What are Coats of Arms?

Coats of arms were initially used to identify individuals who had a right to bear arms. Eventually these rights were transferred from generation to generation and finally became a means of identifying a family or clan, depending on the geographical location. Original designs were sometimes altered slightly to distinguish particular branches of a family, consequently increasing its genealogical worth.

What is Heraldry?

The study and identification of Coats of Arms is known as Heraldry. Family historians are often mesmerized by its splendour and charm, and possibly a bit by the promise of being part of an aristocratic blood line. The particular design of each heraldic symbol tells a story in itself, and can lead you to a deeper understanding and knowledge of your genealogical roots.

FREE Coats of Arms and Heraldry Resources

Following is a list of FREE Heraldry resources for the genealogist who wants to dig a little deeper into their family history. As with our list of the Top 40+ FREE Online Genealogy Websites, the same care has been taken to ensure these resources are absolutely free. If you want to order a plaque or other item decorated with your family crest, you will have to purchase it and pay a shipping fee, but the research oriented info and searches on these sites are absolutely FREE. Some even offer free downloads so that you can print off your family tree at home. Whether you’re interested in your Coat of Arms for genealogical or aesthetic reasons, here are our selected sites containing FREE Heraldry and Coats of Arms resources.

1. The College of Arms

It’s appropriate to begin our listing with a site originating from one of the homes of Heraldry, the United Kingdom. If your ancestors are of English, Welsh, Northern Ireland, or any other country in the British Commonwealth, you should find information on your family Coat of Arms here. The repository at the College of Arms includes both registers of grants of arms and funeral certificates, an added bonus to the genealogist. The official collection also includes a register of name changes which can be of value to family historians, as well as an extensive library of genealogical works.

This is a site for serious genealogists. If you’re looking for a free family crest search, you won’t find it here. The website is full of information designed to assist genealogists in identifying and understanding the history of their family Coat of Arms. If you find a Coat of Arms on a document while conducting your family search, you are encouraged to photograph it and send it on to the college. They do however charge a small fee for identification, but the true value of this site is in the FREE heraldic and genealogical education they offer.

2. Heraldica

Heraldica answers common questions about Heraldry and contains a pictorial glossary of over five hundred coats of arms ant heraldic emblems. Browsing through the pictures you are introduced to the many emblems used in decorating Coats of Arms and their names. The site also offers over two hundred articles on Heraldry and boasts a section specific to American, British and French heraldry. A must see site for budding heraldry enthusiasts and genealogists alike.

3. Heraldsnet

An explanation of every imaginable heraldic term imaginable is contained in the online glossary compiled and maintained by Jim Trigg. The glossary is based on the original book by James Parker published in 1894. The website also contains over 1,000 illustrations of Coats of arms, family crests and every conceivable symbol with they can be decorated. FREE to use, and full of valuable information.

4. The Court of the Lord Lyon

If you are of Scottish ancestry you’ll find information on Tartans, Flags, Crests, Clans, and coats of arms on this website. At the moment of writing the website is under review pending the establishment of an official Registrar of Tartans, but you can still find useful FREE genealogical and heraldic information here.

5. Scottish Clans

This is another site that although commercial in nature offers free no-strings-attached heraldic and genealogical resources. If you want to order your family tartan after finding out what it is, you can, but you’re not forced to sign-up, register or pay to research it. The link I’ve provided will take you directly to their What’s My Clan page where you simply type in your surname to reveal what clan you’re a part of. I typed in my last name, Walters, and found out that I’m a member of the Forbes clan from Aberdeenshire. This could be important information that could help me to trace my family history back farther than I ever imagined. Rather than searching for the name Walters, I could search the surname Forbes to uncover further leads.

6. Burke’s General Armory

This site has the largest assortment of Arms, which arranged alphabetically under surnames. The register contains Armorial Bearings for England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales registered up to 1884. The 1500 blazons (the design on a coat of arms) are available completely fro FREE, and the site offers Coat of Arms design for those whose family doesn’t already have one. Be the first of your clan to register your family Coat of Arms and go down in history!

7. Heraldry Symbolism

Heraldry Symbolism is home to the most extensive heraldry symbolism and heraldry dictionary on the internet, and it’s FREE! On the right side of their homepage you will see a menu. Clicking on the Heraldry Dictionary option will take you to the heraldry dictionary which is based on the works of Charles Elvin. Elvin’s works have been corrected and updated, and additional information has been added. The dictionary is offered as a free reference tool, with no strings attached!

