This page contains a collection of various Georgia and genealogy resources, which can be found below. These resources are available through the Athens Regional Library System, and additional genealogy-related websites.
This collection has approximately 4,000 databases including key collections such as U.S. federal census images and indexes from 1790 to 1930. To use this resource, please visit your local library. View our tutorial.
Digital Library of Georgia is a gateway to Georgia’s history and culture found in digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, government documents, newspapers, maps, audio, video, and other resources. The Digital Library of Georgia connects users to a million digital objects in 110 collections from 60 institutions and 100 government agencies. Though this represents only a fraction of Georgia’s cultural treasures, the Digital Library of Georgia continues to grow through its partnerships with libraries, archives, museums, government agencies, and allied organizations across the state.
Georgia Historic Newspapers is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG), a part of Georgia’s Virtual Library GALILEO and is based at the University of Georgia Libraries. Since 2007, the DLG has partnered with universities, archives, public libraries, historical societies, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions to digitize historical newspapers from around the state. The archive is free and open for public use and includes over one million Georgia newspaper pages between 1786 and 1986.
Fold3 History and Genealogy Archives combines original historical documents and personal histories. The collection features millions of digital images of records preserved in the National Archives and other regional archives. This archive features documents relating to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, U.S. Presidents, historical newspapers, naturalization documents, and much more. Some other very notable material includes the Matthew Brady collection of Civil War photos and UFO documents from 1947 – 1969. For Athens Regional Library cardholders only.
HeritageQuest Online combines digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records, the Freedman’s Bank, Revolutionary War Records and more.
New Georgia Encyclopedia is an authoritative resource for information about the state of Georgia.
Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps for Georgia Towns and Cities, 1884-1922 consists of fire insurance maps created by the Sanborn Map Company that depict the commercial, industrial, and residential areas of Georgia cities. The highly-detailed, color-coded maps document the changing face of Georgia cities by depicting not only the community but also each building, block, and neighborhood. The maps detail building construction, sizes, and usage as well as city services such as water and fire services.
Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps for Georgia Towns and Cities, 1884-1922 >
Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database is the result of the African Origins Project, a scholar-public collaborative endeavor to trace the geographic origins of Africans transported in the transatlantic slave trade. Many have contributed to this international research project, which is based at Emory University. The database provides information on almost 35,000 slaving voyages that forcibly embarked over 10 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center contains the largest genealogy collection in a public library. Search obituaries online from Fort Wayne and Allen County (1841-1900).
Researchers from north of the border will find that the library has every Canadian census from 1666 to 1891. In addition, the department has over 100,000 microfilms, over 200,000 microfiches, almost 50,000 family histories, and almost 300,000 books for family research.
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library collection contains over 225,000 books, 10,000 research files, thousands of manuscript items, and special collections of African American, Native American, and women’s history, genealogy and culture. Nearly 40,000 family histories and genealogies comprise a major portion of the book collection, many of which are unique or available in only a few libraries in the country. The DAR Library is free and open to the public.
Genealogy from the Heartland is the circulating genealogy collection from the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, MO. If you cannot get to that library to research, then see what their circulating collection may have for you to request on Interlibrary Loan.
A general description of the holdings and collections is available online. Site lists mail and e-mail reference policies. Other information includes lists of publications, microfilm sales, Georgia Historical Records Advisory, and lecture series schedule, related Georgia links, frequently asked questions about GA history, and “This Day in GA History.”
Includes policies for use of the collection, notable collections, and vertical files subject list.
The Library of Congress is recognized as the national library of the United States. Site has information about the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room. Also lists Library of Congress publications.
Examples of the information to guide your research available at this site include:
National Archives and Records Administration administers a nation-wide network of facilities. Discover NARA’s nationwide holdings, learn about family history and genealogy research. Also find an online exhibit hall and Federal Register.
Other examples of the information available at this site include:
Special Collections contains library holdings of the St. Louis Genealogical Society and the National Genealogical Society in addition to the genealogical and local history materials of the St. Louis County Library. The National Genealogical Society holdings are available on loan through ILL making this a great way to find materials that you can have sent to your local library for you to check out and read.
Includes finding aids, air photos, and index to Sanborn Maps. Hours and contact information are also listed.
Virginia Memory is a program whose mission is to preserve, digitize, and provide access to unique and rare Virginia materials. Online databases include Family Bible Records Project, Land Office Patents and Grants, and WWI History Commission questionnaires.
