Vital Records Online

Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records

This website is a directory of links to websites with online death indexes, listed by state and county. Included are death records, death certificate indexes, death notices & registers, obituaries, probate indexes, and cemetery & burial records.

http://www.deathindexes.com/index.html

Online Birth & Marriage Records Indexes for the USA

A guide for finding birth and marriage records --also includes some divorce records.

http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/vitalrecords.html

A sampling of state vital records online:

ARIZONA: Birth Certificates 1855-1932: http://genealogy.az.gov

ARIZONA: Death Certificates 1844-1957: http://genealogy.az.gov

FLORIDA: Florida Death Index, 1877-1998 at Ancestry.com

GEORGIA: Death Certificates 1914-1927:

http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html

ILLINOIS: Cook County Marriage Licenses:

http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html

KENTUCKY: Death Certificates, 1911-1953: http://kyvitals.com/

MARYLAND: Death Record Index, 1898 – 1951 and Baltimore City 1875-1972

http://mdvitalrec.net

MASSACHUSETTES: Massachusetts Vital Record Index to 1850

http://www.newenglandancestors.org/database_search/Vital_records.asp

MASSACHUSETTES: 1841-1910 Birth, Marriage & Death indices

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcsrch/VitalRecordsSearchContents.html

MISSOURI: Marriage Licenses 1805-2002: www.ancestry.com

MISSOURI: Death Certificate Index and Images 1911-1957:

http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/

NEW YORK CITY: Death index 1891-1948

http://www.italiangen.org/VRECLIST.stm

NORTH CAROLINA: Death Certificates 1909-1975: www.ancestry.com

SOUTH CAROLINA: Death Certificates 1821-1955 www.ancestry.com

OHIO: Death Certificates 1908-1953:

http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html

PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia city Death Certificates, 1803-1915:

http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html

TEXAS: Death Certificates, 1890-1976:

http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html

UTAH: Death Certificates, 1904-1956:

http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html

WASHINGTON: Death Certificates 1907-1960:

http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/TitleInfo.aspx?TID=472

(images not available at present)

WEST VIRGINIA: Birth Certificates (various to 1907):

http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_bcsearch.aspx

WEST VIRGINIA: Marriage Certificates (various to recent):

http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_mcsearch.aspx

WEST VIRGINIA: Death Certificates (various to fairly recent):

http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcsearch.aspx

Ancestry Webinars

Ancestry.com has hosted several webinars (seminars on the internet) over the last year and has archived them on their website so others can view them. Click this link to go to the Ancestry Webinar Archive. Some of the webinars are on using Ancestry products:

Getting Started on Ancestry.com
Introduction to Family Trees on Ancestry
Family Tree Maker 2009
Ancestry.com Search Enhancements
Using My Canvas to Print and Share Your Family Stories

They also did an Ethnic Research Series with experts in different areas:

Discover Your Jewish Family History
Polish Ancestry
Irish Ancestry
German Ancestry
Italian Ancestry
English Ancestry

Each webinar is approximately one hour long. You see the slide presentation on your screen and hear the expert’s explanations. Log on and try one that may be helpful to your research.

Census Tracker Spreadsheets

About Census Tracker spreadsheets

Download Census Trackers

These census tracking spreadsheets are wonderful tools. You can type right into the spreadsheets as you transcribe from census records. I use the following most often:

U.S. Federal 1790-1930
This one has a census transcription page for each of the Federal censuses taken between 1790 and 1930 with all of the columns found on the original census sheets.

Census Tracker
This is a one page sheet where you can have summaries of all the census records for one particular family.

You can download these as Excel spreadsheets or as PDF files in the "Individual Download" section of the web site. There are a variety of other spreadsheets that may be of interest to you also.

The census spreadsheets are offered free of charge. If you find them useful then consider making a small donation to the creator. Instructions are on the website.

Homework Assignment

Create an online resource guide for the state of your choice. Search for original records and indexes to original records.
[See the sample guide for Missouri]

Include web sites that contain records on:

Birth, Marriage and Death
Census and Directories
Immigration and Naturalization
Land and Military
Newspapers and Maps
Any other resources you discover

Check for databases on subscription sites, state archive web sites, and using Google.

Free Access to Genealogy Web Sites

The Howard County Library provides free access to Heritage Quest (inside the library or remotely from home with your library card), and the Library Edition of Ancestry.com inside the library branches (no remote access from home).

Family History Centers provide free access to many genealogy subscription web sites such as:

Footnote.com, World Vital Records, Heritage Quest, and Godfrey Memorial Library

They are located at:

Columbia Maryland Family History Center
4100 St Johns Lane, Ellicott City, Maryland
Phone: 410-465-1642

Hours: M-Th 9am-2pm; T-Th 7pm-9pm; Sat 9am-12pm

Washington D.C. Family History Center
10000 Stoneybrook Drive, Kensington, Maryland (near the Mormon temple)
Phone: 301-587-0042
Hours: M, F 9:30am-1pm; T-Th 9:30am-4:30pm & 7pm-9:30pm; Sat 9:30am-4:30pm.
Free research classes held monthly, 3rd Sat 9-10:30;

Missouri Resources Online

Birth, Marriage and Death Records
· Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1957 (digital images)
· Missouri Birth & Death Records Database, pre-1910

Census Records
· Missouri State Census Collection at Ancestry

Immigration and Naturalization Records
· Missouri Naturalization Records Database 1816-1955

Land Records
· Missouri Land Patents Database 1831-1969
· Federal Land Records search BLM database

Military Records
· Civil War Provost Marshal Index Database
· Soldiers' Records: War of 1812 - World War I

Newspapers
· Historic Missouri Newspapers
· Missouri Newspaper Archive Databases at WVR

Local Records
· County and Municipal Records on Microfilm
· Local Records Inventory Database

Judicial Records
· Missouri Judicial Index Database
· Missouri Judicial Records

Maps
· Missouri Digital Heritage Maps (topographic, railroad, demographic)
· Maps of Missouri
· Sanborn Maps for Missouri
· Plat books of Missouri
· Missouri State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1881
· Gazetteer of the state of Missouri 1837

Photographs and Digital Images
· Portraits of African Americans in Missouri, 1880-1920
· Missouri Memories: A History in Photographs
· Postcards from Missouri

History / Biography
· A History of the Pioneer Families of Missouri

U.S. County Maps

I just learned about a great new web site for historic county maps!

CENSUS MAPS
Links to rotating animated maps showing all the county boundries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundries.
http://www.familyhistory101.com/map_census.html


COUNTY MAPS
Links to rotating animated maps showing all the county boundry changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundries and State Department of Transportation Maps.
http://www.familyhistory101.com/map_county.html