Other Databases

Experienced genealogical researchers use clues found in one record to find other records about the same individual. The U.S. census is an excellent place to begin your research, and leads to research in nearly every other area of genealogy. The following databases can be invaluable tools for furthering your research:

• OneWorldTree
  As you discover your relatives in the census records, you can quickly document your findings in your own family tree. OneWorldTree is a fast and useful search engine designed to increase the effectiveness of your research through the help of user-submitted family trees. This tool looks quickly through over 111 million names to provide you with information that other Ancestry users have found about your common ancestors.
  
• The United Kingdom and Ireland Records Collection
  The U.S. is neither the first, nor the only country to have established a national census. This collection boasts more than 200 million names from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. This collection includes the 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901 census records along with civil and ecclesiastical records. Records date from 1386 to 2002.
  
• Immigration Records Collection
  Researching the U.S. census often reveals immigration trends. This collection is the most comprehensive set of immigration records available online. It includes passenger lists from every major port in North America. It also contains original ship manifests and naturalization records from across the country. Use this source to discover when and how your ancestors came to America, with whom they traveled, where they came from and were going, and where they arrived. Also learn personal details like height, weight, age, and skin color.
  
• Birth, Marriage, and Death Records Collection
  Genealogical research often raises as many questions about our families as it answers. As we discover our relatives in the census, it is natural to turn to birth records, marriage records, and death records to help us connect with the central events in the lives of those who came before us. Also look for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection, as well as the Social Security Death Index (SSDI).
  
• Historical Newspaper Collection
  Following the U.S. census often gives us a sense of historical perspective, one that can be augmented by a search through a collection of historical newspapers. This collection contains 8 million pages from more than 400 different newspapers across the U.S., U.K., and Canada dating back to the 1700s. This source is a great way to read about what was happening in your ancestor’s community as well as who was involved, why, when, where, and how it happened. Each page is scanned using Optical Character Recognition technology so you can search every word on the actual newspaper image.