8. Peerage

Peerage is, in its own words, “A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe.” This translates to being an index of European surnames, but it’s no ordinary index. I can only encourage you to experience this website. Clicking on the link provided will take you to the front page of the surname index. The names are indexed alphabetically, so click n the appropriate letter, and you will see what I mean. This index is massive, and if you think the list of surnames is huge, click on your surname to view the vast array first names sub-categorized. This is an incredible genealogical resource that contains a lot of historical data.

9. Heraldry of the World

If you want a time out from your research and just want to have a little fun, this site will give you an escape. Coats of Arms from practically, if not every, country in the world are displayed here. The arms are categorized by country, so if you want to view German Coats of Arms you simply click on Germany. The author of the site provides as much information as he can find on each Coat of Arms and all of his information is sourced always credited. The site is quite large, and addition to being a pleasant distraction, it also provides useful family and historical info about many of the Coats of Arms displayed.

10. The American College of Heraldry

As well as its free resources, the American College of Heraldry offers you the opportunity to commit to the study of Heraldry by becoming a member. Annual membership at the time of writing was $39.95, but you’re not forced to join to make use of their many resources. They are in fact, a non-profit organization simply dedicated to the perpetuation of Heraldry. There is tons of FREE information on this website. If you want to know the significance of the Heraldic Eagle, you’ll find it here. Common questions about heraldry are addressed and competently answered here, and the website, whose purpose is to “educate the public regarding the history and meaning of heraldry”, does a fine job of it indeed.

I hope you find these links to Heraldry resources entertaining, educational, and fun, after all, that’s what family history research is meant to be!

If you know a really good website out there that didn’t make it on this list, email me (melanie at obituarieshelp.org) so I can include it, but make sure it is completely free – for this post, I’m not interested in sites that have lists of links to subscriptions sites or lists of indexes that you have to pay to see the document. I want free information available online.

Leave your comments below to let me and others know what you think of these resources.

• hearing something exciting about one of our ancestors, or
• if we have the same surname as someone famous – just to see if we might be related.

As we begin our search for our infidel ancestor or our wealthy relative, it is possible to come across some information that we rather wouldn’t have. This could be an ancestor being involved in criminal behaviour; murder, theft, fraud, etc, or something like illegitimacy, adoption or infidelity.

Some families will be unaffected by such a finding, others possibly delighted to detect a bit of colour in their otherwise conservative clan, while still some may be embarrassed and not know what to do with the information. At this point the genealogist becomes the bearer of bad news, and discernment is needed when handling any potentially damaging information. For instance, it could be very hurtful to reveal to someone that their father is not their real father, or to inform them that they were adopted if they don’t already know.

What anyone does with the information they find when doing family history based researched is of course a personal matter. The one doing the research will know their family best, yet could still remain confused as to where to go with the information. At this point it may be wise to consult an older relative, even a professional of some sort. Whatever the decision, it is a personal one, yet should be made with kind consideration.

Where You Might Find Family Secrets

The following are some potential family secrets you may run into:

1. Illegitimacy and Adoption

2. Divorce and Bigamy

3. Poverty

4. Criminal Activity

In this series about family secrets, I’ll cover each of these areas and the records you may use to either verify or disprove them, beginning with illegitimacy and adoption.

Illegitimacy and Adoption

Believe it or not, illegitimacy was not always considered such a big deal. Many members of royalty in the past sired illegitimate children and rather than sweep them under the carpet, they recognized them publicly, even creating official positions for them and bestowing titles upon them. The children of lower class mistresses though not treated so openly or generously, were still cared for and given an education or a military commission in order for them to have an established place in society. These sorts of situations may be revealed while searching through Estate Records. If you come across payments made out of estate accounts to mysterious people, or for lavish gifts, these could point to support for an illegitimate child, or a mistress.

Another clue of illegitimacy is the lack of a father’s name on a birth certificate or an anomaly on a census report. Often a girl’s parents would adopt a child if it was born out of wedlock, yet if the family were poor, they wouldn’t be able to afford that. In such a case, the parents either; searched for the father and made him marry their daughter, or if he wouldn’t marry her, force him to pay a “bastardy bond”, the form of child support of the time. Unfortunately not all men were honourable enough to do either one of those things, and many fled the county or country by joining the army or running away to sea. If searching civil registration you find a marriage that happened a few months before or after the birth of a child, it was usually a forced marriage.

