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Ready to dive into genealogy? Our Library has one of the nation's strongest and oldest collections!
Getting Started
Beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes are offered at the Main Library and branches. See our program calendar or contact the Genealogy and Local History Department for details. Tours of the Department take place the first Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m.
Databases
You’ll need your your library card number and PIN to access these subscription databases from home. Ancestry Library Edition is only available in library agencies.
- Ancestry Libary Edition. U.S. federal census records, military records, passenger lists and selected records from other countries.
- Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Good starting point for research about people.
- HeritageQuest. Federal census records, military records, African American resources and thousands of family and local history books.
- ProQuest Obituaries. Over 10 million obituaries and death notices in full-image format from national newspapers.
Websites & Blogs
- About Genealogy. Latest news, research tips and topics including DNA research, software tools and scrapbooking.
- Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet. One of the first websites designed as a starting point for family history research. Links to more than 270,000 sites.
- Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter. Topics include breaking news on availability of records, upcoming conferences and genealogy basics.
- FamilySearch. Massive collections of ancestral records compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, guides for researching family history, and FamilySearchLabs, new family history technologies that aren't ready for prime time.
- Roots Television Where History Meets Heritage. Videos of genealogists in action, arranged by topic, along with updates in the world of genealogy
- U.S. GenWeb Project. National group of volunteers working to provide websites for genealogical research in every county in the U.S.
You'll find more genealogy-related websites in Sites by Subject, a directory of websites maintained by library staff.
Recommended Reading & Viewing
Our collection includes more than 100,000 books and magazines from around the world. Here's a representative sample:
- African American Lives (DVD)
- Black Roots: A Beginner’s Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree by Tony Burroughs
- Civil War Research Guide: A Guide to Researching Your Civil War Ancestors by Stephen Mc Manus
- Family History 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Finding Your Ancestors by Marcia Yannizze Melnyk
- Getting Started in Online Genealogy by William Dollarhide
- How to Trace Your Native American Heritage (DVD)
- Locating Your Roots: Discover Your Ancestors Using Land Records by Patricia Law Hatcher
- The Online Genealogy Handbook by Brad Schepp
- They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Arrival Record by John Philip Colletta
- Social Networking for Genealogists by
- Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best Guide to Genealogy by Emily Anne Croom
Bookmark the Genealogy New Arrivals list to keep up the latest additions to our collection. And keep these search tips in mind when searching the catalog:
- Avoid the word “genealogy” in searches. When paired with another word, it often eliminates relevant results and if used alone, produces too many results. For better results, focus genealogy searches on specific geographical locations or family names.
- Conduct geographic searches for places in the United States by using county names, such as “Auglaize.” For foreign countries, search under the name of the region, state, and/or country, for example, “Baden, Germany.”
- For family lineages, enter the family name and the word “family” in a subject search. For example, “Marsh family.”
- Use the Advanced Search and enter the family name next to box labeled “family surname” to find books on related families.
Digital Collections
A growing number of digitized Cincinnati city directories (a good source of information about local ancestors) are in our Virtual Library.
Around Town
- Greater Cincinnati Genealogical Resources. This brochure contains a complete list of local repositories and their holdings, websites, contact information, locations, and hours of operation.
- The Hamilton County Genealogical Society supports the pursuit of family history, donates materials and partners with the Library on programs and special projects.
- The Hamilton County Probate Court. Access to local records dating back to 1791.
- Newsdex, the Library's index to local newspaper articles also contains citations for obituaries.
- Spring Grove Cemetery, established in 1844, is Cincinnati’s largest cemetery. Records provide date of birth, death, cemetery location and names of parents.
You’ll find more local resources in Cincinnati and the Tristate, a directory of websites maintained by library staff.
Still Need Help?
The librarians in the Genealogy and Local History Department are family history specialists. Contact them in person, by telephone (513-369-6905) or email for assistance or to set up a research appointment.