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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:

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.