American Libraries ONLINE



There are many books published over the decades, especially in the late 19th Century and early 20th century covering family surnames and individual families’ history. Finding them could be the problem.

Fortunately, with the Internet many of the vintage books have been scanned and now available online through specific library’s collections. Using Archive.org, there are many libraries’ books collection online, some 2.7 million. Countless libraries, especially with colleges and universities, can be assessed. Examples include: University of Florida, Boston Public Library, Duke University, Kansas State, or Emory University. Reminder, their collections would not be just books relating to their state or region, but can be any place.  

On the site use the search on the top left side. Search with a hometown, a home county name or a surname. If you know of an ancestor serving in a specific military unit or regiment (especially during the Civil War) search that name of the regiment.

Looking for a surname can produce a person who wrote a booklet or book, but may not be a relative. So it does take time to sort through everything. Another search method would be to place the surname then the word ‘and’ followed with the term ‘genealogy’. That would help narrow down the search on the Archive.org site.  

Any material located can be enlarged for viewing and saved to your computer. To search a book, use the small looking glass icon for searching for a name or keyword in the book’s pages will help.

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

Library of Congress

Database Sites at Libraries

New York Public Library Resources

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