A common option was of course to put a child up for adoption. Unfortunately prior to the twentieth century, little records were kept of adoptions, and most arrangements were either made privately or secretly assisted by the church.

In any case, it’s very exciting to find discrepancies in records or in stories handed down through the generations. Keep an open mind and enjoy the journey to find out about your ancestors. You never know what your research may turn up!

When Barack Obama became nominated as a presidential challenger, much interest arose in his background. Researchers discovered that Mr. Obama’s great, great, great grandfather was born in Eire. Much was already known of his Kenyan ancestry. However, the fact that an African American could have Irish descendants had a profound effect on many people.

It is well known that the Irish flocked to America in droves. Since President Obama’s Irish heritage has come to light, much effort has been made to find the source of his Irish blood.

What about you, might you be of Irish ancestry?

Knowing the origin of your surname can obviously be of immense value when tracing your family history. The surnames popular in Ireland today reflect the wonderfully rich history of the country and the diversity of the people who have settled there.

Ireland was actually one of the first countries to develop a system of hereditary surnames. Up until the eleventh century first names were almost exclusively used for identification purposes in the Emerald Isle. Due to the ever increasing population this method became insufficient and so the Irish surname was born.

It’s very interesting to understand the actual structure of Irish surnames, and it’s not complicated at all. Initially surnames were formed by adding Mac or O’ to the father’s or earlier ancestor’s first name. Thus MacArthur meant son of Arthur or O’ Donovan meant descendant of Donovan. Soon even this method revealed the limitations of using solely given names, and people began to be christened after their trade, or place of residence. For example Mac Nulty meant “son of the Ulsterman”, Ulster being one of Ireland’s four provinces.

The Anglo-Normans also had an effect on Irish surnames. The Normans arrived in the twelfth century and quickly integrated into Irish society. Names such as Fitzgerald, Power and Walsh, all very popular in Ireland today stemmed from the Normans.

English families were integrated into Ireland around the sixteenth century, and they established names like Spenser, Hyde and Browne.

The Scottish arrived next when at the beginning of the seventeenth century the English government encouraged people from Scotland to purchase land in Ireland. In came the Pattersons, the Fergusons, the Kerrs and of course, the Stewarts.

Over the years even native Irish names were anglicised. Prefixes like O’ and Mac were often dropped, so MacGowan for example would become simply Gowan. Because this process occurred over time and assumed different forms in different areas, and often sometimes because of misspelling in official records, the origin of certain surnames has become obscured. An example of this is the name Johnston, which can be spelled Johnstone, Johnson, Johnston, MacEoin (John’s son) MacOwen, and MacKeown.

French Huguenots even added their share of influence to the Irish surname. Escaping from religious persecution the Huguenots settled in areas around Dublin, and names like D’Ollier and Fontaine are courtesy of them. Finally the Germans added their dash of impact and names like Cohen and Greenburg were born.

Knowing the origin of your surname is invaluable in guiding you to the relevant records when searching your family history. It’s an important part of genealogical research that can help you to know if you’re as Irish as Barack Obama!

The black is fairly easy to establish because as far back as I can go on Earl’s father’s ancestry, the family is listed as black (I am using black as this was the terminology on the records of the time). I realize there is the “one drop rule” that means any black in your ancestry no matter how far back means you are black. That can skew the results, but there is no evidence of any other ethnicity to in the WOODS line back from Earl’s father than black (or Negro as was used on the 1930 United States Federal Census).

Perhaps, if we could go further back in the WOODS line, we might find different ancestry, but it is doubtful there would be enough to establish the claim of one-quarter Native American and one quarter Chinese on the basis of Earl WOODS’ paternal line. It is said that Miles, Earl’s father, “was black, clearly of African ancestry” (telegraph.co.uk, 05 May 2006) and that is where I have to leave this line for now.

Perhaps we will do better with Earl’s maternal line. His mother was Maud(e) Ellen CARTER, who married his father Miles WOODS (July 1919 according to William Addams Reitwiesner who does not give a primary source for this information). Miles was a widowed prior to the 1910 census. His first wife was Viola and they had at least four children together (sources: 1905 Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 and 1910 United States Federal Census).

While the WOODS family lived in Manhattan Ward 4, Riley, Kansas, the CARTER family was also in Kansas but over a hundred miles away in Stranger, Leavenworth County.

