6 Places for Onsite Genealogical Research

So much of genealogy work is done online these days, but there are still opportunities to advance your research with some onsite visits. Not all vital records have been digitalized, you may have to go to physical locations to find some information. Onsite genealogical research provides an exciting opportunity to connect genealogy work and travel. You can connect with the places of your heritage and progress your research with a few fun visits to these places of research.

Public Libraries

Libraries offer more than just books! Many public libraries have archives for their local communities and surrounding areas. These archives may include newspapers articles, maps, census records, scholarly publications, and more. Public libraries often have an abundance of unused resources. You can even make a trip out of it and travel to a library in the lands of ancestors to learn more about their lives and where they lived. If you’re stuck at a dead end, try researching at your local public library.

Cemeteries

Make genealogy a little more personable by visiting cemeteries and the gravesites of your family that’s passed on. Visiting graves can help you to connect with your ancestors and can give you more information. You may discover something at the gravesite that you didn’t know before. Cemeteries can be owned by churches or by the government. Either way, cemeteries have records—these could be very beneficial to your research. If it is church owned, that is usually a church nearby the graveyard. But if the site is government owned, you’ll likely find the records either onsite or at a local library. Learn more about what information you can find during your cemetery visit here.

Genealogy Libraries

After visiting your public library, take a trip to a genealogical library. These venues specialize in genealogical research. With the largest family history library in Salt Lake City and others scattered around the world, these locations are a wealth of knowledge and readily available research. There are other genealogical research specialist and librarians on hand to help you.

Genealogy Conferences

Find new resources and new inspiration at a genealogy conference. There are hundreds across the nation every year that feature professional genealogists, new research techniques, family history classes, and endless opportunity to learn from others in the genealogy field. Learn about conferences coming up in 2019 here.

Parishes and Churches

Many churches and parishes keep records that date back centuries. When you visit an old church or parish located in the land of your ancestors, you may find birth, death, and marriage certificates that date are hundreds of years old to help you with your search. These records are not always recorded digitally. If you visit a parish and ask to see records, most will let you or even help you search through. This can be another way to make genealogy exciting as you visit new places and connect with your heritage.

Town Halls

Taking a research trip to a town hall will certainly be worth your time. Depending on the size of your town, a town hall can contain records that are centuries old. Here you’ll find marriage records, birth records, death records, census records, and citizenship records. You can expand your research by visiting the town halls of individual cities where your family has lived.