Articles & Information

Genealogy and Local History

Note: These online subscription resources require a Henrico library card number for use outside the library.

HeritageQuest Online
[in the library]    [outside the library]
HeritageQuest Online is a collection of research materials (with original page images for all documents) for tracing family history and American culture.

Selected Websites

AfriGeneas
A great site for researching African-American ancestry and history; contains links to a large listing of resources including chat rooms.

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
A huge and well known listing of thousands of genealogy websites, mostly categorized and cross-referenced. Contains several indexes, all easily searchable.

Ellis Island Records
Millions of living Americans can trace their roots to someone who arrived at Ellis Island, NY. Users may search these immigration records for free.

Family Search Internet Genealogy Service
Very useful resource created and maintained by the LDS Church.  Their three largest resources, the International Genealogical Index, Ancestry File, and the Family History Library Catalog, are all available here.

Genealogical Research at the Library of Virginia
Information on using the collections at the Library of Virginia for genealogical research. Includes links to census, military, bible, and other records.

Genealogical Research at the National Archives
Excellent information on starting your family research, forms, catalogs, caring for your family archives, workshops, articles, etc.

Genealogy Charts and Forms
Provides basic printable forms, including ancestral, family group, and census charts. Must have Adobe Acrobat in order to print.

Getting Started in Genealogy
Self paced online guide to starting research on your family tree, as presented by Ancestry.com.

Richmond Daily Dispatch, 1860-1865
This site contains 1384 issues of the paper, covering November 1860-December 1865, plus additional period materials, such as the Richmond City Council Minutes and Henrico County Court Minutes. All are digitized and fully searchable.

RootsWeb
The RootsWeb Genealogical Cooperative offers several services, including web page hosting, search indexes, surname list with over 750,000 entries, and numerous user-contributed records and family trees.

USGenWeb Project
An outstanding effort by volunteers to provide and maintain information as regards genealogy on all the states and counties in the United States. The connected sites vary, but at a minimum give query pages and volunteer lookups.

Valentine Richmond History Center
Richmond’s city history museum includes papers, books, art, tools, photographs, etc. representing the entire Richmond area. Read about research in the collections, including Reading Room hours. Current exhibitions.

VAGenWeb
Provides links to genealogical information within the Commonwealth by county. Part of the USGenWeb Project.

Virginia Historical Society
A privately funded collection of papers, art, photographs, and documents related to Virginia’s history. Reading Room: search collections online; note link at lower right if you plan to go to the reading room. The Story of Virginia: online version of an ongoing exhibition on Virginia’s history. Dates in Virginia History. Educational resources: bibliographies, information for teachers, and special tours.

Where to Write for Vital Records
Online guidance about where to write for vital records in the United States. The information is arranged by state and offers instructions to insure an accurate response to requests.