Subscribe >
Help
Member Login
Username Password (Forgot?)

Try out the New Ancestry Search

Search Reference Materials & Finding Aids Records


About This Category:
Reference materials including dictionaries, maps, and gazetteers help family historians find and understand genealogical records.

Featured Titles in this Category:
 The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
 Genealogical Library Master Catalog™
 Ancestry Map Center

Search Individual Titles in this Category:
 
[Lineage Book of] Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors
A Complete Index to the Names of Persons, Places and Subjects Mentioned in Littell's Laws of Kentucky
A Hand-book of Mottoes Borne by the Nobility, Gentry, Cities, Public Companies, Etc.
A Key to Southern Pedigrees
Alabama Notes, Vol. I
Alabama Notes, Vol. II
Alabama Notes, Vol. III
Alabama Notes, Vol. IV
Albania Country Study
Algeria Country Study
American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI)
An Australian Biographical Dictionary
Ancestry's Concise Genealogical Dictionary
Ancestry's Guide to Research
Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
Angola Country Study
Armenia Country Study
Austria Country Study
Azerbaijan Country Study
Bailiffs' Minute Book of Dunwich, 1404-1430
Bangladesh Country Study
Belarus Country Study
Belize Country Study
Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)
Bolivia Country Study
Boxford Churchwardens' Accounts, 1530-1561
British Roots of Maryland Families
British Roots of Maryland Families II
Bulgaria Country Study
Buried Genealogical Data
Bury St Edmunds Abbey Archives
California Cemetery Inscription Sources
Cambodia Country Study
Cambridge, Massachusetts History, Supplement
Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s
Cemetery Record Compendium
Chalmers' Biographical Dictionary
Charles Warner, Southern California, 1890
Chicago and Cook County, A Guide to Research
Chile Country Study
China Country Study
Chorography of Suffolk
Coles County, Illinois Biographical Dictionary
Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Volume 11
Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Volume 12
Colombia Country Study
Compendium of Early Mohawk Valley Families
Confederate Research Sources
Cripplegate Ward, London Aldermen, 1276-1900
Cross-Index to New Haven Genealogical Magazine Volumes I-VIII, inclusive Families of Ancient New Haven
Crozier's General Armory
Cyprus Country Study
Dawes Commission Index, 1896
Dawes Commission Index, 1898-1914
DeKalb County, Illinois Biographical Dictionary
Des Moines County, Iowa Biographical Dictionary
Detroit and Northern Michigan Pleasure Resorts, 1883
Devon and Cornwall, England 1859
Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, Volume I
Dictionary of Jewish Surnames in Russian Empire
Dictionary of Suffolk Arms
Diggin' for Roots in Old Virginia
Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. I
Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. II
Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. III
Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. IV
Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. V
Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. VI
Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. VII
Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1620-1700
Dominican Republic Country Study
Early Germans of New Jersey
Ecuador Country Study
Edinburgh, Scotland Almanac, 1853
Egypt Country Study
El Salvador Country Study
Encyclopedia of German-American Genealogical Research
Encyclopedic History of the LDS Church
England and Wales, Law List, 1843
England Topographical Dictionary
England Topographical Dictionary
English and Welsh Surname Dictionary
English Origins of American Colonists
English Origins of New England Families, Second Series Vol. II
English Origins of New England Families, Second Series Vol. III
English Origins of New England Families, Vol. II
English Origins of New England Families, Vol. III
Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire, England 1892
Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names
Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut
Families of Early Milford, Connecticut
Family Historian's Address Book
Finding Your German Ancestors
Finland Country Study
Founders and Patriots of America Index
Genealogical Library Master Catalog
Genealogies of Mayflower Families, Vol. II
General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales
Geographic Reference Library - Free Index
Ghana Country Study
Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry
Great Britain and Ireland: Picturesque Views of County Seats, Volume I-VI
Guide to Hampshire
Guide to Quebec Catholic Parishes and Published Parish Marriage Records
Haiti Country Study
Hamilton County, Ohio History
Handy Book of American Authors, 1907
Heirlooms of Ireland
History and Genealogy of the Mayflower Planters
Honduras Country Study
Hungary Country Study
Index to Main Families, Persons, Places and Subjects in Egle's Notes and Queries
Indonesia Country Study
Inhabitants of New York, 1774-1776
Iosco County, Michigan Glass Negatives, 1892-1905: East Tawas - Free Index
Iowa Biographical Dictionary, 1878
Ipswich Borough Archives Catalogue, 1255-1835
Iran Country Study
Irish Names and Surnames
Irish Relatives and Friends
Ivory Coast Country Study
Japan Country Study
Jo Daviess County, Illinois Biographical Dictionary
Johnson and Pawnee Counties, Nebraska Biographical Dictionary
Jordan Country Study
Kansas Biographical Dictionary, 1879
Kansas Post Offices, 1880 - Free Index
Kansas Towns and Cities, 1912
Kent, England 1892
Kentucky Biographical Dictionary, 1896
Leavenworth, Kansas History Name Index
Library of Congress 50,000 Bibliographic Sources
Library of Congress Research Guide
Libya Country Study
Louisiana City Parish Index
Madagascar Country Study
Mahaska County, Iowa Biographical Dictionary, 1887
Maldives Country Study
Maryland Genealogical and Memorial Encyclopedia
Mayflower Descendants and Their Marriages for Two Generations After the Landing
Mayflower Increasings
Mayflower Pilgrim Descendants in Cape May County
Mayflower Source Records
Michigan Facts and Figures
Michigan Pioneer Society Collections Report, Vol. 12
Michigan Travel Guide, 1899
Michigan, Popular Summer Resorts, 1884
Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog
Midwest Pioneers: Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Vol. 14
Midwest Pioneers: Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Vol. 15
Midwest Pioneers: Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Vol. 16
Midwest Pioneers: Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Vol. 17
Midwest Pioneers: Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Vol. 18
Midwest Pioneers: Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Vol. 19
Midwest Pioneers: Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Vol. 20
Minnesota Guide, 1869
Minnesota Newspaper Headline Index
Minnesota Pamphlet for Settlers, 1878
Minnesota Region, 1823
Minnesota, 1870
Minnesota, Advantages to Settlers, 1869
Missouri Biographical Dictionary
Missouri Cemetery Inscription Sources
Moldova Country Study
Mongolia Country Study
Munsell's American Genealogist
National Archives Guide to Genealogical Research
Nepal Country Study
Nicaragua Country Study
Nigeria Country Study
North Korea Country Study
Norwegian Connections
Old United Empire Loyalists List
Oman Country Study
Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States
Osage Indian Bands and Clans
Panama Country Study
Paraguay Country Study
Peerage of Scotland and Ireland
Peerage of the British Empire
Peerage of the United Kingdom and Ireland, Volumes I-IV
Peoria County, Illinois Biographical Dictionary
PERiodical Source Index
Peru Country Study
Philippines Country Study
Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois Biographical Dictionary
Pioneer Families of Northwestern New Jersey
Pitfalls in Genealogical Research
Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists
Poland Country Study
Portugal Country Study
Romania Country Study
Roster of the People of Revolutionary Monmouth County [New Jersey]
Santa Barbara Travel Guide, late 1800s
Saudi Arabia Country Study
Scottish Covenanters Index
Scottish Maritime Records, 1600-1850
Searching on Location
Settlers of Maryland, 1679-1783. Consolidated Edition
Settlers of Maryland, 1701-1730
Seventeenth Century Colonial Ancestors, Vol. II
Seventeenth Century Colonial Ancestors, Vol. III
Seychelles Country Study
Shelby and Audubon Counties, Iowa Biographical Dictionary
Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois Biographical Dictionary
Siebmacher’s Wappenbuch (in German)
Signers of the Mayflower Compact
Singapore Country Study
Somalia Country Study
Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
Spanish-American Family History Guide
State Vital Records Offices Contact Information
Suffolk Bibliography
Suffolk Crests Dictionary
Surnames in Ireland
The Archives: A Guide to the NARA Field Branches
The Dictionary of Australasian Biography
The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales
The Jacobites of Angus, 1689-1746
The Library (LDS Family History Library)
The Mayflower Reader
The Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry. Lineage of Members
The Original Scots Colonists of Early America. Caribbean Supplement 1611-1707
The Scottish Surnames of Colonial America
Tracing Your British Ancestors
Trans-Mississippi West, 1804-1912, Vol. 1-2
Travel Guide to Southern California, 1893
U.S. Catholic Sources
U.S. Cemetery Address Book
U.S. County History Catalog
U.S. Military Records
United Kingdom, Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Fifth Report
Virginia Heraldica
Washington County, Iowa Biographical Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, 1806
Will County, Illinois Biographical Dictionary
Wisconsin Handbook, 1856
Wisconsin Railroad Survey, 1857
World Fact Book, 1994
General Search Tips
  • If you don't get any matches with an exact search, try broadening your search by including less information.
  • Want to refine your "best matches" search? Try the Advanced Search options and fill out as much information as you can.
  • Use the Soundex search. Names are often misspelled in historical records. Soundex allows you to search for last names that "sound like" the one you're looking for. Try this even if you think the spelling is obvious. Remember, even Smith can be "misspelled" (e.g., Smithe, Smyth, Smythe).
  • Use a wildcard to view all words that begin with the same stem. You can use an asterisk for up to six characters. For example, a search for "fran*" will return matches such as Fran, Franny, Frank, Frannie, and Frankie. Use a question mark for a single character. For example, a search for "Hans?n" will return matches such as Hansen and Hanson.

