Rhode Island Archives and Libraries

United States Rhode Island  Archives and Libraries

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services helpful to researchers of Rhode Island families:

Rhode Island State Archives 337 Westminster Street Providence, RI 02903-3302 Telephone: 401-277-2353 Fax: 401-277-3199

National Archives Northeast Region (Boston) 380 Trapelo Road Waltham, MA 02452-6399 Telephone: 781-663-0130 Fax: 781-663-0154 Internet: Northeast Boston

National Archives—Northeast Region (Pittsfield) 10 Conte Drive Pittsfield, MA 01201-8230 Telephone: 413-236-3600 Fax: 413-236-3609

Rhode Island Historical Society 121 Hope Street Providence, RI 02906 Telephone: 401-331-8575 Fax: 401-351-0127

Rhode Island Genealogical Society P.O. Box 433 Greenville, RI 02828

New England Historic Genealogical Society 101 Newbury Street Boston, MA 02116-3007 Telephone: 617-536-5740 Fax: 617-536-7307

American-French Genealogical Society 78 Earle Street Woonsocket, RI 02895 Telephone: 401-765-6141 Fax: 401-765-6141 P.O. Box 2010

An important inventory of manuscript records of the state, county, and town archives is Clarence S. Brigham, Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1903, Volume 1 (Washington, D.C.: American Historical Association, 1904)

Rhode Island Digital Collections
has statewide online database links which may include vital records, biographies, cemeteries, censuses, histories, immigration records, land records, maps, military records, naturalizations, newspapers, obituaries, or probate records.

Websites
You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Rhode Island in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost. Addresses on the Internet change frequently. The following sites are important gateways linking you to many more sites:

The USGenWeb Project A cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county, state, and country.

Roots-L A useful list of sites and resources. Includes a large, regularly-updated research coordination list.

FamilySearch™ FamilySearch is a collection of computer files containing several million names. FamilySearch is a good place to begin your research. Some of the records come from compiled sources; some have been automated from original sources.