Access NewspaperARCHIVE contains tens of millions of searchable historical newspaper pages, dating as far back as the 1700s and is the world's largest archive of online newspapers. Use the archive to view, save and print full-page newspapers from around the world. Please note that access to this database is brought to Wisconsin residents via the BadgerLink project of the Department of Public Instruction. You may not be able to access it if you do not live in the state of Wisconsin. If you're not able to access it from this link, check with your local libraries to see if they have access.

• BadgerBite: Finding Obituaries - BadgerLink YouTube recording showing briefly how to search for obituaries on Access NewspaperARCHIVE.
  

American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.

Search for your ancestors using this interactive directory of the best free genealogy search engines. Search top world-wide & specialized genealogy databases from one genealogy search site! The Ancestor Search site also has unique custom genealogy search engines found no where else.

Interactive map site from the Newberry Library of Chicago from which you can select a state from the map to view all of the Atlas' content related to that state, including interactive maps, shapefiles, chronologies, and metadata.

Search for your Blacksheep Ancestors in free genealogical prison and convict records, historical court records, executions, insane asylum records and biographies of famous outlaws, criminals & pirates in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

The BLM GLO provide live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States (including Wisconsin). They also provide image access to more than three million Federal land title records for Eastern Public Land States, issued between 1820 and 1908. Currently, they are adding images of Military Land Warrants. These land patents were issued to individuals as a reward for their military service. Images related to survey plats and field notes, dating back to 1810, are added to the site state-by-state as each state's documents are completed. Due to organization of documents in the GLO collection, this site does not currently contain every Federal title record issued for the Public Land States.

CastleGarden.org offers free access to information on 10 million immigrants from 1830 through 1892, the year Ellis Island opened. Over 73 million Americans can trace their ancestors to this early immigration period.

Beta site from Brightsolid for searching all U.S. census records from 1790 to the present which offers both pay as you go and subscription options for downloading the actual record.

Chronicling America provides access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages, and is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Supported by NEH, this rich digital resource will be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress. An NEH award program will fund the contribution of content from, eventually, all U.S. states and territories.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System is a computerized database containing very basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War. The initial focus of the CWSS is the Names Index Project, a project to enter names and other basic information from 6.3 million soldier records in the National Archives. The facts about the soldiers were entered from records that are indexed to many millions of other documents about Union and Confederate Civil War soldiers maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration. Other information includes: histories of regiments in both the Union and Confederate Armies, links to descriptions of 384 significant battles of the war, and other historical information. Additional information about soldiers, sailors, regiments, and battles, as well as prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, will be added over time.

A list of essential print, free Internet sites, government Internet sites, and fee-based Internet sites compiled by Diane Kovacs, a consultant and trainer of library and information professionals.

THE list of genealogy sites on the Internet, compiled by Cyndi Howells since 1996.

This website is a directory of links to websites with online death indexes, listed by state and county. Included are death records, death certificate indexes, death notices & register, obituaries, probate indexes, and cemetery & burial records. You can also find information here about searching the Social Security Death Index online.

Free access to passenger lists from the Port of New York for the time period 1892 to 1954.

ELIZABETH SHOWN MILLS is a historical writer with decades of research experience in public and private records of many Western nations. Published widely by academic and popular presses, Mills edited a national-level scholarly journal for sixteen years, taught for thirteen years at a National Archives-based institute on archival records and, for twenty-five years has headed a university-based program in advanced research methodology. Mills knows records, voraciously devours records, and regularly shares her expertise in them with live and media audiences across three continents.

The Family History Archive is a collection of published genealogy and family history books. The archive includes histories of families, county and local histories, how-to books on genealogy, genealogy magazines and periodicals (including some international), medieval books (including histories and pedigrees), and gazetteers. It also includes some specialized collections such as the Filipino card collection and the “Liahona Elders Journal.” The books come from the collections of the FamilySearch Family History Library, the Allen County Public Library, the Houston Public Library – Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, the Mid-Continent Public Library – Midwest Genealogy Center, the BYU Harold B. Lee Library, the BYU Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church History Library.

Compiled by Kip Sperry.

Favorite websites from the Family History Library staff.

