Recommended Genealogy Sites

  • American Indian Digital History Project - A Digital History Cooperative founded to recover and preserve rare Indigenous newspapers, photographs, and archival materials from all across Native North America.
  • Ancestry Library Edition - Access to U.S. Federal Census records, passenger lists, birth, death, marriage and military records, family and local history collections, and more. Available in the Library only.
  • Castle Garden - Search the passenger list for the 11 million immigrants from 1820 through 1892 that came through New York before Ellis Island opened.
  • Cemetery Records Online - Over 300,000 burial records and tombstone inscriptions for close to 2,000 cemeteries worldwide.
  • Chronicling America - Select digital access to American newspapers 1880-1910.
  • Cimorelli Immigration Manifests Online - Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (1820-1902), records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (1892-1957), a Soundex Converter, and ship information.
  • Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System - Information on over 6 million soldiers, who served on both sides during the Civil War. Also includes information on battles, regiments, prisoners, and medals of honor.
  • Death Indexes & Records - "This website gathers together indexes by state and county. Included are death indexes, obituaries, probate indexes and cemetery & burial indexes."
  • Duluth Area Obituary Index - This index contains names and dates of obituaries printed in the Duluth News-Tribune from 1954 to the present, as well as a small selection from the Duluth Herald. 
  • Duluth War Casualties and P.O.W.s - Index to information published in Duluth newspapers on some of the military personnel from the Duluth area who were killed or captured during World War II and the Korean War. Developed and maintained by Duluth Public Library staff.
  • Ellis Island Records - Search the passenger lists for over 22 million immigrants that came through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924. Free registration required.
  • FamilySearch  - Genealogical site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The search engine looks through records of over 35 million names in its Ancestral File, over 360 million names in the International Genealogical Index, and the Family History Library Catalog with records from more than 2 million rolls of microfilm, plus thousands of indexed Web sites.
  • Find A Grave - Directory of the locations of graves for thousands of famous dead people as well as for over 2.5 million "non-famous memorials." Browsable by name, location, and claim to fame. Includes photographs of many of the graves.
  • Greenwood Cemetery Index - An index to burials, 1890-1947, at the Greenwood Cemetery on the ground of the St. Louis County Poor Farm, later known as the Cook Home.
  • Iron Range Jewish Heritage - Links to cemeteries, and newspaper articles about Jewish families from Northeastern Minnesota and Superior, WI.
  • Iron Range Research Center/Minnesota Discovery Center - A special library that focuses on the regional, local and personal history of Minnesota's iron ranges and the people who settled here.
  • Minnesota Birth and Death Certificate Information - From the Minnesota Department of Health, instructions how to obtain certified and non-certified copies of birth and death certificates.
  • Minnesota Birth Certificates Index - Index to births that currently covers the years 1900-1934. Additional years will be added as they become available.
  • Minnesota Death Certificates - Index of death certificates for individuals who died in Minnesota between 1905 and 2001, from the Minnesota Historical Society.
  • Minnesota Genealogical Resources - Comprehensive access to genealogical information in Minnesota, including links to societies, churches, cemeteries, churches, and vital records.
  • Minnesota Genealogy - Minnesota section of the huge genealogical site maintained by Cyndi Howells.
  • Minnesota Historical Society - Family History - Access to MHS Library catalogue and other databases useful in family research. Many articles on how to research various records in Minnesota.
  • MyHeritage Library Edition - Provides access to billions of historical genealogical documents, millions of historical photos and other resources in thousands of databases. ONCE LOGGED IN, CLICK ON THE BLUE "MYHERITAGE LIBRARY EDITION" LINK TO BEGIN SEARCHING. Available to Duluth and Arrowhead cardholders.
  • Minnesota Official Marriage System - Marriage records for almost all 87 Minnesota Counties, but the years covered vary with each county.
  • National Archives Genealogy Page - Research tools, finding aids, and links to other genealogy sites as well as articles about how to search for your family history. Contains some searchable databases including casualty and prisoners of war lists from WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War.
  • Norwegian Archives - Census records, parish registers, probate material, and more from the Norwegian National Archives.
  • Obituary Daily Times (GEN-OBIT) - Citations to published obituaries in newspapers in the United States and Canada. Over 4 million obituaries are indexed with more being added daily.
  • St. Louis County Vital Records - Birth (1859-1900), marriage (1800s), and death (1879-2000) records for St. Louis County. 
  • St. Louis County USGenWeb - Genealogy resources specific to St. Louis County, including links to cemetery listings, courthouses, historical societies, newspapers, church records, and more.
  • Twin Ports Genealogical Society
  • USGenWeb Project - A cooperative effort of volunteers from around the country that are aiming to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. Organization is by county and state.
  • Veterans Nationwide Gravesite Locator - Searchable database from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that contains over three million records of veterans and dependents buried in VA's 120 cemeteries since the Civil War. It also has records of some burials in state veteran's cemeteries.
  • Where to Write for Vital Records - Addresses and price information for obtaining vital records (birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates) from all fifty states and U.S. territories.