“It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.” The site is a wealth of “written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music”.
Ancestry.com is the largest online genealogical library. Available free searchable databases include Social Security Death Index, Ancestry World Tree (a collection of genealogical information submitted by users of Ancestry.com) Juliana’s Links is a fully searchable database containing descriptions of thousands of genealogically-related sites on the Internet.
If you are in a public or academic library in Georgia, you can have access for free to many of the databases that Ancestry.com charges for. These are available through GALILEO in a database called Ancestry Library Edition (ALE).
Athens Historical Society and Clarke Oconee Genealogical Society worked as volunteers to inventory the records under the custody of the Probate Judge. The end product is this finding aid to the records in which it is explained what records there are and for what years, what information the records contain, and there is an index to the loose guardianship and estate papers since about 2/3 of these have not been microfilmed. There is also a listing of the places other than the Athens-Clarke County courthouse where these particular records might be found on microfilm.
Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Probate Court Records Finding Aid >
“We provide live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States. We also provide image access to more than two million Federal land title records for Eastern Public Land States, issued between 1820 and 1908. Images of Serial patents (land titles issued between 1908 and the mid-1960’s) are currently being added to this web site. Due to organization of documents in the GLO collection, this site does not currently contain every Federal title record issued for the Public Land States.”
This is where immigrants coming into New York City entered from 1830-1890. You can do free “quick searches” but an advanced search costs $45.00. The Battery Conservancy is responsible for developing this site of 10 million names with more to come.
“The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System is a computerized database containing very basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War. The initial focus of the CWSS is the Names Index Project, a project to enter names and other basic information from 5.4 million soldier records in the National Archives. The facts about the soldiers are being entered from records that are indexed to many millions of other documents about Union and Confederate Civil War soldiers maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration.”
“The Digital Library of Georgia is a gateway to Georgia’s history and culture found in digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, government documents, newspapers, maps, audio, video, and other resources.
The Digital Library of Georgia connects users to 500,000 images and pages of text in 57 collections from 40 institutions. Though this represents only a fraction of Georgia’s cultural treasures, the Digital Library of Georgia continues to grow through its partnerships with libraries, archives, museums, government agencies, and allied organizations across the state.”
Athens Collections:
This database includes the contents of ship’s manifests compiled by volunteers into this database of more than 22 million passengers, immigrants, and crew members that came through Ellis Island and the Port of New York from 1892 – 1924 and One-Step Search Tools. The One-Step Search Tools by Stephen Morse make it easier and more accurate to search the Ellis Island databases.
Family Search is part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which is an international leader in genealogical research and has the world’s largest collection of family history records. Searchable databases at this site include ancestors, census, family histories, military, surnames, family organizations, and vital records.
Fold3 History and Genealogy Archives combines original historical documents and personal histories. The collection features millions of digital images of records preserved in the National Archives and other regional archives. This archive features documents relating to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, U.S. Presidents, historical newspapers, naturalization documents, and much more. Some other very notable material includes the Matthew Brady collection of Civil War photos and UFO documents from 1947 – 1969. For Athens Regional Library cardholders only.
This is part of a nationwide effort to get genealogical information online. Clarke County information includes general profile, historical background, Clarke County marriages, Clarke County churches, and Clarke County cemeteries. Subscribe to the email list called GaClarke; it is for the discussion of genealogy and history in Clarke County, GA. Users can post queries about Clarke County wills, bible records, pensions, etc….
This site is the project of a group of volunteers working together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. Site also has helpful research hints and information about caring for old documents, repairing old books, preserving old photographs, etc….
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database has information on more than 35,000 slave voyages that forcibly embarked over 12 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. It offers researchers, students and the general public a chance to rediscover the reality of one of the largest forced movements of peoples in world history.
Site contains over 103,350 links, of those, more than 99,550 are categorized and cross-references in over 150 categories. Contains a category index. This site has won many awards and is very useful to beginners.
Here you can listen to the Dear Myrtle Radio Hour (which includes a variety of guests in the world of family history and genealogy), read lessons, or post a message on Dear Myrtle’s Blog. This site is a wealth of good information.
“. . . Directory of 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. Also included is information about searching the Social Security Death Index online.”
Here you can subscribe to an online newsletter; the Standard edition is free, the Plus is by subscription. Both are delivered to your e-mail box. In addition to the newsletter, there are a variety of articles and links to good information on a variety of products and databases. There is even a Soundex calculator for names.
