United States Archives and Libraries

United States Archives and Libraries

The following record repositories have major collections and services helpful for genealogical research. Before you visit an archive or a library, contact the organization and ask for information on the collection, hours, services, and fees.

National Archives and Records Administration
Pennsylvania Avenue at 8th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20408 Telephone: 202-501-5415 Fax: 301-713-6740 Internet address: www.nara.gov

The National Archives (NARA) has a vast collection of documents created by the federal government. The records most often used by genealogists are census, military, land, and immigration records.

Microfilm copies of many of the records at the National Archives are available at the Family History Library, other major archives and libraries, and at regional branches of the National Archives. You may purchase microfilms from the National Archives or request photocopies of the records by using forms obtained from the Archives.
 * Eales, Anne Bruner and Robert M. Kvasnicka, ed. Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States. Third Edition. Washington, DC: Nathional Archives and Records Administration, 2000. (Worldcat) Explains records collections used most by genealogical researchers: Census, Passenger Arrivals and Border Crossings, Naturalizations, Military, Land, Native Americans, African Americans, and more.
 * A National Archives (NARA) descriptive pamphlet (DP) provides helpful information about a microfilm set such as an explanation about the records on the film set, their origin, and a roll-by-roll descriptive list. Reviewing a DP prior to using a film set can increase a researcher's ability to use it successfully in a time-efficient manner. The Special Collections of the St. Louis County Libraryhas placed on their web site full-text or PDF versions of DPs for some of the NARA microfilm sets.

Digitized NARA Microfilm Publications and Original Records

The National Archives has a list of digitized records and links to access them through online databases. It includes pay sites such as Ancestry and Footnote.com that have partnered with the National Archives to digitize many of the archives' records. Read more about the digitization program at the National Archives.

National Archives - Regional Branches

Regional branches of the National Archives collect records of federal government offices and courts within the area they serve. These branches are located in or near Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York (moving soon), Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Allen County Public Library
P.O. Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 48801 Telephone: 219-424-7241 Fax: 219-422-9688 Internet address: www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/index.html

The Allen County Public Library has a very large collection of sources for all states, including U.S. census records, periodicals, and local histories.

Daughters of the American Revolution
1776 “D” Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006-5392 Telephone: 202-879-3229 Fax: 202-879-3227 Internet address: www.dar.org.

Daughters of the American Revolution is a national society. Its library in Washington, D.C. has one of the largest genealogical collections in the United States.

Family History Library
35 N. West Temple Street Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3400 Telephone: 801-240-2331 Fax: 801-240-1584 Internet address: www.familysearch.org

For more details see Family History Library.

Library of Congress
Genealogy and Local History Reading Room 101 Independence Ave. at First Street, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20504 Telephone: 202-707-5000 Fax: 202-707-5844 Internet address: www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/

The Genealogical and Local History Reading Room of the Library of Congress has a large collection of published genealogies, manuscripts, histories, directories, maps, and newspapers.

The Library of Congress site has a wonderful American Memory page that links to more 60 collections, searchable by keyword or time period in a variety of media.

New England Historic Genealogical Society
101 Newbury Street Boston, MA 02116-3087 Telephone: 617-536-5740 Fax: 617-536-7307 Internet address: www.americanancestors.org

The society's collections of New England family and local histories and manuscripts are especially helpful. Members can borrow printed resources from their lending library.

New York Public Library
Local History and Genealogy Division Fifth Avenue &amp; 42nd Street New York, NY 10018 Telephone: 212-930-0828 Fax: 212-921-2546 Internet address: www.nypl.org

The New York Public Library has collected many published sources, such as local histories, city directories, maps, newspapers, and genealogies.

Newberry Library
60 West Walton Street Chicago, IL 60610-3394 (312) 943-9090 (312) 255-3513 fax  The Newberry Library was established in 1887 with a bequest from the estate of Walter Loomis Newberry. A privately endowed independent research library, their collections are free and open to the public. The library's Genealogy Collection includes more than 17,000 published family histories, and an extensive collection of local histories, military records, published indexes and abstracts, manuscripts and published sources.

