Free Genealogy Resources on the USGenWeb Project
Vital Records, Family Bibles, Cemetery Transcriptions, Photos and More
Jun 15, 2009
The USGenWeb Project collects genealogy resources by county, often including information not available elsewhere. It began in Kentucky in 1996, with several genealogists who wanted to create one place to access information related to all the counties. The idea spread quickly, and now encompasses nearly every county in all 50 states. The USGenWeb is committed to making genealogy information available to all researchers for free.
How the USGenWeb is Organized
Each state has its own GenWeb page, accessible from the main USGenWeb site. It usually includes state resources and links, and directs visitors to individual county pages.
Each county has a County Coordinator, a volunteer who maintains the site and adds new genealogical and historical documents pertaining to that county and its residents.
Genealogical Resources on State GenWeb Pages
Each state GenWeb site includes links to ongoing projects, outside resources pertaining to the state, and most importantly, links to the county GenWeb pages where most of the individual information is posted. In addition, there may be data pertaining to the state overall, rather than a specific county.
The Illinois GenWeb page, for example, has links to the all-important county pages, but also includes governor’s biographies; 1823 & 1837 gazetteers which include descriptions of the towns’ an index to canal workers time books; Civil War rosters, histories and photos; and an extensive state history.
The Washington GenWeb page, on the other hand, has links to the county pages and many other databases, but the only original information posted is a biography of the governors.
Genealogical Resources on County GenWeb Pages
The county pages are the backbone of the USGenWeb. The genealogy records available vary from county to county, depending on the coordinator’s efforts and genealogists who submit documents to be included.
Commonly found genealogy resources include:
- Vital Records Indexes, such as births, deaths, marriages or divorces
- Court records, such as wills, probate, land, guardianships, delayed birth records
- Adoption records
- Bible records
- Biographies
- Business records
- Cemetery lists and/or transcriptions
- Census indexes or transcriptions
- Church records
- City directories
- County histories
- Diaries
- Funeral home records
- Land records
- Military indexes
- Naturalizations
- Newspaper articles
- Pension transcriptions
- Obituaries
One county may have several local Bible records, a few obituaries, and a list of cemeteries. Another county may have all of that, plus actual cemetery transcriptions, pension record transcriptions, extensive newspaper excerpts, historic photographs, and links to searchable state databases.
Volunteer to Add to the USGenWeb Collection of Resources
Family history researchers who want to contribute can volunteer to do look-ups in resources they have access to. These may range from books in a home or public library, to cemetery or vital records transcriptions. This is especially important if a local historical library has transcriptions that aren’t yet available online.
Genealogists can also transcribe obituaries, pension records, newspaper articles, etc. and submit them to the appropriate county GenWeb page.
The USGenWeb also has several on-going projects, divided by county, that need volunteers. These include transcribing tombstones, census records, obituaries, pensions, church records, and more.
The USGenWeb is a portal to a potentially rich set of genealogical resources for free. Researchers should check back regularly as more information is added often.
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