff.

County records, including vital statistics and other records, are available at the archive, but not online. You can use the website to determine the correct microfilm. Interlibrary loan of microfilms is available so you may wish to request it through your local library.

City directories are available for viewing at the archive. If visiting the archive is not an option, you may be able to request a lookup or copy from the library staff. Telephone directories are now part of the collection at the Center for American History.

Voter registration for the year 1867 is available on microfilm at the archives. The library website can help you determine the correct microfilm. You can view it at the archives or request it through interlibrary loan.

If one of your ancestors was the black sheep of the family, the Convict Record Ledgers and Indexes may be helpful in your genealogy research. The ledgers cover the years 1849 to 1954. Information in the ledgers may include name, aliases, convict number, age, physical characteristics, marital status, birthplace, residence, information on crime committed, birthdate, birthplace of parents, and military service. Indexes are available for the years 1849 to 1970.

If you don't know the convict number, your best bet is the indexes. They are organized by name. The ledgers, on the other hand, are organized by convict number. Both ledgers and indexes are on microfilm at the library with the the information needed to locate the correct film on the website. You can view the microfilm at the archives or request it through interlibrary loan.

Arizona Resource

If you are looking for information on a person who was born or died in Arizona, you will be happy to know that the Arizona Department of Health Services has an excellent free genealogy resource for you. On their website at present, birth certificates are available for the years 1855 to 1934 and death certificates for the years 1854 to 1959. Like many states, Arizona requires the birth be at least 75 years prior or the death 50 years prior. The database is updated annually to include those certificates who have reached this point.

The search interface is simple. There is a box for first name and last name, but both are not required. You also have the option of searching only the first couple letters of the surname, helpful if it's one that tends to have multiple spellings. One feature I really like is the check boxes that allow you to search the name as mother or father in addition to the person the certificate was for. This can be helpful in turning up children of the person.

You can choose to search births, deaths or both by simply checking or unchecking the boxes. Both births and deaths offer the ability to narrow your search with a year range or county the event occurred in.

The search results screen gives you the type of certificate, certificate number, name, birthplace, birth and/or death dates, parent's names and birthplaces, and the county. You can sort the results by column, another nice feature.

Once you have located the right person, you can click on their name to view the actual certificate. Adobe Acrobat is needed to view the certificate. As with most certificates in genealogy, some will have more data than others.

Another Massachusetts Resource

Finding records from earlier times can sometimes be difficult. I recently came across the Massachusetts Vital Records Project and was pleased to find that it offers records from 1600 to 1850. It is an ongoing project, but has a lot to offer for those looking for free genealogy resources.

The project can be searched by town or by surname. If you click on the town tab, you are taken to a page broken down by county. A colored star to the side of the town name will let you know what to expect from each town. Green stars indicate the record has been transcribed and images are available online. Red stars are for those without images. A yellow star lets you know that the image is available on request. Towns with a blue star are in progress; images are available, but no transcription has been done yet. A black star notes that the town is with the parent town.

Births, deaths and marriages are available. Don't expect to find a great deal of information. Older records tend to have less details than newer ones. Birth records generally have no more information than the child's name, sex, parent's names and date of birth. Some entries don't even offer that much. Deaths may or may not have the cause of death. However, a few have added details such as military service.

Massachusetts Resource

If you have family from Massachusetts, you might want to take some time to browse through the Massachusetts Archives. They have several free genealogy resources available online including the Massachusetts Archives Collection Database, Index to Passenger Manifests and Vital Records.

The Massachusetts Archives Collection Database spans from 1629 to 1799. Searching it will yield a wide variety of information. A search of the surname Smith will give you over 400 records including petitions, letters, land records, court transcripts and other records.

The Index to Passenger Manifests lists immigrants arriving at the port of Boston from January 1848 to July 1891. It is searchable by name, ship name or date. Information which may be included on the passenger manifest detail includes name, title, age, gender, place of birth, destination, occupation, citizenship data, residence, who they were traveling with, arrival date and ship name. Some entries have additional comments.

Vital Records are available for the years 1840 to 1910. You can search by name, date and type of record (birth, marriage or death). It doesn't give much information, just the name, town and year.

However, it does give you the volume and page the record is found on. You can use this to look the record up yourself at the Archives building or you have the option to mail in a request to have one of the staff look it up for you. There is a $3 fee for a certified copy of a birth, marriage or death records. You can order up to 5 at a time, but must enclose a separate check or money order for each certificate.

Several State Databases

I recently came across another free genealogy resource that covers multiple US states. The information available varies by state, but may include births, deaths, marriages, divorces or county data. County data appears to just link to a page that lists resources for that county, but the resources are free from what I can tell.

Some of the information on the site requires premium membership, but many of the databases don't. Those that don't require premium membership may have you sign up for a guest pass, which entails giving your email address, but is free.

I do want to note that the databases appear incomplete. I searched individuals who I knew should have been included in the database, but they weren't found in the results. However, since a lot of the information is free, it is still worth giving it a shot.

Information available at this free genealogy resource
Alabama-County data. All others require premium membership.
Arizona-County data only.
Arkansas-County data only.
California-Deaths 1905-1929 and 1986 Brides with guest pass. County data. All others require premium membership.
Connecticut-County data only.
Florida-Deaths 1877-1916 with guest pass. Deaths 1999-2001 no guest pass required. County data. All others require premium membership.
Georgia-County data. All others require premium membership.
Kentucky-Births 1911-2005 with guest pass. Deaths 1900-2005 no guest pass required. County data. All others require premium membership.
Maine-County data only.
Maryland-County data only.
Massachusetts-County data. All others require premium membership.
Nevada-County data. All others require premium membership.
New York-County data only.
Oregon-Deaths 1951-1960 with guest pass. Deaths 1999-2000 no guess pass required. County data. All others require premium membership.
Tennessee-County data. All others require premium membership.
Texas-Births 1926-1995, Marriages 1967-2007 and Divorces 1968-2007 with guest pass. Deaths 1956-1998 no guest pass required. County data. All others require premium membership.
Washington-Deaths 1960-1974. County data. All others require premium membership.
Wisconsin-Deaths 1820-1907 and 1959-1979 no guest pass required. County data. All others require premium membership.

I would like to offer a word of warning for this site. There is a large number of advertising and the link to the database is sometimes hard to find because of the ads. Pay attention to where you are clicking. Check out VitalSearch-Worldwide here.

UK and Ireland Resource

If you have ancestors that lived in the United Kingdom or Ireland, you will definitely want to check out Genuki. Within the site, you will find links to a wide variety of records from cemetery to nobility to taxes and everything in between. In addition to linking you to a nice array of genealogy records, you can also find out about local historical societies, libraries, mailing lists and lookup volunteers that may be able to help in your search for your ancestors.

West Virginia Resource

If you have ancestors in West Virginia, there is a great genealogy resource you should know about. The West Virginia Archives and History has placed a large number of vital records (birth, marriage and death) online as part of their Vital Research Records Project. The dates you can search vary by county, but most counties have records going back to the 1800s. Birth records go to within 100 years of today's date, with subsequent years being added as they pass the 100 year mark. Death records go to within 50 years of today. As with birth records, subsequent records are added yearly as they reach that mark.

Some of the records are transcribed. On others, it will be necessary to view the image itself to get your information. If you are looking for siblings of an ancestor, it pays to scroll through the entire page your ancestor is listed on. In many cases, I was able to find siblings a couple lines down.