Earl’s mother, Maud(e) Ellen CARTER, was born in May 1893 (1900 United States Federal Census), 20 years younger than her husband. On the Kansas State Census Collection of March 1, 1895, she is age two living with her parents Louis and Hattie CARTER. On the 1900 and 1905 census records, she is still living with her parents and siblings. In 1910, her mother is listed as widowed and the head of the family is given as Maude’s older brother Fred.

See Table 1 for the standard information given on the 1895-1930 census records for Maud. Those dated June of a year are United States Federal Census records and those dated March are from the Kansas State Census Collection. Blank means no answer was given, none means the word none appeared in the column and n/a means not asked. As shown on every census record, Maud is listed as B for black, except for 1930 which used Neg. for Negro.

On the 1895, 1900 and 1905 census records, Maud and family reside in Stranger, Leavenworth, Kansas. Her first name is written as Martha on the 1905 Kansas State Census Collection, but she is the right age, with the correct parents and consistent siblings to be Maude.

In 1915, the closest match is Maud CARTER, 22, living with Martha C. Babcock, age 70, and Francis Babcock, age 30, in Wakarusa, Douglas County, Kansas. The Babcocks are identified as W for white while Maud is listed as B for black. Maud is the only black person on that page.

When Maude marries Miles Woods, she lives with him at Manhattan, Riley, Kansas. On the 1920 census, one child from the previous marriage is still living at home with his father and his new stepmother. By the 1925 record, there are no children from Miles first family and three children from the new marriage have been added to the family.

An interesting question is what was Maude doing in the Babcock household? Was she a domestic for them or was it closer to a college that she was attending? According to Londino, she did both domestic work and attended college (though not necessarily at the same time). He says, “Maude CARTER was a college graduate, but she spent her entire life doing domestic work because there were so few opportunities for black women” (Source: Tiger WOODS: a biography, by Lawrence J. Londino, Greenwood Press, 2005).

Was a college education even possible for a black woman at the time? The answer is yes, because after emancipation (which was gradual but finalized December 6, 1865 with the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution) education for African-Americans was seen as extremely important. The belief that churning out African-American teachers through “normal schools” was essential to raising educational levels of all African-Americans resonated throughout the states where African-American populations were high.

Kansas was one such state as many made their way north in a mass exodus to try to find states that might afford them more opportunities. Those who moved during this time were called “Exodusters” and the CARTER family was certainly part of this movement. Maude’s father gives his father’s place of birth as Kentucky and his mother’s as North Carolina. By the early 1900s when Maude would have been college age, there were many African-American universities and colleges in Kansas.

I could find two women named Maude CARTER who received teaching credentials, but neither was in Kansas. Certainly this does not rule Maude out, as it is impossible to do an exhaustive search. Yet, to say she was college-educated but unable to secure work other than as a domestic is mysterious, because I read that the need for African-American teachers was high during this time. It is definitely possible she took something other than teaching or that teaching jobs for blacks might have been limited to all black schools and these did not pay well enough to support her family.

In fact, a testament to the truth of the college education is that the 1920 United States Federal Census shows her as having no occupation, but in the column where it says, “Was in school since September 1, 1919” the census taker wrote yes. At this time, she was 28 and since she was in school for the 1900 and 1905 census years, I would assume at age 28, she would be attending college. The 1915 record does not show an occupation or attendance at a school, but she would have been 18 and could have finished elementary and high school by then.

Regardless of her schooling, there is nothing in any records for Maude to indicate she was anything but black.

In Part III, I will examine Maude’s parents’ genealogy to see if there is any other ethnicity for them in the attempt to determine Earl Dennison Woods’ claim to be something other than 100% African-American.

Xenia Stanford of Write On! XPRESS and A.G.E. Ancestree Genealogical Enterprises

I asked Miriam these questions:

This is what Miriam had to say when I asked her these questions:

What do you think the future can bring with regards to online genealogy research?

Anyone who has done genealogical research in the past ten years has seen many changes to the sources that are available, especially online ones. Universities, libraries, and state archives have been digitizing documents and microfilms used in genealogy at an incredible rate! I believe that this will only increase in the future. As the cost of digital scanners decreases, we’ll see more and more small libraries and institutions being able to digitize and put their collections online as well. These will include items like those found in vertical files, newspaper clippings, and obituaries.

What online tools do you use to research your genealogy and why?

