Research Links
Curated links to archives, databases, and collections for historical research, arranged by subject category.
Rating: start here first · strong source · specific cases
Civilian Records
| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. National Archives | Main U.S. federal archival research gateway. Federal records, census, immigration, land, court. Not all holdings are digitised. | United States | Free / mixed | EN | |
| AGATHA — Belgian State Archives | Search environment of the Belgian State Archives. Parish registers, civil status, archival descriptions. Access varies by collection. | Belgium | Free / account | NL/FR/DE/EN | |
| State Archives in Belgium | Official Belgian State Archives portal. Entry point for Belgian archival research; use AGATHA for searching records. | Belgium | Free / mixed | NL/FR/DE/EN | |
| NARA Genealogy Portal | NARA guide for federal records useful to family historians. Census, immigration, naturalisation, land, military. Many digitised records hosted by partners. | United States | Free / mixed | EN |
Military Records
Full military records page →| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth War Graves Commission | Official database of Commonwealth war dead and cemeteries. WWI and WWII Commonwealth casualties. | UK / Commonwealth | Free | EN | |
| NARA — Military Records | NARA guide for U.S. military records by branch, war, and topic. Some records require requests or in-person work. | United States | Free / mixed | EN | |
| Arolsen Archives Online Search | Online archive for Nazi persecution, forced labour, camps, and displaced persons. Name variants matter. | Germany / Europe | Free | DE/EN | |
| Bundesarchiv | German Federal Archives portal for state, military, film, image, and historical records. Catalogue work often required. | Germany | Free / mixed | DE/EN | |
| Military Archives (Ireland) | Official Irish Defence Forces archive. Army Census 1922, Military Service Pensions Collection, papers, images, and reading-room collections. | Ireland | Free / mixed | EN | |
| Belgian Personal Military Files | War Heritage Institute / Royal Military Museum guidance for Belgian personal military files and consultation rules. | Belgium | Free / mixed | EN/FR/NL | |
| Library and Archives Canada Military | Canadian military service files, WWI records, WWII war dead, war diaries, medals, photographs, and related military collections. | Canada | Free / mixed | EN/FR | |
| National Archives of Australia Defence Records | Australian defence and war-service records, including large WWI and WWII service-record collections. | Australia | Free / mixed | EN | |
| Fold3 | Commercial database of digitised military records focused on U.S. military genealogy. Subscription required for many records. | US / International | Paid / mixed | EN | |
| ICRC — WWI Prisoners of War | ICRC database for First World War prisoner-of-war records. Search requires careful spelling variants. | International | Free | EN/FR |
Genealogy
Full genealogy page →| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FamilySearch | Free genealogy search platform with records, images, catalogues, and research tools. Civil registration, parish records, census. Free account required; some images restricted. | International | Account required | Multiple | |
| Ancestry | Major commercial genealogy platform with records, trees, and DNA tools. U.S. and international family history. Subscription required for most records. | International | Paid / mixed | Multiple | |
| Scotland's People | Official Scottish genealogy site for registers, census, wills, maps, and images. Images generally require credits. | Scotland | Mixed | EN | |
| WieWasWie | Dutch genealogical search site for civil registration and person records. Births, marriages, deaths, population records. Premium features exist. | Netherlands | Mixed | NL/EN | |
| Open Archives | Aggregates genealogical records from open archives and historical societies. Dutch and Belgian name searches. Verify against original scans. | NL / BE / Europe | Free / mixed | NL/EN | |
| FreeBMD | Volunteer index of civil registration births, marriages, and deaths for England and Wales. Index only; certificates separate. | England & Wales | Free | EN | |
| FreeREG | Volunteer database of UK parish baptisms, marriages, and burials. Transcriptions require checking against originals. | United Kingdom | Free | EN | |
| Geneanet | Genealogy community with trees, indexes, graves, photos, and records. French and European genealogy. User trees require verification. | France / Europe | Mixed | Multiple | |
| Findmypast | Commercial genealogy site strong for British and Irish records. Subscription required for many records. | UK / Ireland | Paid / mixed | EN |
Newspapers & Periodicals
Full newspapers & books page →| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chronicling America | Library of Congress historical U.S. newspaper collection. Coverage varies by state and title. | United States | Free | EN | |
| BelgicaPress | KBR platform for digitised Belgian historical newspapers. OCR and coverage vary. | Belgium | Free / mixed | FR/NL | |
| Gallica (BnF) | BnF digital library with books, newspapers, maps, images, and periodicals. OCR quality varies. | France | Free | FR/EN | |
| RetroNews | BnF press platform for French historical newspapers and articles. Some access requires subscription. | France | Mixed | FR | |
