Georgia Archives and Libraries

The following archives, libraries, and societies have major collections or services helpful to genealogical researchers:

Georgia Department of Archives and History

(Currently the "Georgia Archives") 5800 Jonesboro Road Morrow, GA 30260 Phone: 678 364-3700 Internet: http://sos.georgia.gov/archives/

Two helpful guides to the collection are:


 * Georgia Department of Archives and History.A Preliminary Guide to Eighteenth-Century Records Held by the Georgia Department of Archives and History. Atlanta, Georgia. The Department, 1976. (Family History Library book 975.8 A3pg; microfiche 6100334.)
 * Davis, Robert Scott, Jr. Research in Georgia. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1981. (Family History Library book 975.8 D27d.)

National Archives—Southeast Region (Atlanta) 5780 Jonesboro Road Morrow, GA 30260 Internet: http://www.archives.gov/southeast/

Georgia Genealogical Society P.O. Box 38066 Atlanta, GA 30334 Internet: http://www.gagensociety.org/

Georgia Historical Society Library 501 Whitaker Street Savannah, GA 31499 Internet: http://www.georgiahistory.com/containers/2

Washington Memorial Library Middle Georgia Regional Library 1180 Washington Avenue Macon, GA 31201 Internet: http://www.co.bibb.ga.us/library/

John E. Ladson Jr. Genealogical and Historical Library 119 Church Street Vidalia, GA 30474 Internet: http://www.ohoopeelibrary.org/ladson.htm

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Georgia counties, use the nine inventories of the county archives published by the Historical Records Survey around 1940. Eight of these inventories are available at the Family History Library.

Computer Networks and Bulletin Boards
Computers with modems can be useful tools for obtaining information from selected archives and libraries. In a way, computer networks themselves serve as a library. The Internet, certain computer bulletin boards, and commercial on-line services help family history researchers:

Locate other researchers

 * Post queries
 * Send and receive e-mail
 * Search large databases
 * Search computer libraries
 * Join in computer chat and lecture sessions

You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Georgia in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost.

The following sites are important gateways linking you to many more network and bulletin board sites:

The USGenWeb Project
A cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county, state, and country.

Roots-L
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/roots-l/

A useful list of sites and resources. Includes a large, regularly updated research coordination list.

For further details about using computer networks, bulletin boards, and news groups for family history research, see the United States Research Outline (30972), 2nd ed., "Archives and Libraries" section.

FamilySearch™
www.familysearch.org

The Family History Library and some Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch™. FamilySearch is a collection of computer files containing several million names. FamilySearch is a good place to begin your research. Some of the records come from compiled sources; some have been automated from original sources.