Research Assistance

The experienced staff at the Family History Center can help with complex research needs and point you in the right direction. Specialists are available for unique questions. Please visit the scheduling portal to set appointments for specific questions.

As well as the help of the staff, access to the following premium databases are free at the Family History Center:

• The 19th Century British Library Newspapers Digital Archive
  This fully searchable database of the British Library's newspaper holdings provides a complete run of 48 national and regional Victorian British newspapers for the 19th century from 1800 to 1900. These support the study of colonial history, genealogical research, politics, urban studies, and media courses.
• Alexander Street Press, American Civil War
  Research Data: Contains indexed, searchable information on over 4 million soldiers and thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs.
  Letters and Diaries: Contains approximately 100,000 indexed pages of diaries, letters, and memoirs, including 4,000 pages of previously unpublished manuscripts, such as the letters of Amos Wood and his wife and the diary of Maryland planter William Claytor.
  Images, Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera: Provides a vivid history of the American Civil War with over 1,400 images.
• American Ancestors (Library Rights)
  American Ancestors focuses on American family history, from 17th-century colonial New England through 21st-century immigration research.
• Ancestry.com
  Ancestry gives you access to thousands of collections of records from around the world, including immigration, census, voter, vital, and military records; newspapers and periodicals; family trees; photos and images; directories, maps, court, land, wills and financial records, stories, memories, and histories; and detailed records about births, marriages, deaths, land ownership, and much more. It is the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world. All family history centers have access to Ancestry.com Library Edition.
• ArkivDigital Online
  ArkivDigital is the largest private provider of Swedish Church Records and other historical records online! All images are newly photographed color images of the original documents.
• Find My Past
  FindMyPast makes it easy to research your UK ancestry and create your family tree. Search census records and trace births, marriages, and deaths to bring your family history to life.
  1911 British Census: The 1911 UK Census is a record of everyone who lived in England and Wales in 1911. It provides a unique snapshot of the lives of those who lived at that time.
• Fold3
  Search or browse millions of historical documents and photos. Fold3 has refocused their efforts on gathering the best online collection of military records and stories. The Fold3 name reflects military history and honor, since traditionally, the third fold in a flag-folding ceremony honors and remembers veterans for their sacrifice in defending their country and promoting peace in the world. See Using Fold3 at a Family History Center for more information.
• The Genealogist
  English parish records, directories, census, civil registration, surname mapping, and selected army and navy lists.
• Geneanet
  Geneanet focuses on continental Europe, with over 7 billion indexed individuals, 600,000 online trees, and a search engine available in multiple languages.
• Kinpoint (Premium)
  With Premium, Kinpoint Guide shows problems in your family tree and finds records for missing information.
• MyHeritage (Library Edition)
  MyHeritage provides family tree tools, unique matching technologies, and billions of historical records in over 42 languages.
• Newspapers.com
  The largest online newspaper archive with 20,400+ newspapers from the 1700s–2000s and millions of additional pages added every month.
• Paper Trail
  Provides access to 19th-century westward American migration documents.
• Puzilla (Premium Services)
  Find new research opportunities on descendant lines in FamilyTree, premium services gives access to additional research opportunities.