| BelgicaPeriodicals | KBR platform for digitised Belgian periodicals. Coverage is selective. | Belgium | Free / mixed | FR/NL | |
| ZEFYS | Berlin State Library portal for digitised historical German newspapers. Coverage is selective. | Germany | Free | DE | |
| Zeitpunkt NRW | Digitised historical newspapers from North Rhine-Westphalia. Useful for Rhineland and Westphalia local research. | Germany | Free | DE | |
| British Newspaper Archive | Major British and Irish digitised newspaper archive. UK local newspaper research. Subscription required. | UK / Ireland | Paid / mixed | EN |
Books & Digitised Print
| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Archive | Digital library for books, media, and archived web content. Metadata quality varies. | International | Free / account | Multiple | |
| HathiTrust Digital Library | Academic digital library with public-domain and restricted-access books. Full view depends on copyright and institution. | International | Mixed / institutional | Multiple | |
| Google Books | Search and preview digitised books and periodicals. Preview limits vary by copyright. | International | Free / mixed | Multiple | |
| Library of Congress | U.S. national library portal for books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, photos, and media. Separate sections search differently. | United States | Free | EN | |
| WorldCat | Global catalogue for locating books, periodicals, and library holdings. Access depends on library. | International | Free | Multiple | |
| Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek | German digital portal for cultural and scientific heritage. Links out to holding institutions. | Germany | Free / mixed | DE/EN |
Maps & Places
Full maps page →| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Rumsey Map Collection | Large historical map collection with high-resolution digital maps. Private collection; check reuse terms. | International | Free | EN | |
| Library of Congress Maps | LOC map collections including historical, military, regional, and thematic maps. Rights vary by item. | United States | Free | EN | |
| Remonter le temps — IGN | IGN platform for historical maps and aerial imagery. Useful for French local history and landscape change. Map interface; not a text archive. | France | Free | FR | |
| National Library of Scotland Maps | Major historical map portal, especially strong for Britain. OS maps, town plans, military maps. | United Kingdom | Free | EN |
Photo & Image Archives
| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Library of Congress Photos | LOC visual collections including photographs, prints, drawings, and posters. Check rights statements. | United States | Free / mixed | EN | |
| Digital Public Library of America | Aggregates images, texts, videos, and sounds from U.S. institutions. Rights vary by provider. | United States | Free / mixed | EN | |
| Nationaal Archief | Dutch National Archives portal for archives, photos, and research guides. Dutch interface is fuller. | Netherlands | Free / mixed | NL/EN | |
| Imperial War Museums Collections | IWM collections including photos, documents, film, art, and objects. British and Commonwealth war history. Reuse rights vary. | United Kingdom | Free / mixed | EN | |
| Beeldbank WO2 | WWII photograph database from Dutch institutions; NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Images of occupied Netherlands, resistance, liberation, and more. | Netherlands | Free | NL/EN | |
| PICRYL | Public domain media aggregator pulling images from LOC, Europeana, and other institutions. Useful for sourcing free-to-reuse historical images. Some metadata requires checking. | International | Free | EN | |
| BALaT — KIK-IRPA | 750,000+ art and architectural heritage photographs from Belgium; Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA). Focuses on Belgian cultural and artistic heritage. | Belgium | Free | NL/FR/EN |
Cemeteries & Memorials
| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth War Graves Commission | Official database of Commonwealth war dead and cemeteries. Primarily Commonwealth service personnel. | UK / Commonwealth | Free | EN | |
| Veterans Legacy Memorial | U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs memorial search for veterans. Focused on VA-linked records. | United States | Free | EN | |
| Volksbund Gräbersuche Online | German War Graves Commission online grave search for German military casualties. Data completeness varies. | Germany / International | Free | DE | |
| Find a Grave | Major crowd-sourced cemetery and memorial database. Burial places and grave photos. | International | Free / account | EN |
Web Archives
| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayback Machine | Internet Archive service for archived versions of websites. Not every page is captured. | International | Free | Multiple | |
| UK Government Web Archive | Archived UK central government websites and digital publications. Archived pages may be incomplete. | United Kingdom | Free | EN |
European & International Aggregators
| Priority | Source | Description | Region | Access | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europeana | European portal for digitised cultural heritage from libraries, archives, and museums. Check source institution and rights. | Europe-wide | Free / mixed | Multiple | |
| Archives Portal Europe | European archival discovery portal aggregating archival descriptions. Usually links to holding archives. | Europe-wide | Free | Multiple |