Explanations and Answers

Here are explanations of the search fields, all of which are optional. When searching, remember "less is more"; the fewer fields you choose, the more results you'll get.

Locality

Country: Currently only the United States is available, but there are plans for additional countries in the future.

Level: There are three geographic levels:

National: The website has a national scope, such as the National Archives or the Library of Congress.
Regional: Areas such as the South, the Southwest, New England, etc. Most of these regions are not strictly defined. States can belong to more than one region.
State: All fifty states, plus the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

County and City: Can only be selected if a State has been selected.

Years and Categories

Years: Whenever possible, years have been included to indicate time periods covered. Sometimes, the end year is the publication year of a book. Not every website or source in the database has defined years.

Category: There are over 100 categories. Many overlap, such as Religious Groups and Vital records. Users should run several searches by several categories that might apply to their research, especially “Multiple” and “Vital: Multiple.”

Subcategory: There are over 200 subcategories. Most are exclusive to a Category, such as those under Religious Groups (Baptist, Catholic, Judaic, etc.)

Website Details

Price: There are four price categories:

Free: The website does not charge fees.
Institutional: Free through a library, university, or other society.
Mixed: Some features are free, such as searching, but others must be purchased.
Sub/Pay: Website requires a subscription or pay-per-view.

Website or Source Name: Normally left blank in searches, but can be used to see if a specific site is in the database.

Website Address: Normally left blank in searches, but can be used to see if a specific site is in the database.

Frequently Asked Questions
I searched by a certain Category but didn’t find what I wanted. Why not?

Categories are sometimes subjective. For example, obituaries could be in “Newspapers” or “Vital: Death.” Also, many vital records are under "Religious Groups." Try searching by a related Category OR try a geographic search instead.

Why won’t a result link open?

If a link is to a subscription site, such as Ancestry.com, then you need a subscription to access it. Subscription and pay sites are marked Sub/Pay. Try searching for Free sites instead.

Other links may be out of date. Please submit corrections via the "Corrections" link in search results.

Why can I only see results for the United States?

Only links related to the United States are in the database right now. More countries will be added in the future.