FamilySearch’s Microfilm Ordering service is your gateway to a vast collection of genealogical and historical records. The service allows you to reserve and loan films to family history centers and affiliate libraries. The loan is free, but there is a small shipping and handling charge for each film. Films can be delivered to your closest Family History Center or the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Free family history, family tree, and genealogy records and resources from around the world from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).

Find A Grave is a resource for finding the final resting place of family, friends, and 'famous' individuals. With millions of names and photos, it is an invaluable tool for the genealogist and family history buff. Find A Grave memorials can contain rich content including photos, biographies and dates. Visitors can leave 'virtual flowers' on the memorials they visit, completing the online cemetery experience.

Fold3 (formerly Footnote) provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. The Fold3 name comes from a traditional flag folding ceremony in which the third fold is made in honor and remembrance of veterans who served in defense of their country and to maintain peace throughout the world.

Updates on data and websites for UK and Irish family historians.

Simplifies searching for your ancestors by identifying and linking to the freely available digitized American biographies, genealogies and history books on the Internet.

Find the latitude and longitude of a point on the map.

HeritageQuest Online is a comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources which include unique primary sources, local and family histories, and finding aids. Specific databases included are U.S. federal censuses for 1790-1930, digitized local and family histories, Revolutionary War era pension and bounty-land warrant application files, Freedman's Bank records for 1865-1874, and U.S. Serials Set memorials, petitions, and private relief actions of the U.S. Congress. Please note that access to this database is brought to Wisconsin residents via the BadgerLink project of the Department of Public Instruction. You may not be able to access it if you do not live in the state of Wisconsin. If not, check with your local library to see if you have access there.

• BadgerBite: Finding Census Records - BadgerLink YouTube recording showing briefly how to search census records on HeritageQuest
• HeritageQuest Online - ProQuest YouTube videos showing how to do various kinds of searching on HeritageQuest.
  

A directory of historical newspapers available via the Internet arranged by state.

Resources for genealogists and family historians from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

• Seventh Annual Genealogy Fair (April 20-21, 2011) Handouts

Video introduction on how to borrow materials via interlibrary loan from the NGS Book Loan Collection housed at the St. Louis County Library.

Genealogy and local history resources available from the Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois.

Forms created by Stephen Morse which provide alternate ways of accessing some of the best known genealogical websites, such as Ellis Island, Castle Garden, census and vital records sites. He has also developed some of his own databases and programs to facilitate doing genealogical research.

Links to online historical alumni, business, city, county, farm, Masonic, rural, social, and other types of directories for the United States, Canada and for other countries.

An explanation of how land is laid out and numbered in public domain states (of which Wisconsin was one).

This Facebook site matches up individuals who need genealogical research done for them with others who are willing to fulfill a single specific request.

RootsWeb hosts many of the largest volunteer genealogy projects on the Internet, including family trees, mailing lists, message boards, and websites, all of which are searchable. RootsWeb is funded and supported by Ancestry.com.

The USCIS Genealogy Program is a fee-for-service programprovidingfamily historians and other researchers with timely access to historical immigration and naturalization records. The USCIS Genealogy Program offers two services:

• Index Search: Using biographical information provided by the researcher, USCIS searches its historical immigration and naturalization record indices for citations related to a specific immigrant. Search results (record citations) are returned to the researcher, along with instructions on how to request the file(s) from USCIS or the National Archives.
• Record Copy Request: Researchers with valid record citations (USCIS file numbers), gained through a USCIS Genealogy Program index search or through independent research, may request copies of historical immigration and naturalization records.
  

The USGenWeb Project is a group of volunteers working together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. The Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone. Organization is by county and state, and this website provides you with links to all the state genealogy websites which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level and this website provides an entry point to all of those pages, as well.

Archives exist both to preserve historic materials and to make them available for use. This guide addresses the second purpose by outlining the functions and procedures of archives, and is designed both for first-time archives users and scholars who have already conducted research in archives. The content covers:

• How archives function
• How to identify appropriate archives for your research
• How to access historical materials and research at an archives

Repositories and their collecting scopes and practices may differ, but the principles in this guide should assist you in accomplishing your research goals at any archival institution.

Enter your surname to see its geographic origins and distribution.