Other United States Libraries
The following libraries also have exceptional genealogical collections. These libraries collect major national sources as well as records of the states they serve.


 * American Antiquarian Society (Worcester, Massachusetts) http://www.americanantiquarian.org/
 * Harold B. Lee Library (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah) http://www.lib.byu.edu/
 * Dallas Public Library http://dallaslibrary.org/
 * Detroit Public Library http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/
 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) http://www.hsp.org/
 * Los Angeles Public Library http://www.lapl.org/
 * Mid-Continent Public Library (Independence, Missouri) http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/
 * Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/
 * Sutro Library (San Francisco State University) http://www.onelibrary.com/Library/calslsut.htm
 * Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, Ohio) http://www.wrhs.org/

Your local public library can help you locate these and other archives and libraries. Directories include:


 * American Library Directory. 53rd Edition. New Providence, New Jersey: R. R. Bowker, 2000-2001. (FHL, 2 vol.) Alphabetical by state and town. Lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and describes each library's holdings and special interests.
 * Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. The Genealogist's Address Book. Fifth Edition. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005. (FHL 973 Includes national, state, ethnic, religious, historical, adoption, computer interest group, and vendor addresses with telephone numbers, E-mail addresses, supervisors, and repository hours.
 * A directory of many repositories and manuscript collections is:
 * The National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the United States. Second Edition. Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press, 1988. (FHL 1988; 1978 Edition on fiche .)

Federal Repository Libraries
The federal government has designated at least one library in each state (generally a major university library) to receive a copy of published federal records. These include a wide variety of topics, such as pension lists, private land claims, veterans' burial lists, and individuals' petitions to Congress.

State Archives and State Libraries
Each state has a state archive or a state library. Many states have both. These serve as the repositories for state and county government records. They often have some federal records as well, such as the U.S. census schedules for the state. A comprehensive list of state archives and their websites is available from the Georgia Secretary of State's website for anyone wanting to find a specific state archive.

Also see the state Archives and Libraries wiki articles (links below) for more information on these and other archives in each state.

County and Town Courthouses
Many of the key records essential for genealogical research were created by local county or town governments. These include court, land and property, naturalization and citizenship, probate, taxation, and vital records. The county and town courthouses are the primary repositories of these valuable records. (However, some courthouse records have been destroyed or transferred to state archives.) The Family History Library has copies of many of these important records on microfilm.

The individual counties have organized their records and offices in many different ways. The county Wiki articles provide further information on how to obtain these records.

Easy-to-use sources that list the various county offices in each state and the types of records at each office are:


 * Bentley, Elizabeth Petty.County Courthouse Book. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1995. (FHL ) (Worldcat)
 * The Handy Book for Genealogists: United States of America. Tenth edition. Logan, Utah: Everton Publishing, 2006. (FHL ) (Worldcat) The Handy Book also lists the county seat and zip code.

Historical and Genealogical Societies
Historical and genealogical societies have been organized in each state, most counties, and some towns. These societies collect many valuable records and offer various helpful services to researchers. Addresses of local societies are listed in:


 * Carson, Dina C., Directory of Genealogical and Historical Libraries, Archives and Collections in the US and Canada. Niwot, Colorado: Iron Gate Pub., 1002. (Worldcat)
 * Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada. 15th Edition. Nashville, Tennessee: American Association for State and Local History, 2001. (FHL ) (Worldcat)

Inventories, Registers, Catalogs
Most archives have catalogs, inventories, guides, or periodicals that describe their records and how to use them. If possible, study these guides before you visit an archive so that you can use your time more effectively. Many of these are available at the Family History Library, at your public or university library, or through interlibrary loan.

An example of a helpful guide is:


 * Schaefer, Christina K. The Center: Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Capital Area. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1996. (FHL ) (Worldcat) This describes the records and services of the National Archives, Library of Congress, Daughters of the American Revolution Library, and other repositories in the Washington, DC area.