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Genealogy Resources
Library Databases and E-books
Ancestry Library (in-library use only)
A comprehensive online source of information for conducting genealogical and local history research. Included in Ancestry are the digitized images of the U.S. Federal Census from 1790 forward, the US and UK Census Images and Indexes, Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Ancestry World Tree and much more. This database is available for use within the library only.
Dictionary of American Family Names
Contains more than 70,000 of the most commonly occurring surnames in the United States, giving their comparative frequencies, linguistic and historical explanations, selected associated forenames, and occasional genealogical notes.
Heritage Quest Online
A unique, growing collection of research materials for tracing family history and American culture. Included are ProQuest's Genealogy & Local History Collection, Complete U.S. Federal Census from 1790-1930, PERSI™ - The Periodical Source Index, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files and more.
New York Times (1851-2007)
A unique full-image archive that brings you the entire historical run of The New York Times since 1851. This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
OverDrive Digital Media Catalog
Find genealogy titles in our downloadable audiobook and eBooks collection available through OverDrive. Suggested searches: Near the top of the page under the "Quick Search" category type Genealogy as a general keyword search.
Oxford Reference Online
In Oxford Reference Online you will find a wealth of facts, figures, definitions, and translations from 170+ Oxford reference titles, including The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History and The Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History.
San Jose Mercury News Historical Archive (1886-1922)
Find full-text articles on local news, issues, events, people and much more from archived issues of San Jose Mercury News.
San Jose Mercury News (1985 - Current)
Find full-text articles on local news, issues, events, people and much more from 1985 to current. Updated daily, the San Jose Mercury News includes obituaries, editorials, announcements, sports, real estate and other sections.
WorldCat
A unique database that shows the holdings of books, videos, audio, maps and other materials held by libraries in California and the world. Depending on lending institution, many of the items listed may be requested via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
Books & More
- Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy edited by Sallyann Amdur Sack and Gary Mokotoff, Avotaynu 2004. (929.1072 AVOTAYN)
- Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree by Tony Burroughs, Fireside Book 2001. (929.1089 BURROUG)
- Finding Italian Roots: The Complete Guide for Americans by John Phillip Colletta, Genealogical Publishing 2003. (929.1089 COLLETT 2003)
- Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States by Christina K. Schaefer, Genealogical Publishing 1997. (R 929.373 SCHAEFE)
- The Handybook for Genealogists, Everton Publishers, 2006. (929.1072 HANDYBO 2006)
- How to Locate Anyone Who Is Or Has Been in the Military: Armed Forces Locator Guide by Richard S. Johnson and Debra Knox, MIE Publishing, 1999. (355.0025 JOHNSON 1999)
- Irish Records: Sources for Family and Local History by James G. Ryan, Ancestry, 1997. (929.1094 RYAN 1997)
- The PBS Series African American Lives, hosted by Henry Louis Gates. (DVD 973.0496 AFRICAN)
- Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources by Alice Eichholz, Ancestry 2004. (R 929.1072 RED 2004)
- The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood, Genealogical Publishing 2000. (929.1 GREENWO 2000)
- The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy edited by Sandra Hargreaves Luebking and Loretta Dennis Szuch, Ancestry 2006. (R 929.1072 SOURCE 2006)
- Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide by John Grenham, Genealogical Publishing Company 2006. (929.1072 GRENHAM 2006)
- U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present by James Neagle, Ancestry, 1994. (929.373 NEAGLES)
Local Genealogy Libraries
Websites Selected by Librarians
General
Afrigeneas
A main portal for African-American family history. Includes excellent online access to transcribed documents, as well as links to other sites, including a surname database.
Birth Year Calculator
Quickly calculate birth year dates for up to twelve ancestors, when using the census or other genealogical resources.
Census Finder
Lists the questions for the 1790-1930 schedules. Also makes available selected census and vital records for free.
The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names – Yad Vashem
Makes available a collection of names and biographical details of half of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices.
Chronicling America
Maintained by the Library of Congress as a work in progress this digital resource provides historical newspapers from all the states and U.S. territories published from 1880-1910. Includes a directory or profile of American newspapers published between 1690-present.
Cyndi’s List
Cindy’s List is a directory of genealogy resources on the Web, arranged by topic. It’s a great way to locate online sources on a particular genealogical subject.
Family History Library
The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints has put its extensive family history database online. There is access to the Ancestral File, the International Genealogical Index, and the Family History Library Catalog. One effective way to search the Family History Library Catalog is to perform a "Place Search". Type the name of the town, county, or place where your ancestors lived to see what kind of resources (including microfilm, microfiche, and publications) the Family History Library has in its collection. Then visit a Family History Center near you, to request the item for viewing.
Family Search Labs
Currently, the FHL is in the process of digitizing its massive microfilm library and indexing the digitized records. These projects and other digital initiatives are available at FamilySearch labs, the FHL page for beta-testing its digital initiatives. Although the FHL does not consider these projects complete, they are already very useful.
Google Books
Search and preview millions of books and magazines from libraries and publishers worldwide.
Hathi Trust Digital Library - Ancestry and Genealogy Collection
Search for digitized books available in the public domain on genealogy, family history, ancestry. Includes digitized family books. Suggested Searches: In the search box type (Surname) family e.g. McCarty family to see what kind of family books might be available.
IPUMS USA
Lists the census questions from 1850-present.
JewishGen
Features thousands of databases, research tools, and other resources to help those with Jewish ancestry research.
JewishGen ShtetlSeeker
A geographic tool to search current and historical places in Europe, North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Linkpendium
Linkpendium is another genealogy web directory, with a great library of categorized links.
