Have you ever heard of the Internet Archive? If not, or if you just have not visited this website for awhile, I guarantee you will be amazed at all they have to offer. There are now over 2.5 million digital textual items online, including over 85,000 digital microfilm images! These items have been made available by participating institutions such as the Library of Congress, Allen County Public Library, New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, University of Toronto, and many more. Best of all, it's free to read, download, and print any of the items you find online.
Among Internet Archive’s vast collection of digital texts are many items of interest to the genealogist. The list below highlights many of the types of records that can be found online:
- Bible Records: Seneca County, Ohio Bible Records, Volume 1
- Census Records: United States Census Records, 1790-1930 [digitized microfilm]
- Cemetery Records: Cemetery Inscriptions from Loudoun County, Virginia
- Church Records: Nottingham Parish Registers, Marriages, St. Mary’s Church. Vol. 1. 1566 to1763
- City Directories: R.L. Polk & Co.’s, Indianapolis City Directory for 1887
- County Histories: History of Delaware County, Iowa, and Its People (1914)
- Court Records: Records of the Sheriff Court of Aberdeenshire, Volume 3
- Family Histories: Genealogy of the Ford Family
- Gazetteers: The Edinburgh Gazetteer or Geographical Dictionary (1822)
- Immigration: New York Passenger Lists, 1897-1936 [digitized microfilm]
- Land Records: Federal Land Records, Volume 18 (Illinois State Archives) [digitized microfilm]
- Military History: Brief History of the Thirtieth Georgia Regiment (1912)
- Military Records: Compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers…from the state of Missouri
- Native Races: Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [digitized microfilm]
- Naturalization: Western Pennsylvania Naturalization Records, 1820-1931 [digitized microfilm]
- Newspapers: The New York Times, August – September, 1901
- Obituaries: Obituary Records Found in Fort Wayne, Indiana Newspapers, 1841-1900
- Periodicals: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record
- Probate Records: Index to Kentish Administrations, 1559-1649
- Tax Records: Cumberland Valley Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Tax Records
- Vital Records: Vital Records of Barre, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849
Personally, I found that I had the most success when I searched the Internet Archive for a particular author, locality, record type, or family surname, but the “Advance Search” features offer users numerous ways to search the site. You may need to add or remove terms from the search criteria to limit the number of results. As you play around with the search features you will determine what works best for you.
So what are you waiting for? Take the time now and explore Internet Archive’s Text Archive to see what great discoveries you can make. This site is sure to become a favorite. Remember, more and more textual items will be added to the Archives in the future. So check back often. There’s just no telling what you’re going to find online.
