Ancestry Magazine

How many times have you been delighted at the discovery of a trunk full of family heirlooms? How many times has a cousin presented you with a bundle of letters or a previously unknown photo album found in an attic full of old things?

For each of those wonderful moments of discovery, there are, unfortunately, so many other times we lament that nothing more is available than a vital or census record.

Increasingly, however, personal trunks, albums, and scrapbooks filled with family information are finding their ways to local public libraries and historical societies. For the family historian, this means these institutions’ offerings are becoming increasingly more important to explore—particularly when personal collections are available electronically.

The Northwest Room of the Everett Public Library in Everett, Washington, for example, houses a special collection that includes maps, pamphlets, oral histories, and photographs of Everett and Snohomish Counties. The library sports seven digital collections holding hundreds of images of people, places, and events.

The Alliance Memory Project of the Rodman Public Library in Alliance, Ohio, provides photographic images of the area, oral history recordings and transcripts, and digital copies of videotaped interviews with local World War II veterans. Where they lived, what they did, and how they felt can all be found at the Alliance Memory Project website.

Disappointed that your grandmother’s shoebox of newspaper obituaries wasn’t saved? If your research nears Garrett, Indiana, the Garrett Public Library has an online obituary index that includes images of the actual obituaries. Immediately after locating a person in the index, you can discover the names of the survivors, employment, cemetery locations, and any number of other valuable bits of information right in the obituary.

These are just three examples—a little searching, and you’ll discover plenty more. Finding these types of collections can be as simple as using a search engine to locate local libraries. Or check state library websites for links to the public libraries within the state.

But don’t stop at libraries. Look for online collections of area historical societies. For example, the Itawamba County Historical Society in Mississippi not only collects and publishes documents about county events and organizations, it also makes a great effort to preserve and present artifacts that were woven through the lives of the county’s previous generations. Visitors to the society’s website can view a research map of the county or search for more information about past county residents, their activities, and their families.

Another great his torical society online collection belongs to the Huntertown (Indiana) Historical Society, which provides a community photo album on its website along with transcribed data from numerous newspapers and historical publications.

In nearly every community, the local public library or historical society offers trunks of treasures, scrapbooks, and picture albums—and if you’re lucky, you may not have to travel further than your home computer to view the goods. Whether or not your ancestor is featured, these sites are certainly worth a look.

Curt B. Witcher, MLS, FUGA, is the Historical Genealogy Department Manager of the Allen County Public Library.