Thursday, February 5, 2009

Digital Genealogies, Local Histories go Online

If you are looking for digital copies of published genealogies and local histories try the University of Michigan's catalog of digital books. Click here to use it.

TIP:
There are more than 20 million books and items in this collection.
All of these books can be searched and read for free.
No fees, no registration - just click and read.

This project has cataloged digital books, journals, portraits and other items that are free and available on the Internet. All genealogists have to do is look in the online catalog for material about their family or town that they are researching. Then just click and start reading. It's that simple!

What can you expect to find online?
Here are some titles I have used:
(Click on the title to read the book)
Hanscom, Constance Franklin Richardson. Ancestors and descendants of James Garcelon and Deliverance Annis : from Guernsey and Gloucester to Maine in the 18th Century.
This genealogy is about the descendants of Sea Captain James Garcelon who was born 4 April 1739 in St. Peter Port, Guernsey. His parents were Rev. Pierre Garcelon and Jeanne Bedat. He married Deliverance Annis, daughter of Isaac Annis and Experience Haraden, 29 February 1760 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. They had seven children. James died 18 November 1813 in Lewiston, Maine. Ancestors, descendants and relatives lived mainly in France, Channel Islands, Massachusetts and Maine.

This index also includes the full-text digital copies of genealogical journals. These are fully indexed. I did a search for anything written about County Cavan, Ireland and quickly found this citation:

(Click on the title to read the book)
Notes and Queries. Volume CXLVI, Number May17. pp. 353-355
Click here to see this issue
This article gives details about the soldiers and officers that were stationed in County Cavan in the 17th & 18th Centuries. Their names; spouses; dates of marriage, death etc.

(Click on the title to read the book)
Runnels, Moses Thurston. History of Sanbornton, New Hampshire. Boston, MA: Mudge, 1882.
This is the standard history of Sanbornton, New Hampshire. It includes biographical sketches, genealogies and a history of the town.

TIP:
Libraries may catalog these digital books and add them directly into their own online catalogs. Instantly expand your genealogy collection and offer these free digital books to your researchers.

Let's make it easy for genealogists to find and use these eBooks.

No doubt about it -
It is a great day for genealogy!

Tom


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