Rowley Public Library’s Local History Room houses excellent local history resources, including Vital Records books for most the cities & towns in Massachusetts, Rowley Town Reports, volumes of the Essex Genealogist, and a variety of published genealogies and local histories.
We also have a Genealogy Club that meets on the 2nd Wednesday every month. Click here for more information.
We are fielding questions and will do our best to provide individual help on your searches, suggesting next steps or other sources to consult. We also have limited access to the print Local History collection and can look up items if needed. Email as much information as you have and the information you are seeking to history@rowleylibrary.org
In addition to the various resources available in the Library’s Local History Room, the following resources should prove helpful in your research and recording of family history.
Ancestry Library Edition:
Get started with a short tutorial:
Ancestry® Library Edition,
distributed exclusively by ProQuest and powered by Ancestry.com, delivers billions of records in census data, vital records, directories, photos, and more from countries all over the world. For in-library use only.
Find tips and advice on your genealogy search and guides to using Ancestry here, or try this quick start guide:
HeritageQuest Online:
Get started with a short tutorial:
HeritageQuest Online combines digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records with the digitized version of the popular ProQuest Genealogy & Local History collection and other valuable content.
Find tips and advice on your genealogy search and guides to using HeritageQuest here, or try this quick start guide:
Free Genealogy Resource Websites:
- Ancient Houses of Rowley
- USGen Web Project (http://usgenweb.org/)
- Family Search (www.familysearch.org)
- New England Historic Genealogical Society (https://www.americanancestors.org/membership/guest-users)
- Roots Web (http://home.rootsweb.ancestry.com/)
- Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/)
- National Archives (http://www.archives.gov/)
- U.S. Military Records (http://www.archives.gov/veterans/)
- Access Genealogy (http://www.accessgenealogy.com/)
- Historical Atlases and Maps of U.S. and States (http://www.mapofus.org/)
- Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (http://www.raogk.org/)
- Library of Congress: Chronicling America (digitized newspapers) (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/)
- The Ancestor Hunt (http://www.theancestorhunt.com/)
- Massachusetts Vital Records 1620-1850 (https://www.americanancestors.org)
Frequently Recommended Genealogy Books:
- Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy, by Emily Ann Croom
- Handy Book for Genealogists: United States of America, by Holly T. Hansen
- The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, eds.
- Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, by Alice Eichholz
- A to Zax: A Comprehensive Dictionary for Genealogists & Historians, by Barbara Jean Evans and James Dent Walker
- Everything Guide to Online Genealogy: Trace Your Roots, Share Your History, and Create Your Family Tree, by Kimberly Powell
- Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, by Elizabeth Shown Mills
- Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, by Elizabeth Shown Mills
- International Vital Records Handbook, by Thomas Jay Kemp
- Organizing Your Family History Search: Efficient & Effective Ways to Gather and Protect Your Genealogical Research, by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack
- Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, by Val D. Greenwood
- A Genealogist’s Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant & Ethnic Ancestors, by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack
- Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasure, by Christine Rose
- Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried and True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors, by Marsha Hoffman Rising
- Genealogist’s Address Book: State and Local Resources, by Elizabeth Petty Bentley
- Genealogy Sourcebook, by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack
- How to Do Everything Genealogy, by George G. Morgan
- Land & Property Research in the United States, by E. Wade Hone
- Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Census, 1790-1920, by William Thorndale and William Dollarhide
- Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History, by Megan Smolenyak
Books Online:
- Google Books (http://books.google.com)
- Family Search (http://books.familysearch.org)
- Internet Archive (http://archive.org)
- Hathi Trust (www.hathitrust.org)
Recommended searches:
__________ Vital Records (fill in name of city/town or state)
__________ Registry of Deeds OR Land Records (fill in name of state)
Maps of ________ (fill in name of location)
Historical society of ________ (fill in name of location)
Newspapers _________ (fill in name of location)
Probate records ________ (fill in name of location)