My main tool for researching online resources is Google. It’s simple and easy to use, especially once you learn the different search tips and operators. It’s important to remember, though, that Google and other search engines cannot search what is known as the “deep web,” those sources, images, and texts found in many online databases. However, you can use your favorite search engine to find the databases themselves. For instance, using Google I may not be able to locate letters written by an ancestor that are now located in a state archive online collection, but I can find the archive using the search engine.

What is your general opinion of the advantages and/or disadvantages of using some of these online research tools?

It’s also important to remember as we do more and more online research that not everything is available on the Internet, nor will everything someday be there. Private holdings, including items like your own personal family history collection likely will not be digitized for others to view. It’s important to remember to use courthouses, libraries, archives, and other offline repositories to find the information you need. We live in exciting, amazing technological times; with resources our predecessors could only dream about!

Other Guest Posts About Online Genealogy You Might be Interested In:

Joan Miller: Passionate Genealogist

Craig Manson’s Genealogy Motto: Learn, Share, Enjoy, Appreciate

Gena Philibert Ortega: Professional Genealogist

Last week I told you a little bit about the Big News at ObituariesHelp.org, the family tree templates project that I’ve been working on. But now, all 18 new family tree pages are ready, with plans to put more online in the next while.

The wait is over, you can start downloading any type of family tree you want right now:

Bowtie genealogy trees

Pedigree charts

Circle Genealogy Charts

Sample family trees

Landscape family trees, ancestry charts

Fan legacy family trees

Hourglass ancestry trees

Partner family trees

Free charts, free templates, all designed by Lia Rodriguez, a professional graphic designer with a genuine interest in genealogy, ancestry and family history!

Plus, if you don’t know which type of family tree you want, but you know how many generations you need, we have charts for 3-generations, 10-generations and every number in between:

Three-generation family trees templates

Four-generations family trees

Five-generations pedigree trees

Six-generations blank trees charts

Seven-generations blank family trees

Eight-generations family charts

Nine-generations printable family trees

Ten-generations ancestors trees

I’m very excited about this project and we’ll be adding new sections all the time, we’ve already got plans for scrap-booking family tree ideas and abstract family trees. So keep checking back, there is so much online right now and so much more to come. I’d love to hear about how you are using these family tree templates in your comments below.

This is what Gena had to say when I asked her these questions:

What do you think the future can bring with regards to online genealogy research?

Overall, the future will provide greater online access to photos and documents for family history researchers. I think we will see more genealogists using social networking tools to network with other researchers and family. I think that this will allow more photos and documents to be available as family historians upload these items to share on social network sites and on the internet.

I also think we will see more archives, museums and libraries digitizing their materials for easier access to researchers. This both benefits the repository so that they are able to preserve the item better, less people touching it, and allows researchers greater access.

What online tools do you use to research your genealogy and why?

I have subscriptions to several genealogy websites that I use regularly. I use these sites as a starting point to gather items about my ancestors. I also refer to state archive and library websites. I use WorldCat to find books and other materials I may need for research.

I am a big fan of Google, Google Books and Google Scholar. I use these sites regularly to find books and journal articles.

I use social networking sites like GenealogyWise (where I am the Community Manager), Facebook and Twitter. Facebook has been very helpful to me in contacting family members, asking them questions and having them help me identify old family photos.

What is your general opinion of the advantages and/or disadvantages of using some of these online research tools?

We are greatly blessed to have so many online tools at our hands. There is no comparison between how my grandmother worked on her genealogy more than 30 years ago and how I research today. But it’s important to remember that you cannot do all of your genealogy online. Genealogy is about going out and finding primary documents that tell the story of your ancestor’s life. It’s about interviewing family, seeking out home sources, visiting libraries, archives, churches, courthouses and museums. Compared to all that is available, the internet holds just a small portion of the information we need to do our family history research.

I also like to point out privacy issues to those that are on social networking sites. It’s important to be smart about what you post and reveal on a social networking site. Social networking is a tool and just like any tool you use for genealogy, it’s important to know how to use it and what the benefits and drawbacks are.

Other Guest Posts About Online Genealogy You Might be Interested In:

Joan Miller: Passionate Genealogist

Craig Manson’s Genealogy Motto: Learn, Share, Enjoy, Appreciate

Craig Manson runs a blog called GeneaBlogie and is the second Genealogist in this series of posts who replied with his opinions of online genealogy. Craig Manson has a diverse and varied ancestry that spans African American slaves, Native Americans and Colonial Settlers.