Browse Records

View All Ancestry Titles 
New
Family Trees
  Family Trees
  - OneWorldTree®
  - Public Member Trees
  - Personal Member Trees
Historical Records
  Census & Voter Lists
  - US Federal Census
  - UK Census Collection
  - Canada Census Collection
  - more...
  Birth, Marriage & Death
  - Social Security Death Index
  - Obituary Collection
  - California Birth Index
  - more...
  Immigration & Emigration
  - New York Passenger Lists
  - U.S. Passport Applications
  - Canadian Border Crossings
  - more...
  Military
  - WWI Draft Registration Cards
  - U.S. Civil War Soldiers
  - U.S. Veterans Gravesites
  - more...
  Directories & Member Lists
  - Massachusetts City Directories
  - New York City Directory, 1890
  - British Phone Books
  - more...
  Court, Land, Wills & Financial
  - U.S. General Land Office Records
  - British Chancery Records
  - Texas Land Title Abstracts
  - more...
  Dictionaries, Encyclopedias & Reference
  - BGMI
  - AGBI
  - Periodical Source Index
  - Historical Newspaper Collection
  - more...
Stories & Publications
  Newspapers & Periodicals
  - more...
  Stories, Memories & Histories
  - Public Member Stories
  - Slave Narratives
  - more...
Photos & Maps
  Pictures
  - US School Yearbooks
  - Public Member Photos
  Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers
Other Resources
  - Family Facts
  - Surname Distribution
  - Place of Origin
  - African American Ancestry
  - NARA on Ancestry
  - more...
list all databases...  
recent website additions...  

Personal Links

My Ancestry