A More Perfect Union

familytree MAGAZINE 2021 BEST STATE WEBSITES

Each year, we scan the field to find the best genealogy websites for your US-based research. With so many terrific state-focused sites to choose from, we’ve had to become increasingly selective.

Many online collections now feature not just indexes and catalogs, but actual images of historical records and photographs. Digitized vital records, wills and family Bible records provide names, dates and places for our family trees, while diaries, letters and photographs reveal biographical details that bring our family histories alive.

Many of our returning favorites are still expanding and worth revisiting. Since last year, the terrific Calisphere <www.calisphere.org> collection of California letters, diaries, photos and more has grown by 250,000 items. And the Digital Library of Georgia <dlg.usg.edu> digitized its two-millionth newspaper page back in June.

But this year’s list also includes new finds. We broadened our coverage to include not just states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, but other US territories, too. So, if you want to track down family connections in, say, American Samoa or Guam, we’ll point you to the best sites to get started. And several of our listings take a look back at the region’s history, creating a patchwork of important events that took place across the country.

Sites new to this year’s list are marked with a star (⋆). Most of these sites are free, but a dollar sign ($) indicates that a payment is required to view some material on the site.

Expand your searches on these sites beyond personal names to other topics (such as places, schools, churches, wars, occupations and ethnic groups), and you’ll find lots of digitized material that may provide insights into your ancestors’ lives. Take time to explore the sites that cover