Quaker Records: Meetings, Certificates and Disownments
Quakers kept some of the most detailed records in early America. How their meetings were organized, what their minutes and registers contain, and where to find them.
Heritage Communities
Native American, Hispanic, Jewish, Quaker, French-Canadian and other communities whose records are kept in their own places and their own ways.
Native American Ancestors: Dawes Rolls, Indian Census Rolls and Tribal Records
How to research Native American ancestors using federal records such as the Dawes Rolls and Indian Census Rolls, tribal records and other sources, and how to approach this research with care.
Mexican and Hispanic Ancestors: Parish and Civil Records
Mexican and Hispanic family history can often be traced back centuries in Catholic parish and civil records, many of them free. How names work, where the records are, and how to bridge the border.
Jewish Ancestors from Eastern Europe: Town Names, Border Changes and JewishGen
How to find your Jewish ancestors' town when maps and names have changed, and the records and research communities, from JewishGen to Yizkor books, that make Eastern European Jewish research possible.
French-Canadian and Canadian Ancestors: Parish Registers, Censuses and "Dit" Names
French-Canadian families can often be traced to the 1600s through some of the best church records in North America. How to use Quebec's parish registers, Canadian censuses and the tools built for this research.
Find the records
Websites and archives for this topic are in our Resource Directory under Heritage-Specific Research.
Other topics
Getting Started 21Census Records 15Birth, Marriage & Death Records 15Church Records 11Cemeteries & Burials 2Newspapers & Obituaries 3Land & Property Records 7Wills, Probate & Court Records 13Tax Records 3Military Records 5Immigration & Naturalization 12DNA & Genetic Genealogy 9Libraries & Archives 8Research in the Old Country 10African American Research 2Heritage Communities 5Adoption & Unknown Parents 3Research Methods & Evidence 30Brick Walls 11Organizing Your Research 7Online Sites & Family Trees 11