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Genealogy and Local History Resource Guide

These resources are intended for those interested in genealogy and local history in the Kent County area and include library materials, as well as online resources which may be limited to Kent District Library card holders. Several KDL branches have local history rooms including East Grand Rapids, Krause, Gaines, and Wyoming. If you're having trouble locating the information you need, please contact one of our eighteen KDL branch locations.

Popular Books:

Select a title to view it in the catalog:

For a sample of additional titles, click here

Community/State Resources:

Western Michigan Genealogical Society
Information about membership, meetings, and publications as well as free research databases as well as other services such as ordering obituaries available from the Society.

Common Corners
Website for local history and/or genealogical organizations in the eight county area including Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo and Ottawa counties.

Genealogical Research at the Library of Michigan
Find "information about conducting genealogy research and using the Library and Historical Center, as well as links to online research tools".

Then and Now Society
Find "information about conducting genealogy research and using the Library and Historical Center, as well as links to online research tools".

Databases:

Genealogy and Local History Databases

Ancestry Library Edition
Collection of over 4,000 databases and 1.5 billion names with coverage of the U.S. and the U.K., including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada and other areas. *Access to Ancestry Library Edition is not available from home.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Indexes reference sources and important retrospective works of individuals from every field of activity.

Heritage Quest
Digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records as well as digitzed books. Note: If accessing from home, you will be required to enter your library barcode number once on the HeritageQuest site.

Other Resources:

Cyndi's List
Cyndi's List is an index to genealogical resources on the Internet and a great place to start for all aspects of genealogical research.

Rootsweb
Get started with genealogy using these articles, links, tools, online family trees, and more.

Relationship Terms
Determine relationships between family members using a simple chart.

Common Genealogy Citations
Guide to citing census records and other genealogical records.