Craig Manson’s heritage is truly an American heritage and he chronicles his research on his blog. In my opinion, he is one of the foremost genealogists for American ancestry but he would tell you he is just researching his own ancestry and sharing what he learns along the way. Check out GeneaBlogie and see if you agree.

This is what Craig Manson had to say:

What do think the future can bring with regards to online genealogy research?

I think one thing that is coming is “person-centered” searching; that is, the ability to find and see records on an individual across many platforms. MyHeritage does something like that right now, but it needs refinement. I think two words that online providers are hearing are “content” and “collaboration.” Researchers want more of both, and I think they’ll get it.

What online tools do you use to research your genealogy and why?

I use a variety of online tools in my research. I use the large commercial providers like Ancestry.com and Footnote.com. I like these because of the two words I mentioned above: content and collaboration. Ancestry and Footnote both have great content and the ability to collobarate by contacting other researchers or by commenting and annotating records. I also use NewspaperArchive.com for its great content. That site was instrumental in my breaking a top sports news story about the first African-Ameican to drive in a NASCAR stock car event in 1955 (turns out it was my grand-uncle Elias Bowie).

I make great use of the online resources of various state archives. Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Georgia seem to have particularly good genealogical content online. There are several local libraries with superb content and for public records, several agencies of local government find me visiting often. Finally, I’m also a regular user of FamilySearch.org; there are records there to be found nowhere else online.
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What is your general opinion of the advantages and/or disadvantages of using some of these online research tools?

On balance, I think the advantages outweigh any disadvantages. One must keep in mind however that just because it’s on the Web doesn’t make something true or authentic. And, of course, most research is not online yet at all. So, it’s too early to give up on a good pair of research shoes and library specs!

But not anymore. I have some really exciting news about a project I’ve been working on that has taken me away from my duties as a genealogy blogger. But I think you will be really excited to see it when it’s online.

Ok, the big news is this….

I’ve put together a special team of designers to focus on all the family tree templates that you have been searching for but you haven’t been able to find.

Well look no further, in the next few days, you will have access to the largest collection of free family tree templates online.

We are about to launch a huge family tree templates section free to download and print.

I’m not talking one or two pages of downloads here, I’m talking about 18 new pages that cover every possible family tree template you can think of from kid friendly family trees to genealogy professional pedigree charts to professionally designed printer quality circle charts that you can download for absolutely free!

I’ll be making a special announcement on the day we launch the new pages so check back again in the next few days!

His journey took him through World War 1 and back to the Civil war. He found facts about his ancestors that no one in his family ever mentioned.

His story inspired me to share with you some of the best online resources for military records.

National Archives Research Catalog

This is the online catalog of the U.S. National Archives. There are thousands of resources available online, scanned documents, transcribed documents and where to find the originals. These records include birth, death, military, maps and more.

Civil War Soldiers and Sailor System

Find basic facts about United States servicemen who served in either Union or Confederate Armies during the Civil Wars. Search millions of soldiers by name, regiment, cemetery, battle, and even if they were a prisoner.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

This website is an amazing resource for anyone who had ancestors serve Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom in World War I or World War II. You can search records, they call it the Debt of Honour Register, for casualty records and cemetery records. And all the information is free.

DAR National Society

Daughters of the American Revolution Society will do free look-ups for you! If you want to know if your ancestor is recognized by the DAR as a Revolutionary Patriot, complete the form online and their volunteers will look up that information plus, names, spouses, rank, service, state and pension information too.

Online Catalog of the Library of Virginia

This website contains the personal accounts of World War Veterans in Virginia. You can search the database for personal accounts and then contact the library for a copy of the completed questionnaire.

Australia’s World War Two Nominal Roll

You can view transcribed service records for Australia’s men and women who served in World War II. They will even reproduce a certificate for you that you can print, but it’s not the actual document.

Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial is an excellent place to locate information about the part Australia played in the world wars. This is the official website of the Australian War Memorial Museum, so you have access to documents and artifacts online. There is a description and a transcription of each document online but if you want to see the actual document up close, you have to pay for a reprint.

Library and Archives Canada

Collections Canada has assembled all Canadian archived databases and records for births, deaths, marriages, census, immigrations, land, military and other records. Enter the data you know into the search boxes and view actual records online.

Have you found any connections to any of the major world wars or American wars in your genealogy search?