Skip to Content

Online Genealogy Resources

This list of recommended online genealogy resources is a great place to begin your research. For more genealogy resources, read about genealogy research at Forbes Library.

Free In Library

American Ancestors (available in library)

American Ancestors is the research database of the New England Historical Genealogical Society.

Anyone can search the database, but you need to be logged in to see the text of the documents in your results. If you are in the library, please see a Reference Librarian for assistance — they can log you in on a library computer. Remote access is not possible, but our librarians can work with the database on your behalf.

Provided by Forbes Library and available for use in the library. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free In Library

Ancestry Library Edition (available in library)

For genealogy research. Includes coverage of the United States and the United Kingdom: census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada and other areas. This collection of more than 4,000 databases and two billion names is essential to having a broad genealogy collection, and its valuable content is a strong complement to HeritageQuest Online.

Provided by Forbes Library and available for use in the library. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free for Northampton Residents

Heritage Hub, formerly America’s Obituaries & Death Notices, is a large and comprehensive collection of newspaper obituaries and death notices. An easy-to-use interface allows searching by name, dates, or text keywords such as workplace, schools attended, towns lived in, social clubs, churches attended or charities.

Provided by Forbes Library and available remotely to Northampton residents with a CW MARS card. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free State Wide

HeritageQuest Online combines digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records with the digitized version of the popular UMI® Genealogy & Local History collection and other valuable content. This online database is an essential collection of unique material for both genealogical hobbyists and professionals.

Free for all Massachusetts residents. Provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the Massachusetts Library System. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free Anywhere

A great local history resource! Search by keyword in Historic Northampton’s digital catalog and archives containing thousands of photographs, historic newspapers and maps, and extensive digital collections database. Includes the Howes Brothers Collection, genealogy resources, and images of the earliest issues of the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free Anywhere

JewishGen serves as the global home for Jewish genealogy. It features access to millions of records, along with opportunities for researchers to connect with others who share similar interests. Resources such as the Jewish Communities Database, Yizkor Book translations, InfoFiles, and KehilaLinks provide critical insights, first-hand accounts, and context about Jewish communal and familial life throughout the world.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.