Connecticut Archives and Libraries

These archives, libraries, societies, and museums preserve sources, maintain indexes, and provide services to help genealogists document their ancestors who lived in Connecticut.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories for Connecticut
Albany Institute of History and Art (NY) • American Antiquarian Society (Worcester MA) • Bennington Museum Research Library (VT) • Connecticut Historical Society • Connecticut Society of Genealogists Library • Connecticut State Library • DPH State Vital Records Office • Godfrey Memorial Library • Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven • Mystic Seaport Museum Collections Research Center • National Archives at Boston (Waltham MA) • New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston MA) • New Haven Museum Whitney Research Library • New York Public Library (NY) • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford • UConn Libraries Homer Babbidge Library • Vermont Historical Society Leahy Library (Barre VT) • Western Connecticut State University Haas Library • Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland OH) • Yale University Sterling Memorial Library

Online Records of Connecticut
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National Archives at Boston
380 Trapelo Road Waltham, MA 02452-6399 Phone: (781) 663-0130 Fax: (781) 663-0154 E-mail: [mailto:waltham.archives@nara.gov waltham.archives@nara.gov] Website: National Archives at Boston
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 * The National Archives at Boston collects Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont documents, photos, and maps of 80 federal agencies, War of 1812, fortifications, coastal facilities, World War II research at Harvard and MIT, federal bankruptcy courts, First Circuit Court of Appeals, Navy, Coast Guard, westward expansion, ethnology, genealogy, Revolutionary War, Civil War, territorial papers, censuses, passenger arrivals for Boston and New England, and Canadian border crossings.

Connecticut Historical Society
1 Elizabeth Street Hartford, Connecticut 06105 Telephone: 860-236-5621 Fax: 860-236-2664 E-mail: [mailto:ask_us@chs.org ask_us@chs.org] Website: Connecticut Historical Society


 * Town records, biographies, manuscripts, families, early settlers, church records, photos, and maps.

Connecticut State Library
231 Capitol Avenue Hartford, Connecticut 06106 Telephone: 860-757-6500 or toll free: 866-886-4478 E-mail Us Website: Connecticut State Library Website: History and Genealogy Home


 * Barbour Collection, Bibles, census, church, Hale Collection newspaper marriages and deaths, manuscripts, books, cemeteries, probates, vital records, directories, land, local histories, maps, military, naturalization, passenger arrivals, and e-mail questions. Holdings include the collection, "Connecticut Archives," 1629–1820. A helpful inventory of this collection is:
 * Connecticut State Library, Guide to Archives in the Connecticut State Library, 3rd ed. (Hartford, CT: Connecticut State Library, 1981). Online digital version; ;.
 * Connecticut State Library Digital Collections allows you to search and view books, newspapers, vital records indexes, court records, photographs, and more. These collections are from the State Library, State Archives and Museum of Connecticut History.
 * The State Library also houses the Museum of Connecticut History (860-757-6521).

Connecticut Society of Genealogists Library
175 Maple Street (Street address) East Hartford, Connecticut 06118-2634 P.O. Box 435 (Mailing address:) Glastonbury, CT 06033-0435 USA Telephone: 860-569-0002 Fax: 860-569-0339 E-mail: E-mail form Website: Connecticut Society of Genealogists Library


 * The library's holdings are not limited to Connecticut and include census records, tax lists, family histories, church records, and local histories. Printed genealogies and reference sources, and a unique collection of ancestor charts submitted by members.

DPH State Vital Records Office
410 Capitol Avenue PO Box 340308 Hartford, CT 06134 Telephone: 860-509-7700 or 860-509-7897 Website: State Vital Records Office


 * The State Vital Records Office has the births, marriages, and deaths that have occurred anywhere in Connecticut since July 1, 1897. Individual town offices can provide birth, marriage, or death certificates for events registered in their town in any time period. Especially, for vital records prior to July 1, 1897, contact the town where the vital event occurred. Click the following link to access Application Forms for Requesting a Vital Record from the State or Town. The State Vital Records Office does not accept credit cards, does not accept online orders, and takes 6 to 8 weeks to fill; however, to use credit cards, for online service, or for expedited orders, use the VitalChek Network, Inc. an independent company.

