1. Resources
  2. Genealogy Resources

Genealogy Resources

(Los recursos para hispanohablantes se enumeran en una página separada.)

FVRL Resources

Ancestry Library

Ancestry is available only at the library.
Learn about your ancestors. Search over 1.2 billion records in over 3,000 databases, including the U.S. Census and school yearbooks, to find records and digitized documents.

HeritageQuest

Search the digital US Census records from 1790-1950 or the full-text of 25,000 family and local history books in Heritage Quest.

Fold3

Discover your family's military past. Find service records, casualties, and memorials from wars since the American Revolution. Search sources also include U.S. Federal Census records, Dawes enrollment cards, homestead records, naturalizations, and international military records.

FIMO (Fire Insurance Maps Online)

Chart the growth and development of cities and towns in Washington with fire insurance maps (including Sanborn maps), plat books, real estate atlases, and other historical maps. Use the information to supplement your historical or genealogical research. Added in 2020: Portland maps! Use the "Place Name Search" to locate them.

Access World News from NewsBank

Explore and stay informed on local, national, and international topics, people, and events in areas such as business, health, education, jobs and careers, political and social issues, and more. Features a wide variety of credible, vetted news sources from around the world to around the corner, including:

ProQuest: Newspapers

Access full-text articles, including obituaries from a variety of U.S. newspapers. Some titles of particular interest are:

Newspapers.com - World Collection

Search and browse the scanned pages of more than 4,000 historical newspapers dating from the early 1700s into the 2000s. Newspapers.com contains full runs and portions of well-known, regional, and state titles as well as small local newspapers in the U.S. and other countries.

New York Times Historical via ProQuest

Search or browse the full text of The New York Times from 1851 to 2011. Research world events, find obituaries, or read editorials and classified ads from years gone by.

Web Resources

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

View scanned U.S. newspapers in multiple languages spanning the years 1789–1963. Read about major world events or seek out local news about ancestors.

Washington Digital Newspapers

Seek out the news of yesterday in an ever-growing collection of old newspapers--including the Chronicle of Vancouver--digitized by the Washington State Library.  Search them all, browse a particular title, or view by location.  Dates range from as early as 1860, depending upon the newspaper.

Family Search

Create a free account and connect with your ancestors. Search for historical records, build a family tree, and more! You can even visit a local Family History Center for assistance with using their resources.

Washington State Digital Archives

Look up historical newspaper articles or county and state records such as marriage, frontier justice, birth, and death records.  You can even find historical photographs.

Internet Archive - Genealogy

Research books on surname origins, vital statistics, parish records, and other historical and biographical documents.

National Archives and Records Administration: Pacific Alaska Region

Locate retired records from Federal agencies and courts in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Genealogical Forum of Oregon

Get one free admission per year with our Experience Pass program! Research a variety of Pacific Northwest genealogical reference works.

Clark County Genealogical Society

Find CCGS library contents, books published by CCGS, a chat room, local genealogy classes, and membership information.

Clark County Historical Museum

Research using local historical books, documents, city directories, maps, and more.

Washington GenWeb

Find websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States.