Worked Investigation: What an Estate Inventory Can Actually Tell You
Follow Fairfax County's real will-book index to an inventory request, then practice interpreting a clearly fictional appraisal without inventing heirs, occupations, or net wealth.
The free genealogy research library
Find your family's story.
Where the records are kept in every county, and for many, what survives and how to search it. Plus research tools, printable forms, and a planner that saves your work.
3,112 county guides · 1,374 record inventories · 14 reference tools · 20 forms · 100% free
The Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. · Photo: Carol M. Highsmith
What's in the library
County records
3,112 counties in 49 states: which office keeps the records, maps of how each county formed, and for many, what survives.
Choose a state →Research tools
Soundex and date converters, relationship and census-age calculators, old occupations and medical terms, and a planner that suggests what to search.
Open the Reference Shelf →Printable forms
20 free forms: census extraction sheets for 1850 to 1950, family group sheets, pedigree charts and research logs.
Browse the forms →My Research
A research log of what to search, who it's for and what you found. Save from any guide, and sign in to keep it on every device.
Open My Research →Inside a county guide
Example
Adams County, Pennsylvania
26 record series on the State Archives' digitized microfilm, grouped by type and office:
- Marriages, births and deaths10
- Deeds and land3
- Wills and estates4
- Records of free Black and enslaved people1
- Tax records2
- County government6
Tools for every researcher
The Beginner Course
Twelve short lessons, in order, from your first questions to a well-sourced family tree. Track your progress as you go.
What should I search?
Pick what you're trying to find and when your ancestor lived, and see which records to search.
The Reference Shelf
Calculators, glossaries, old medical terms, nicknames, Latin words and writing prompts.
Learn at your level
Beginner
New to genealogy? Start here: the habits and records every tree is built on.
Browse beginner guides →IntermediatePast the census? Learn the courthouse, church and land records that go further back.
Browse intermediate guides →AdvancedBrick walls, proof arguments and genetic genealogy.
Browse advanced guides →Browse by topic
Getting Started 21Census Records 15Birth, Marriage & Death Records 15Church Records 11Cemeteries & Burials 2Newspapers & Obituaries 3Land & Property Records 8Wills, Probate & Court Records 14Tax Records 4Military Records 5Immigration & Naturalization 12DNA & Genetic Genealogy 9Libraries & Archives 8Research in the Old Country 10African American Research 2Heritage Communities 5Adoption & Unknown Parents 3Research Methods & Evidence 33Brick Walls 12Organizing Your Research 7Online Sites & Family Trees 11
1,024direct ancestors in just ten generations, about 300 years back.
72 yearsbefore a U.S. census is opened to the public. The 1950 census came out in 2022.
1890The census year almost entirely lost in a 1921 fire. State censuses fill the gap.
Newest guides
Worked Investigation: From a Deed Index to a Researchable Land Trail
Use the Adams County, Pennsylvania, inventory to locate the right index and deed series, then practice interpreting an explicitly fictional entry without mistaking an index for proof.
Worked Investigation: Are These Tax Entries the Same Person?
Follow a real Augusta County research route, then use a clearly fictional tax-list exercise to separate observations from assumptions about identity and movement.
Recently updated
Follow new inventories, source corrections and revised research guides.
See what's changedEssential starting points
- FamilySearchfree
The largest free genealogy site: billions of indexed records, a shared family tree, and the Research Wiki.
Location: General & worldwide resources
- Ancestrypaid
The largest commercial collection of records and user trees, with exclusive census, military and immigration indexes.
Location: General & worldwide resources
- National Archives: Genealogyfree
Census, military, immigration, land and naturalization records held by NARA.
Location: U.S. national & multistate
- BLM General Land Office Recordsfree
Federal land patents for the 30 public-land states, with images.
Location: U.S. national & multistate
- Find a Gravefree
Over 200 million volunteer-contributed memorials, often with photos and family links.
Location: General & worldwide resources
- Chronicling Americafree
Library of Congress collection of digitized U.S. newspapers, 1770–1963.
Location: U.S. national & multistate