Godfrey Memorial Library
134 Newfield St. Middletown, Connecticut 06457 Telephone: 860-346-4375 Fax: 860-347-9874 E-mail: [mailto:Sharon@godfrey.org Sharon@godfrey.org] Reference Librarian Website: Godfrey Memorial Library


 * The collection is national in scope with many online records in addition to its physical collection. They compiled the . This library is an excellent genealogical facility including many New England town records, guidebooks, indexes, biographies, and genealogies.

Jewish Hist Society of Greater New Haven
Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven PO Box 3251 New Haven, CT 06515-0351 USA Telephone: 203-392-6125 Email: [mailto:jhsgnh@yahoo.com jhsgnh@yahoo.com] Website: Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven


 * Collects and preserves historical documents, photographs, and memorabilia of the Jewish community. Reaches audiences through publications, exhibitions, seminars, and educational programs.

Mystic Seaport Museum Research Center
Mystic Seaport Museum Collections Research Center 75 Greenmanville Ave. Mystic, CT 06355 Telephone: 860-572-5367 E-mail: [mailto:collections@mysticseaport.org collections@mysticseaport.org] Website: Collections and Library


 * Best first-stop for ships' logs and images, journals, ledgers, diaries, and documents from the whaling, fishing, and shipping industries. Preserves the maritime history of Connecticut and New England. 1,300 logbooks, 390 collections, and 800 related volumes from 1720-present.

New Haven Museum Whitney Rsrch Library
New Haven Museum Whitney Research Library 114 Whitney Avenue New Haven CT 06510 Telephone: 203-562-4183 x15 Fax: 203-562-2002 E-mail: [mailto:library@newhavenmuseum.org library@newhavenmuseum.org] Website: The Whitney Library


 * This is the best collection of the earliest southern Connecticut town records. They also have passenger arrival lists, Federal censuses, and a complete set of New Haven city directories since 1840. Formerly known as the New Haven Colony Historical Society.

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford
134 Farmington Ave Hartford, CT 06105 Telephone: 860-541-6491 E-mail: [mailto:info@archdioceseofhartford.org info@archdioceseofhartford.org] Website: Archdiocese of Hartford


 * Genealogical requests should be in writing (please, no telephone requests) or by appointment to visit the Archives. Sacramental registers of baptisms, first communions, confirmations, marriages and deaths are located at the individual parishes and they should be contacted first for sacramental record requests. If the individual parish cannot locate the record, the Archdiocesan Archivist can search for sacramental records from the period 1829-1999. The Archdiocesan Archives maintains microfilmed copies of Sacramental Registers for the period 1829-1999. A Sacramental Record Inventory by Town/Church, 1829-1964 is available to determine if records are present at the Chancery.

UConn Libraries Homer Babbidge Library
369 Fairfield Way Storrs, CT 06269 Telephone: 860-486-2518 E-mail: Ask a library form Website: UConn Libraries


 * They have an outstanding Connecticut genealogy collection.

Western Conn State University Haas Library
Western Connecticut State University Haas Library 181 White Street Danbury, CT 06810 Telephone: 203-837-9100 E-mail: E-Mail Reference form Website: WSCU Libraries


 * Their collection includes histories, biographies, genealogies, and local histories.

Yale University Sterling Memorial Library
120 High Street New Haven, CT 06511-1918 Telephone: 203-432-1775 E-mail: [mailto:askyale@gmail.com askyale@gmail.com] Website: Sterling Memorial Library


 * Their genealogical strength is their religious collection and Puritain and Congregational Church records. They are also strong on Connecticut, New Haven, and New England history, manuscripts, diaries, and journals.

Albany Institute of History and Art
125 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12210 Telephone: 518-463-4478 E-mail: [mailto:information@albanyinstitute.org information@albanyinstitute.org] Website: Albany Institute of History and Art Library Collections


 * This is the best collection of indexes and original records for "old" Albany County, New York, part of which included what is now all of Vermont. During the 1600s many families which started in Connecticut later migrated into Vermont and upstate New York.

American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury Street Worcester, Massachusetts 01609-1634 Telephone: 508-755-5221 Fax: 508-753-3311 E-mail: [mailto:Library@americanantiquarian.org Library@americanantiquarian.org] Website: American Antiquarian Society


 * They have many Connecticut vital records, newspapers, and town histories. The AAS is best known for their U.S. newspaper collection of over 18,000 bound volumes 1704-1820, history, genealogy, Bibles, maps, biography, directories, Native Americans, women, canals, railroads, photos, and manuscripts.



