Genealogy Records and Databases

Genealogy records and databases can provide priceless information about your ancestors. They can give you new details you may not have known before or confirm (or challenge!) what you already know. Search our extensive genealogy records and databases to find billions of birth, marriage, death, immigration, military records and more.

Birth records

Birth records are one of the key primary sources for family information. Typically issued within days of a birth, they generally contain details on the birth and on the child’s parents, often including parental details such as places of birth, ages, number of children and religious affiliation for baptism and christening records.
Before children were born in hospitals, home addresses may also be noted in birth records. The birth records available on MyHeritage may include indexes, which help you request copies of the original records from vital record keepers, and in some cases, the collection includes high-quality scans of the originals that you can view and download directly from MyHeritage.

Marriage records

Marriage records are another essential primary source for family information. They are generally issued the day the marriage takes place. Marriage records may include religious-based documents such as church records, or civil records made by local governments.

Marriage records may contain a wide variety of details depending when and where the marriage took place, but usually, they contain the names, ages, places of birth or recent 
residences of the bride and groom, as well as whether they had been married previously.

In some cases the documents will include the names of the bride and the grooms’ parents, address of residence after the wedding, additional family members, witnesses, professions of the participants, and other details. Divorce records include similar details, as well as date of divorce, names of children, and sometimes, the reason for the dissolution of the marriage. All these can be valuable clues for continuing family tree research. Records in this category can include indexes that can help you request copies from vital records keepers, and in some cases, high-quality scans of the original records are available to view and download.

Death records

Death records are also a key primary source for family information. The death records on MyHeritage include death certificates, burial records, cemetery records, and obituaries, and grave records which all contain important details on a person’s life and family. These records often contain the person’s age at death or date of birth, birthplace, the names of the person’s parents, and the cause of death. An important fact that is often overlooked is the name of the funeral home listed on the document, a place that often has supplemental records. The name of the informant who provided the information included on the death certificate can also serve as a clue to locating new relatives.

Military records

Most of us can claim at least one relative or ancestor who has served in the military. Military records provide valuable information on men and women who served and the details of their service. They may also provide information about the soldier’s family.

Military records can provide birth and death dates, names and addresses of family members, and details of an individual’s service. Search through a wide range of military records as well as military histories to learn more about your ancestor and the political climate during their service. MyHeritage provides searchable databases from North America and all over the world.

Immigration records

Immigration and travel records allow you to trace your ancestors’ migration to new countries and their path to citizenship. This category of record includes a variety of documents: passenger arrival records, which list individuals arriving by ship and provide details about their journey; naturalization records, detailing the process through which immigrants became citizens; border crossings, noting individuals’ movements between countries; emigration records, documenting the departure from their home country; passports, used for identity verification and travel permission; and convict transportation records, indicating the relocation of convicts as part of their sentence.

These records are crucial for anyone researching family history or studying immigration patterns, as they provide concrete data on the movements and legal processes involved in settling in a new country.

Census records

Many countries take periodic censuses to keep track of their populations. Census records often include helpful details about your ancestors and their families and allow you to track their locations and family members over the years. This information is crucial for building a family tree and mapping familial relationships across generations.
The information recorded in census records varies from place to place and year to year, but they are likely to include names of household members, ages, places of birth, residence, occupation, immigration and citizenship details, marriage information, military service and more.

These records can show changes in residence, shifts in occupations, and alterations in family structure through marriages, births, and deaths. They might also include immigration and naturalization details, offering clues about when and from where ancestors migrated. Censuses can also provide insights into ancestors’ socioeconomic status through details on property ownership, living conditions, and education levels. This data, when pieced together across decades, not only aids in constructing a detailed family history but also helps understand the historical context that shaped ancestors’ lives.

School records

Yearbooks, alumni lists, and school records are key resources for genealogical research. These records offer specific details about ancestors’ school years. Aside from where and when your ancestors studied, you may learn about their participation in clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities, and find individual and group photographs. Yearbooks provide a snapshot of student life, including quotes and comments that give insight into personalities and social dynamics.

These documents typically feature individual student photographs, names, and graduation years, along with images of school events, group activities, and sometimes faculty members. By examining these records, you can learn about an ancestor’s interests, achievements, and social network during their school years.

The yearbook collections on MyHeritage include high-quality scans that you can view and download. You can even colorize yearbook photos using MyHeritage’s automatic photo colorization feature directly from the record.

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