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Welcome
Welcome to the URI Genealogy Guide! Genealogy, or the study of family history, involves research into the lives of our ancestors, living and dead. This guide will introduce you to resources and tips to help you find information about ancestors that lived in the United States. You will also find specific links to Rhode Island genealogical resources and records in this guide.
In the last few decades, many websites have sprung up online that charge subscription fees to search for genealogical records. Although the URI Libraries does not have many in-house or subscription genealogical resources, there is a lot of information you can access online! Many genealogical records in the United States (and some in other countries!) are considered public information after a certain amount of time has passed, so you can access a lot of information for free! Many records are available free online from government resources and other groups such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The list below collects some general genealogy resources good for researching North American genealogy, primarily focusing on the United States. Use the tabs to the left to explore the rest of the guide!
General Genealogy Resources
Here is a list of free genealogy resources available online, although they may require creating a free account.
- National ArchivesFree birth, death, census, military, land, immigration and more official records from the government of the United States. Largest collection of U.S. government records.
- Family SearchFamily Search is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is a free online database tool that requires registration, but gives access to millions of records from around the world. The tool also includes a family tree builder, where users can save public tree information for deceased ancestors.
- Find a GraveFind a Grave is a free user-submitted database of gravesites from around the world.
- U.S. Gen WebFree online genealogy resources organized by U.S. state
Paid and subscription based websites that provide records, family tree building services and other features for genealogical researchers.
- AncestryPaid genealogy company that offers records, family history expert searching, DNA, family tree software, travel and more.
- Newspapers.comPaid subscription site for access to historical newspapers from around the world.
- Find My PastPaid genealogy family tree research website.
- My HeritagePaid genealogy family tree research website.
- American AncestorsPaid website of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, includes record collections.
- National Genealogical SocietySubscription based organization for genealogy in the United States,
- GeneanetPaid genealogy family tree research website with online community based features.
Created & Revised By
Created by A. Marovelli 4/24