Use this site to help you choose your genealogy software for PC’s, MAC’s and other platforms.
Click on the “Search the Unified Newspaper Database” link. This is a site from the University of Georgia Libraries.
Contains:
“Directory of state, county and town offices that can be contacted. Photocopy costs, dates of records, addresses, phone numbers, and related websites are all listed.”
The Athens Historical Society was founded in 1959 and is dedicated to preserving the history of Athens, Clarke County and the surrounding area. Membership is open to all persons interested in documenting and preserving the history and heritage of the Athens area.
Historic Athens is the local historic preservation organization and works to advocate and educate on the importance of preserving historic buildings and sites. The mission is to be a proactive force in developing community-wide understanding of the value of historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage.
Members include people who live in Clarke and Oconee Counties who are interested in genealogy and researching other areas and for those who live elsewhere who are researching Clarke and Oconee Counties. The Society’s mission, publications, projects, Membership form and other information available online.
Serving the following Counties Banks, Barrow, Butts, Clarke, Columbia, Elbert, Franklin, Glascock, Greene, Gwinnett, Hancock, Hart, Jackson, Jasper, Lincoln, Madison, McDuffie, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Putnam, Rockdale, Stephens, Taliaferro, Walton, Warren and Wilkes. They have a great set of links and you can get the membership form online.
Site includes seminars, book reviews, Georgia library articles, cemetery guidelines, publications for sale, researchers for hire, etc… Also information about becoming a Georgia Genealogical Society member.
“A place to check out memories of Athens, Georgia in the 20th century. Memories of schools, neighborhoods, restaurants, hangouts, and whatever comes to folks minds. If you grew up here, tell your memories. If your parents or grandparents grew up here, get them to add to the information. Besides, they’ll probably run into someone they knew. ”
Find information on membership, publications, conferences and activities, news and events, research help, how-to and access to the NGS online bookstore. NGS is a national organization that can help you become a better researcher. Standards for correct research are also available at this site.
This database is “intended to assist historians in their quest for contemporary images to illustrate their research findings and to facilitate the study of historical images in their own right and in proper context. It is also intended to be a unique resource for picture researchers, documentary filmmakers, and others looking for material for commercial use. The database, still in the process of compilation, will have ultimately about 6,000 images.”
“The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection has over 11,000 maps online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North and South America maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia and Africa are also represented. Collection categories include antique atlas, globe, school geography, maritime chart, state, county, city, pocket, wall, children’s and manuscript maps. The collection can be used to study history, genealogy and family history.”
Located at the University of Texas at Austin, this library has a large collection of historical and modern maps. The online map files include almost 6,000 map images, many of which are in the public domain. Go especially to Historical Map Websites.
The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia maintains a collection of more than 800 historic maps spanning nearly 500 years, from the sixteenth century through the early twentieth century. The collection provides a graphic resource upon which scholars can draw in re-discovering the minds and movements of early American explorers, revolutionary statesmen, cultural figures and politicians represented by the library’s book and manuscript collections.
Although not limited to a single geographic subject, the collection heavily emphasizes the State of Georgia and the surrounding region.
Rare Map Collection, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library >
To learn more about hiring a professional genealogy researcher, including definitions of the various standards of licensing, please read this article.
About.com: Licensed, Accredited, Certified, or Professional? >
This independent professional organization began in 1979, and acts to support genealogists in their profession. Accepted members must adhere to the APG Code of Ethics. They provide some of the widest array of research specialties, including Heir Searcher, Adoption, Genetic Consultant, House Historian, and Translator services.
This independent organization certifies only those researchers who have proven their ability to meet the seventy-four standards of the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) when performing genealogical research. Researchers renew their certification every five years, and the board offers an arbitration board for any disputes that may arise. Their website offers names of Certified Genealogists with a variety of degrees and specialties (including time periods, languages, geographic areas, etc.) to meet your needs.
This international organization tests people in their region of expertise to ensure competence in genealogical research, through three-levels of testing that includes “a quality four-generation research report followed by an eight-hour written exam and oral review.” Accredited Genealogists must renew their accreditation every five years. ICAPGen’s website has multiple databases for finding an Accredited Genealogist, including areas of specialty, and geographic location of the researcher.
International Commission for the Accreditation for Professional Genealogists >
Would you like to be a part of making your library even better? There are many ways you can help, from volunteering your time to joining the Friends of the Library to making a financial contribution.
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