Genealogy
In 2003, the Genealogy and History room was designated the Lincoln County Genealogy & History Center. We’re deeply grateful to many people, but especially to Carolyn Kelsey and Joyce Brown, for their outstanding efforts in organizing the resources of the Genealogy & History Center. We are located on the second floor of Skidompha and are accessible via stairs or an elevator.
All Genealogy Center materials, except for 929.26 books, are restricted to library use only. For an explanation of how our Genealogy Center is organized, go here.
Free Online Research Sites
There are many online resources for genealogy available as well.
You set up an account, but it is free. It has some, but not all, of the same records as Ancestry and has some unique records. Highly recommended for researching documents. Trees placed on this site are not private and may contain unsourced information. Search > Records
The Ancestor Hunt – this site contains newspaper links to many free digital newspaper sites in every US State and Canadian Province, plus a small amount of information on Australia, the Caribbean, and Europe.
Skidompha Collection
These non-newspaper scans are from our onsite collection and have been OCR indexed for ease of searching. New digital collections are always being added, so check back frequently to see what’s new! These archives are free to use and accessible to the public. Digitized materials are available here. Note: The date fields are not functional in this portion of our archives.
Online Learning – These sites have some free and some fee-based webinars.
Six-week free introductory course from the University of Strathclyde’s continuing education program started last week, but you can catch up!
This site has nearly 100,000 articles to guide you to websites, research strategies, records & resources! You set up a free account at www.familysearch.org and then can use the above Wiki site directly with this link or from the main page: Search > Research Wiki. Keyword search by location, record type, etc.
This extensive list guides you to other sites with records & resources. Over 20 years, genealogist Cyndi Ingle has created a “card catalog” to the vast amount of genealogical resources available online. It is categorized and cross-referenced for easier use.
A Genealogist’s Guide to Tracing People from Our Past
This new suggestion comes from a family who found our Skidompha “other online resources” page and got busy researching their own family history online and via phone interviews. They’ve recommended this site as a good addition to our resources list, saying, “it’s loaded with information from beginners tips, a wide variety of documentation tips, and preservation tips.”
New York City History: Ellis Island
We are grateful for this new addition to our list, which came as a suggestion from someone who has used this pandemic time to begin their family history journey. The page includes some background history on Ellis Island and then compiles a list of wonderful links regarding Ellis Island and other topics related to immigration history. A lawyer created this page. Including this link to his New York City History: Ellis Island page and its links does not constitute a recommendation of any sort by Skidompha Library or staff, past, present or future, about this law firm or its partners and employees. Also, be aware that not all immigrants came through Ellis Island; many came earlier than it opened and may have come through the earlier immigration and processing center, Castle Garden in New York, which operated from 1 August 1855 – 31 December 1891.