Bennington Museum Research Library
75 Main Street Bennington, Vermont 05201-2885 Telephone: 802-447-1571 E-mail: [mailto:tresch@benningtonmuseum.org tresch@benningtonmuseum.org] Website: Bennington Museum Research Library


 * Their collection includes early Connecticut, New York, and Vermont records. It is a great place to find records of families that moved up the Connecticut River and then west.



New England Historic Genealogical Society
101 Newbury Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116-3007 Telephone: 617-536-5740; Library 617-226-1231 Fax:  617-536-7307 E-mail:  [mailto:info@nehgs.org info@nehgs.org] Website: AmericanAncestors.org


 * Best overall collection for New England (and Connecticut) vital records and probates, and excellent collection for Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Europe. The manuscript collection for members-only has diaries, letters, account books, business papers, church and town records, sermons, maps, wills, deeds, unpublished town and family genealogies, photos, and papers of the region's best genealogists since 1850.

New York Public Library
U.S. History, Local History Genealogy Division Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, Room 315S New York, New York 10018-2788 Telephone: 212-930-0829 E-mail: Ask a librarian Website: New York Public Library Genealogy Research


 * This is one of the largest research libraries in the world including excellent genealogical resources for Connecticut. The library has city and telephone directories, vital records indexes, local histories, genealogies, federal and state censuses, passenger lists, genealogical collections (including DAR transcripts), and church records. For maps, write to the Map Division at the same address.

Vermont Historical Society Leahy Library
Vermont History Center 60 Washington Street Barre, Vermont 05641 Telephone: 802-479-8500 E-mail: [mailto:info@vermonthistory.org info@vermonthistory.org] Website: Vermont History Center


 * VHS is a good place to research former early Connecticut residents who later moved to Vermont.
 * Brigham, Loriman S. Guide to the "Miscellaneous File" of Uncatalogued Material in the Vermont Historical Society: With a Supplementary Index to the Guide. Montpelier, Vermont: n.p.,1969. ; . This card index of persons, places, and subjects includes family histories and court, business, and land records. The family histories listed may have genealogies, pictures, military records, financial family papers, and correspondence.
 * Brigham, Loriman S. A Calendar of Manuscripts in Certain Boxes at the Vermont Historical Society. Montpelier, Vermont: n.p., 1970. ; . This is a continuation of the above guide.
 * Brigham, Loriman S. A Calendar of Manuscripts in Document Boxes at the Vermont Historical Society. Montpelier, Vermont: n.p., 1972. ; This is a continuation of the above guide.

Western Reserve Historical Society
10825 East Boulevard Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1788 Telephone: 216-721-5722 x1509 Fax: 216-721-0645 E-mail: [mailto:reference@wrhs.org reference@wrhs.org] Website: Family History and Genealogical Research


 * The Western Reserve was a large part of Ohio at first intended for settlement by Connecticut Revolutionary War refugees. The Research Library at the Western Reserve Historical Society History Center  is the premier repository for Cleveland, Ohio and the Connecticut Western Reserve  history material. This important collection includes original land records, as well as many genealogies, biographies, histories, and Bibles from Pennsylvania, New York, and New England. Includes over 20 million manuscripts for genealogical research and northeast Ohio history. They have the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Shaker materials. Other important collections include the American Civil War, and the automotive industry.
 * Kermit J. Pike, A Guide to the Manuscripts and Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, Ohio: Western Reserve Historical Society, 1972). ;.
 * Western Reserve Historical Society. History Library. Card Catalog to the Manuscripts Collection in the Library of the Western Reserve Historical Society (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974). ;.

Family History Centers
Some of the above collections are partially duplicated at the Family History Library and its branch Family History Centers around the world. Most centers can help you by:


 * Giving you limited, personal, one-on-one research suggestions (but they do not do research for you)
 * Providing access to genealogical records through the Internet FHC Portal.
 * Offering free how-to classes (varies by location)
 * Fostering contact between genealogical enthusiasts

There are several centers located in Connecticut, for example:


 * Groton Connecticut Family History Center 1230 Flander Rd Mystic, Connecticut USA Telephone: 860-536-5102
 * Each center is staffed by volunteers and has varying hours and services. Telephone in advance to verify their hours.

To locate one of these 4,500 centers in your own neighborhood, see Find a Family History Center.

For Further Reading

 * Kemp, Thomas Jay.Connecticut Researcher's Handbook. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1981.
 * Leclerc, Michael J., editor. Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research. Boston, Massachusetts : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012.