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| Historical records contain rich information about your ancestors that can help you get to know them better. Depending on the type of record they can include birth dates, parents' or other family members' names, physical descriptions, addresses, occupations and more. |
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Here are some details on specific historical records:
U.S. Census RecordsLearn if ancestors owned homes or were born in other countries. You could get details about their ages, places of birth, ethnic backgrounds, marriages, children, occupations — even the value of their personal estates.
U.S. Military RecordsFind your family’s military heroes from the Revolution- ary War through Vietnam. See enlistment dates, learn about famous battles, locate veteran gravesites and discover personal details like a physical description, signature and more.
U.S. Immigration RecordsDiscover your ancestral homeland and recreate family journeys across oceans. Learn ancestors’ birthplaces, their ports and dates of departure and arrival, the names and types of ships they traveled on and the people they traveled with.
Birth, Marriage
and Death RecordsExplore vital records for the dates and locations of important events in your family members’ lives. Learn additional information, like spouses’ names, parents’ names, causes of death and more.
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How can you find your ancestors in historical records? |
| Search our collections. Simply enter an ancestor's name and any related dates or places into the Search page to see what you can discover in the world's largest online collection of family history records. Watch a quick video on how to search.  |
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| Start a family tree. Enter your name, birth date and anything else you can about recent generations of family into an online family tree. We'll use what you enter to search for your ancestors throughout Ancestry.com. Watch a quick video on how family trees can help you trace your ancestors. |
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How Do Historical Records Make It Onto Ancestry.com?
Family history records hold fascinating facts about real people in your family history. And Ancestry.com is home to billions of
them from every corner of the globe. In fact, we’re the world’s largest online collection of historical records full of details
about your ancestors’ lives, careers, loves, loyalties and so much more.
Here’s a brief overview of how we bring you original records from around the world online:
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1
Searching the World
Our expert content acquisition
team never stops seeking out rich,
original historical records we don’t
yet have in our collection.2
Gaining Access
This team works with governments,
archives and content owners to make
the records easily accessible to you
on Ancestry.com. -
3
Scanning Content
Using our patented digitization
process, we make high-resolution
digital scans of all the documents.4
Making It Accessible
Once the records have been digitally
imaged, our indexing team transcribes
the information into a format that
makes it both searchable and easy
to read. -
5
Publishing the Records
After indexing is complete, we add
the new records to Ancestry.com.6
Giving You Answers
If you’ve created or uploaded your
family tree on Ancestry.com, Ancestry
Hints automatically searches key
collections to find records for you.
You can also search the new records
directly and add any featuring your
family to your family tree.