United States, Compiled Genealogies - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of published genealogies courtesy of Internet Archive. It covers the years 1800 to 1920.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
These records may contain the following information:


 * Pictures
 * Names
 * Names of family members
 * Birth, marriage and death dates and places
 * Various biographical details such as military service or community leadership activities

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The birth place of your ancestor.
 * The names of your ancestor's parents.
 * The residence of your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page (Hyperlink to (Landing Page): Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the wiki article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information found about your ancestor to search for the family in census records.
 * Use the information found about your ancestor to search for the family in additional state and county records.
 * Make a list of all the individuals with your surname. You may be able to sort many of them into individual families.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been included in the collection.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals with the same family number.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation