Southeast Arkansas Regional Library System provides access to several genealogy databases and resources. As our regional system covers a five-county area, local history resources will vary. Please contact one of our nine branches for more information on what genealogical and local history materials are available.
Library staff are not genealogists. They can help locate materials or direct you to helpful resources, but they cannot do the research for you. If you need further assistance, library staff will refer you to other institutions.
Genealogy & Local History Titles
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Bradley County Arkansas Family Histories
Subject: Arkansas -- Genealogy, Bradley County (Ark.) -- History -- Genealogy -- Biography
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History of Lincoln County, Arkansas, 1871-1983
Subject: Lincoln County (Ark.) -- History -- Biography, Lincoln County (Ark.) -- History -- Biography -- Genealogy
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Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes
Genealogists are like detectives. Working out puzzles is the name of their game! If you have ever wanted to research and document your family history the right way, then Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes is for you! Authored by professional genealogist Shannon Combs-Bennett, this award-winning genealogy book explains the joys, challenges, and triumphs of researching your family's origins. While many people assume genealogy research starts online, Combs-Bennett shows the importance of starting a family tree using documents that can be found in your own home!
Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes is written in a friendly, easy-to-understand style that avoids complex jargon. There are lots of examples, case studies, and advice that can help would-be family historians quickly get up to speed. In addition to listing best practices for conducting genealogical research, Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes also warns readers about the many pitfalls of family research, from "brick wall" mysteries to time-wasting online searches. Topics include:
- Why are people so interested in family history?
- Evaluating clues, facts, and myths in family stories
- The importance of linking generations
- Vital records, from birth certificates to death records
- Non-vital records, from census forms to wills
- Religious records
- Five things that can trip up newbies researching family history
- Best practices for genealogy road trips
- Interviewing relatives, and dealing with skeptics
- Pros and cons of online genealogy research
- Genealogy communities and continuing education
- Genetic genealogy basics
- Understanding the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
- Genetic genealogy and adoptees
- Non-paternal events and other skeletons in the genetic closet
- Visualizing family history with charts
- Research logs and genealogy journals
- How to create good source citations
- Preserving records and research
- Genealogy software and GEDCOM files
- Planning for disasters
Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes is not a comprehensive guide. Nevertheless, in a single reading you will be able to understand some important research basics that will serve you well as you embark on a journey to figure out the origins of your family. Creating a strong family tree will not only satisfy your own curiosity, but will also serve as a record to share with relatives and future generations! Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes is a winner of a silver Benjamin Franklin award from the Independent Book Publishers Association.
For more information about this title, see the companion website.
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Finding Your Roots
Who are we, and where do we come from? The fundamental drive to answer these questions is at the heart of Finding Your Roots, the companion book to the PBS documentary series seen by 30 million people. As Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. shows us, the tools of cutting-edge genomics and deep genealogical research now allow us to learn more about our roots, looking further back in time than ever before. Gates's investigations take on the personal and genealogical histories of more than twenty luminaries, including United States Congressman John Lewis, actor Robert Downey Jr., CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, President of the Becoming American Institute Linda Chavez, and comedian Margaret Cho. Interwoven with their moving stories of immigration, assimilation, strife, and success, Gates provides practical information for amateur genealogists just beginning archival research on their own families' roots, and he details the advances in genetic research now available to the public. The result is an illuminating exploration of who we are, how we lost track of our roots, and how we can find them again.
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Old Times Not Forgotten
Subject: Drew County (Ark.) -- History -- Biography, Drew County (Ark.) -- History -- Biography -- Genealogy
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Mastering Immigration & Naturalization Records
Almost no other book covering this crucial area makes this a must-have for DIY genealogists!
This volume, now in its third edition, in Cold Spring Press's "Quillen's Essentials of Genealogy" series gets to the heart of what genealogical research is for most Americans: hitting the shores of the Atlantic Ocean looking east to the UK, Ireland, and Europe as they begin their search for their ancestors. Largely a nation populated by European immigrants from the 17th through early 20th centuries, immigration and naturalization records is often just the source needed to locate important genealogical information. "Mastering Immigration & Naturalization Records" covers the following topics: -- What are Immigration Records?; -- What is the genealogical value of Immigration Records?; -- Where do I find Immigration Records?; -- How to locate Naturalization Records; -- Genealogical value of naturalization records. -
Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com
Master the world's #1 genealogy website and discover the secrets to Ancestry.com success! This book, updated in 2016 to include the most recent changes to the site, will help you get the most out of your Ancestry.com subscription by showing you how to take advantage of all the world's biggest genealogy website has to offer--and how to find answers to your family tree questions within its 14 billion records, 60 million family tree and 32,000 databases.
What you'll learn:- Step-by-step strategies for structuring your searches to find what you're looking for faster
- How to drill down to specific records, time periods and topics using the card catalog
- Details on each of Ancestry.com's historical record collections, including what you can expect to find in them--and when you need to look elsewhere
- Tips for creating and managing your family tree on Ancestry.com, as well as connecting your tree to others on the site
- Timesaving tricks to maximize your Ancestry.com Hints (the "shaky leaf"), Tree Sync with Family Tree Maker, and the Ancestry.com mobile app
Each chapter includes step-by-step examples with illustrations to show you exactly how to apply the techniques to your genealogy.
Whether you've just begun dabbling in family history or you're a longtime Ancestry.com subscriber, this book will turn you into an Ancestry.com power user! -
Native American Genealogical Sourcebook
This text provides historical genealogical information on Native Americans. The book looks specifically at their emigration history and genealogical records, and features a directory of genealogical information.