Open Content Alliance/Internet Archive
An online archive of multilingual digitized text and multimedia content. (For example, Polk's San Francisco & San Francisco City Directory for various years have been digitized)
Pro Genealogists
Part of the official Ancestry.com research firm, this site offers many free resources available on the web. A separate International webpage is also available.
RootsWeb
RootsWeb is a long-standing networking resource for genealogists. It includes listservs, submitted family trees, and much more. Also included is the RootsWeb Surname List, which provides a list of researchers, arranged by the surname they are studying.
SFgenealogy
Genealogy and history resources for the San Francisco Bay Area.
stevemorse.org
A one-step portal for online genealogy. Lists both free and by subcription-only websites.
US Census Records: Tips, Links & Online Records
Information about the U.S. Census and links to finding free records.
USGenWeb
USGenWeb is a network of geographically-specific websites run by volunteers. There’s a page for every state and county. The county pages typically have useful information about local records, research institutions, and help researches share information. In recent years, many of these pages seem to be abandoned or out of date, but they are still worth a look.
Immigration & Passenger Lists
Castle Garden
This free site offers access on 11 million immigrants from 1820 through 1892, the year Ellis Island opened.
Ellis Island
Makes available millions of passenger records between the years 1892-1924.
Online Searchable Naturalization Indexes & Records
Compilation of links to naturalization indexes and records.
What Passenger Lists Are Online?
Internet Sources for Transcribed Passenger Records & Indexes.
Military Records
The Civil War Archive
Includes regimental histories, union corps histories, soldier's letters, diaries, and a variety of other information.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
Offers very basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil.
National Archives and Records Administration - Access to Archival Databases (AAD) System
Includes military records for World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
National Archives and Records Administration - Research in Military Records
Provides general information on military records.
National Archives and Records Administration - Forms
Download forms to request early military records or federal pension or bounty land warrant applications.
Online Military Indexes & Records
A directory of links to online military indexes and records. Included are rosters, databases of soldiers, and listings of military and war casualties. Also included are some links to sources for military records in other countries (for World War I & II).
Santa Clara County Genealogy
1852 California Census for Santa Clara County
1870 Census for Santa Clara County
1930 Census Index for Santa Clara County
Birth Records
California Birth Index Online 1905-1995 (includes Santa Clara County).
The CAGen Web Project - Santa Clara County, CA
Many free genealogy resources on the web for Santa Clara County.
California Room Database
Index to historical information on San Jose, Santa Clara County, and California located in the San Jose Public Library’s California Room.
Death Records
California Death Index 1940-1997 (Includes Santa Clara County)
Genealogical Research Libraries and Researchers Santa Clara County, California
Information about local places to turn for performing research in Santa Clara County.
Great Register, Containing the Names and Registration of the Domiciled Inhabitants of the County of Santa Clara
Available at Cupertino Library in the California Western Americana Collection (CWA). Years include: 1867, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1882, 1884, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894, 1896, 1900 and 1904.
Los Altos Town Crier
Search the archives for obituaries dating back to 1995.
Mountain View Obituary Database
An online index to the obituaries found in the Mountain View History Center collection. Most obituaries appeared in local newspapers from 1967 to 2004.
Obituary/Death Notice Searches at Santa Clara County Library
Palo Alto Historical Association Index to Newspaper Obituaries 1890 to present
This index allows you to search for citations to articles and obituaries from the Palo Alto Weekly, the Palo Alto Daily News, and other local newspapers.
Santa Clara County Genealogy
Archives, cemeteries, databases, services, libraries, maps, vital records, etc.
Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society
Includes information about the society and a surname index to their files on early settlers of Santa Clara County.
Santa Clara County Library Local History Collection
Information to local history collection at Santa Clara County Library as well as links to selected online resources.
Santa Clara County Office of the Clerk Recorder
Order vital certificates from Santa Clara County.
School Yearbooks
Information about available School Yearbooks at Santa Clara County Library can be found at each of our Local Community History webpages.
Campbell | Cupertino | Gilroy | Los Altos & Los Altos Hills | Milpitas | Morgan Hill | Saratoga
SFgeanalogy
Genealogy and history resources for the San Francisco Bay Area.
USGenWeb for Santa Clara County
Many free genealogy resources on the web for Santa Clara County.
Vital Records
Center for Disease Control and Prevention – Where to Write for Vital Records
This site contains information about where to write for birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates from each state, territory, and county of the United States.
Cindy's List - U.S. Vital Records
A starting point for finding birth, marriage, divorce and death records on the web.
DeathIndexes.com
DeathIndexes.com is a compilation of links to vital records databases. It’s very well organized and maintained, and helpful with the difficult task of locating vital records on the internet.
Online Birth & Marriage Records Indexes for the USA
A guide to finding vital records.
Find A Grave
Find A Grave is a resource for finding the final resting place of family, friends, and 'famous' individuals. With millions of names and photos, it is an invaluable tool for the genealogist and family history buff. Find A Grave memorials can contain rich content including photos, biographies and dates.
Genealogy Roots Blog
The Genealogy Roots Blog is for finding online genealogy databases, records and resources. The focus is on vital records (birth, marriage, divorce & death records), obituaries, census records, naturalization records, military records and ship passenger lists. The Genealogy Roots Blog is based in the USA, but online European, Canadian, and other records sources are sometimes included. Mixed in with all this you will occasionally find a fun post, a book review or genealogy news.
Linkpendium
Linkpendium is another genealogy web directory, with a great library of categorized links.
USGenWeb
USGenWeb is a network of geographically-specific websites run by volunteers. There’s a page for every state and county. The county pages typically have useful information about local records, research institutions, and help researches share information. In recent years, many of these pages seem to be abandoned or out of date, but they are still worth a look.
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