Genealogy Genealogy

To help you get started on your family research we’ve put together this page of books, magazines, and microfilm from our collection. There is also a list of helpful websites you may find useful to get you started filling in your family tree.

Don’t forget we have a lot of great material in our Local History Collection including Census Records, City Directories and Vital Records which will help you in your search. See our catalog for a listing of our collection. As always, if you have any questions please visit our Ask a Librarian page and a member of our reference department will be glad to help guide your search.

Books at Pollard Memorial Library to get you started:

• Allen, Desmond Wall. First Steps in Genealogy: a beginner’s guide to researching your family history – CALL NUMBER: S.C. 929.1 ALL
• Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo. A Genealogist’s guide to discovering your female ancestors: special strategies for uncovering hard-to-find information about your female lineage – CALL NUMBER: S.C. 929.108 CAR
• Crawford-Oppenheimer, Christine. Long-distance genealogy – S.C. 929.1072 CRA
• Croom, Emily Anne. Unpuzzling your past: the best-selling basic guide to genealogy – CALL NUMBER: S.C. 929.1072 CRO
• Rose, Christine and Ingalls, Kay Germain. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Genealogy – CALL NUMBER: S.C. 929.1 ROS Ref
• Warren, Paula Stuart. Your guide to the Family History Library – CALL NUMBER: S.C. 026.9292 WAR

Magazines available at Pollard Memorial Library

• American Ancestors- published quarterly
• Lowell Offering – October 1840-December 1845 (microfilm)
• New England Historical and Genealogical Register – published quarterly

Sample of newspapers on microfilm-(check with our Reference Staff for others):

• American Citizen – 5/20/1854-5/1862
• Centralville News – 5/5/1916-11/3/1916
• Chelmsford Phoenix – 6/28/1825-2/24/1826
• Evening Star – 3/31/1890-9/19/1896
• L’Etoile – 9/16/1886-4/7/1899
• Le National – 6/13/1890-10/4/1895
• Lowell Advertiser/Lowell Evening Advertiser – January 1838-December 1862
• Lowell Courier-Citizen – Morning edition: 1/5/1837-2/1906 Evening edition: 3/1906-12/1921
• Lowell Sun – Weekly: 8/10/1878-8/27/1892 Daily sun – 9/1/1892 to date
• Lowell Sunday Telegram – 4/1899 – 9/1952
• New England Greek Messenger Weekly – 3/11/1915-12/26/1917
• Star of Bethleham – 1/2/1841-5/2/1846

Helpful Genealogy Links

Websites for beginners

• Dear Myrtle Blog and Dear Myrtle’s Family Tree Webinars
• Genealogy.com – If you are a brand-new genealogist or need a refresher course, this is a great place to learn the basics of hunting for ancestors
• Introduction to Genealogy – Free, Interactive Online Course Learn how to research your family history for free with fellow classmates from around the world.
• Rootsweb.com – The primary purpose and function of RootsWeb.com is to connect people so that they can help each other and share genealogical research. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been doing genealogy forever, here are some useful general information files.

General Genealogy Websites:

• The American Family Immigration History Center – This database provides information on 22 million immigrants and ship’s crews who arrived at Ellis Island and the Port of New York between 1898 and 1924. Searchable by name, including alternate spelling, results provide date of arrival, age, marital status, ethnicity, residence, gender, ship, and port of departure. Information on each ship and ship manifests are also available.
• Ancestry.com – A commercial site with genealogical information, such as how to search for family records and create a family tree, and many message boards and other ways to share information. Most other features require a paid subscription. The Library edition is available for use at the library. Click here for temporary remote access.
• Ancient Faces – Thousands of family pictures
• Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet – A collection of over 100,000 links. This site is one of the richest resources for genealogy studies
• Family Search – Sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Vital records extraction project 35+ million names in its Ancestral File, 360+ million names in the International Genealogical Index and Family History Library Catalog with records from more than 2 million rolls of microfilm
• Free Genealogy Charts and Forms – free PDF charts to plot your family records and family tree
• Index to genealogies published in Lowell Courier Citizen Newspaper on Wednesdays (31 October 01906 – 29 April 1908) – compiled in 1987 by Shirley Rathburn
• Massachusetts Genealogy
• New England Historic Genealogical Society
• Northern Middlesex Registry of Deeds
• Roots Web Guide to Tracing Family Trees – An outstanding beginner’s guide as well as tips for more advanced genealogists
• Roots Web.com – Billing itself as “The Oldest & Largest FREE Genealogy Site,” RootsWeb includes search engines and databases, family trees (over 70 million names), surname and geographical mailing lists, and message boards.
• Saint Patrick Cemetery – Contains genealogy burial listings from 1895 thru 2011
• US Genweb Project – Links to all the state genealogy web sites, special archiving projects on census, cemetery tombstones, guides to doing research
• The World Gen Web Project – This online resource for international genealogists “is a non-profit, volunteer based organization dedicated to providing genealogical and historical records and resources for world-wide access.” Divided into eleven world regions, it is searchable by countries, provinces, states, and other administrative divisions.
• United States National Archives Census Links – access links to find census records dating back to 1790, plus various links about genealogy, helpful hints, and more.
• Vital Records Information – search this page to find information about birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage records
• Vital Records for Early Massachusetts – Massachusetts Vital Records Project with information from 1600-1850
• Where to Write for Vital Records – Information for accessing vital records by state

Helpful Research sites

• Archdiocese of Boston Archives
• Boston Public Library
• Office of the City Clerk, Lowell, MA – The Lowell City Clerk’s office has information on births, deaths, and marriages.
• Digital Public Library of America – Access to millions of items—photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and more—from libraries, archives, and museums around the United States.
• Lowell MA Genealogy – The mission of Lowell MA Genealogy is to present, preserve and disseminate genealogical records relating to Lowell with an emphasis on the 19th century.
• National Archives and Records Administration Genealogy Page – This outstanding site is packed with genealogical tips, guides, and practical information for obtaining federal records (census, military, passenger lists, etc.) as well as indexes like the Index to all Veterans Who Died in the Korean War, which is searchable by name or by state.
• Newberry Library – An independent research library open to the public, the Newberry Library in Chicago serves over 10,000 people annually. The library is known for its extensive genealogy materials, as well as its collections on the history and literature of Western Europe and the Americas.