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Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs
Everyone keeps old family photographs, whether in frames, albums or shoe boxes. These photos house a treasury of genealogical information, revealing unique details about our ancestors' lives, personalities and everyday realities. Following this guide's step-by-step instruction, anyone can learn how to identify different types of family photographs to determine their date, location, and in some instances, their photographer. Case studies of actual photographs illustrate how other details, such as poses, props, dress and setting can lead to several new genealogical discoveries. Even if a reader's collection of images is limited, this guide provides methods for locating additional photos through libraries, relatives and archives. Once these photos are collected and analyzed, readers will also learn how to preserve their family collection for generations to come.
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Organize Your Genealogy
Get Your Research in Order!
Stop struggling to manage all your genealogy facts, files, and data--make a plan of attack to maximize your progress. Organize Your Genealogy will show you how to use tried-and-true methods and the latest tech tools and genealogy software to organize your research plan, workspace, and family-history finds. In this book, you'll learn how to organize your time and resources, including how to set goals and objectives, determine workable research questions, sort paper and digital documents, keep track of physical and online correspondence, prepare for a research trip, and follow a skill-building plan. With this comprehensive guide, you'll make the most of your research time and energy and put yourself on a road to genealogy success.
Organize Your Genealogy features:
* Secrets to developing organized habits that will maximize your research time and progress
* Hints for setting up the right physical and online workspaces
* Proven, useful systems for organizing paper and electronic documents
* Tips for managing genealogy projects and goals
* The best tools for organizing every aspect of your ancestry research
* Easy-to-use checklists and worksheets to apply the book's strategies
Whether you're a newbie seeking best practices to get started or a seasoned researcher looking for new and better ways of getting organized, this guide will help you manage every facet of your ancestry research.
Genealogy/Local History Resources from the Library
“The Traveler Statewide Resource project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Arkansas State Library under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.”
African American Heritage
A groundbreaking digital resource exclusively devoted to African American family history research.
American History-(ABC-Clio)
| Surveys American history from the Colonial era and American Revolution through to the nation's rise to eminence as a global superpower. |
Ancestry Library Edition
Unlock the story of your family with sources like censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, and much more. This resource is only available at the Monticello Branch Library.
HeritageQuest Online
General Genealogy Websites
Sites to help fill in the branches of the family tree or learn more about the area’s history.
Cyndi’s List
A gateway to Internet genealogy, providing more than 225,000 links to every conceivable genealogical resource on the Internet.
Local Genealogy & History
University of Arkansas-Monticello Fred J. Taylor Library and Technology Center
University library with a special collections and university archives containing books, periodicals, and journals pertaining to southeast Arkansas and university history.
Arkansas Genealogy & History
Arkansas Department of Health
Search and order Arkansas death certificates (1935-1961), birth certificates (1914-present), and marriage certificates (1917-present). Arkansas has limitations on who may order certain certificates due to the sensitive information found on these documents.
Arkansas Gravestones
Capturing and archiving digital images of Arkansas headstones to preserve their inscriptions for future genealogical research.
Arkansas Historical Quarterly Index
Cumulative Index to the Arkansas Historical Quarterly for volumes 1-59 (1942-2000).
Arkansas State Archives
Formerly known as the Arkansas History Commission, the Arkansas State Archives contains over 200 years of Arkansas history, including church publications, cemetery records, newspapers, state, county, and local records, and more.
Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Free site through the Central Arkansas Library System with entries on Arkansas’s history, geography, and culture.
Index Arkansas
Site with over 100,000 citations to articles and other information from publications such as county history journals, select statewide magazines, select newspaper articles, and select book titles from the 1880s to the present.
National and International Genealogy
Access Genealogy’s Native American Genealogy & History
Compiled guide to beginning Native American research, available records, Bureau of Indian Affairs, census, church, and military records, archives and libraries, treaties, and more.
Bureau of Land Management
Provides live database and image access to more than two million Federal land title records for the Eastern Public Land States, issued between 1820 and 1908.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS)
A computerized database containing basic facts about Civil War servicemen, regiments, significant battles, select lists of prisoner-of-war records, and cemetery records offered by the National Parks Service.
Death Indexes
Compiled list of websites to online death indexes by state and county. Included are death indexes, obituary indexes, probate indexes, and cemetery and burial listings.
Family Search
Offered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can search the Ancestral File, the International Genealogical Index, the Family History Library Catalog, and selected websites.
Find a Grave
Search for memorials and cemeteries across the world. Researchers can add burial records, headstone images, and transcribe headstones to help with genealogical research.
USGenWeb
A group of volunteers working together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the U.S.
Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Center, Rohwer, AR: Between 1942 and 1945, up to 8,000 Japanese Americans were interned at Rohwer—a 500-acre camp surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. Today all that remains is a cemetery and the smokestack from the camp’s hospital. Though most physical evidence has been wiped from the landscape, important stories remain to be shared. The Arkansas Heritage Sites office has installed interpretive exhibits along the gravel road adjacent to the cemetery.
Lakeport Plantation, Lake Village, AR: The Lakeport Plantation house is the only remaining Arkansas plantation home on the Mississippi River and still retains many of its original finishes and architectural details. Today you can tour it, thanks to a gift in 2001 to Arkansas State University from the Sam Epstein Angel family. Restored as a museum, the site researches and interprets the people and cultures that shaped plantation life in the Mississippi River Delta, focusing on the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction periods.
In 1999, the Delta Heritage Initiatives Office became the administrative agent for Arkansas Delta Byways, the non-profit association recognized by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism as the official tourism promotion association for Eastern Arkansas, and in 2001 the Delta Heritage Initiatives Office provided assistance for a second National Scenic Byway in the State–the Arkansas segment of the 10-state Great River Road. The 10-county segment through Arkansas (Mississippi, Crittenden, St. Francis, Lee, Phillips, Monroe, Arkansas, Desha, Drew, and Chicot counties) received National Scenic Byway designation in 2002.