Genealogy is a fun and fascinating look at your family history. As you begin your personal ancestral journey, you’ll discover stories of heroism and heartache, mysteries and maybe even your family’s role in significant events in history.
The Will Rogers Library Genealogy Volunteers are at the library every Monday night* from 4:30 pm – 7:00 p.m. to help you with your family tree and/or DNA research. They are happy to assist with all your genealogy research needs, from using the library’s online databases, to locating records from a variety of print and online resources. From absolute beginners to experienced researchers who have hit a brick wall, just bring your questions – they are here to help!
*Volunteers go on holiday hiatus from mid-November through mid-January.
Start your family tree by using a Pedigree Chart. Begin with what you know. Enter names, dates, and places for important events in your life and the lives of your parents and grandparents. Don’t fret if you currently lack all the necessary information, you are merely establishing the groundwork for your family’s history adventure.
Complete Family Group Sheets. Enter as much information as you have for each family. You will be able to see what information you need when it is all written down.
Share your tree with other family members to make the most of it. Family members often have a wealth of information and stories about your family’s past.
Search genealogy websites at home, bring a laptop and use the Library’s free Wi-Fi, or use the Library’s public desktop computers. The Will Rogers Library offers free access to Ancestry.com’s Library Edition in the library. We’ve also compiled a list of helpful genealogy websites below to get started. Remember to revisit these websites for the latest updates, as newly digitized information is often being added.
Source your data. The biggest mistake most beginning genealogists make is not properly “sourcing” the data they collect. As time goes on and more data is collected, it can all blend together and becomes a blur! The following three online websites will help understand sourcing:
Consider the Source carefully! Many sites such as FamilySearch and Ancestry utilize the submissions of individuals with varying degrees of accuracy. It is advisable to exercise caution when relying on family trees submitted by other users. These can be a great source for hints, but be sure to do your own confirmation of the information with primary resources before determining their validity.
Organize and File your genealogy material. While it is common for most genealogists to use a 3-ring binder system with clear plastic top-loading sheet protectors, every researcher must determine what works best for them. The video Organizing Genealogy Papers from Family History Fanatics explains five different possible organizing systems.
Genealogy software is something to consider for your personal computer. There are a few good options out there in a range of prices. The Genealogy Volunteers can help you pick what might work best for you. The Library offers the free edition of Legacy Family Tree which you can use with a flash drive to store your personal information. Please do not leave any personal information on the library’s public computers.
The Will Rogers Library Genealogy Volunteers have compiled the following lists of online resources to help you in your research. Most resources listed below are free, or have some limited free access. Those that are not are indicated by a $. Note that many of the free websites do require you to register your name and email address to conduct searches.
Please note that inclusion of a genealogy site or resource does not indicate promotion or endorsement of the page, product or content. The Will Rogers Library website offers links to other sites and services that are not contained nor controlled within the Library’s online environment. Some sites may ask for personal information. The Will Rogers Library is not able to protect the privacy of this information once it is outside of the library’s control, nor is the Will Rogers Library responsible for the protection or privacy of information once it is outside of the library’s control. Users are encouraged to read the privacy statements at 3rd party sites to learn of their privacy practices, as the practices of these external sites are not under the control of the Library.
The Will Rogers Library offers free access to Ancestry.com’s Library Edition in the library.
Access Genealogy is one of the largest collections of free genealogy links for your United States research. Find hundreds of thousands of free websites by category or by state, as well as sources for birth records, death records, marriage records, census records, tax records, church records, court records, military records, historical newspapers, cemeteries, and ethnic records. Be sure to check out their Native American genealogy and research.
FamilySearch.org offers an extensive online collection of global historical genealogy records that are accessible to all at no cost. To begin your search, enter the surname, place, and/or date of birth in the search bar, even if the information is not exact. Additionally, their Family Search WIKI is a valuable genealogy resource guide providing information on available records, locations, and more. Your search may yield significant discoveries.
The National Archives Resources for Genealogists website has numerous commendable genealogical resources available, which can be accessed through various links.
The Heritage Quest database features a wide range of genealogical and historical sources dating back to as early as the 1700s. It can be accessed on the computers at the Will Rogers Library. Additionally, individuals with a library card can access the website on their personal computers by visiting the official Will Rogers library website and navigating to the “Heritage Quest Online” section. To gain entry, users are required to input their library card barcode number.
The U.S. Gen Web Project is a valuable resource maintained by volunteers. Users can select their state and county to research, but data availability varies. Joining the mailing list on the county table page can connect users with others researching the same families.
Chronicling America History Resources The Library of Congress offers a complimentary website that encompasses American state and county histories, among other resources. Being very familiar with the county and state where your ancestors resided at any given time will help you with your research. History books of those places can be a gold mine.
Cyndi’s List has categorized and cross-referenced genealogical resources on the internet for over 25 years. This index is a valuable resource in pointing you to online genealogical research sites.
DeadFred is an eclectic site featuring a searchable database containing thousands of identified and mystery photos for genealogy enthusiasts looking for long-lost family. It’s worth a look, you might get lucky!
Oklahoma Historical Society’s Genealogy Research page has links to old newspapers, photographs, and many other research tools. It is worth exploring!
Oklahoma Historical Society DAWES Research is an exceptional resource for military records and Native American research. The complete digitized collection of Dawes Packets pertaining to the Cherokee tribe is accessible. The Dawes Rolls serve as comprehensive records of individuals accepted as members of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Creek Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole) by the Dawes Commission between the years 1898 and 1914. Your ancestor had to live in Indian Territory and apply to the Dawes Commission.
Oklahoma Digital Prairie website serves as an exceptional resource for individuals in search of a wide range of information pertaining to the state of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Department of Libraries includes material covering historical, political, social, cultural, and biographical topics related to the State of Oklahoma.
The Chronicles of Oklahoma, produced by the Oklahoma Historical Society is based on Oklahoma history and culture. The quarterly journals from 1921 to 2019 are available online.
Find a Grave This online database of memorials which is free and searchable, is maintained by volunteers. With over 226 million memorials, many with pictures of the gravestones, it is the largest collection of gravesites available. If you cannot find your ancestors listed, you have the option to add them to the database.
Billion Graves is like Find a Grave and is also maintained by volunteers. It has approximately 50 million memorials, all with gravestone photos and GPS to help locate them. Both databases include some international cemeteries. For interesting genealogy articles view the Billion Graves Blog.
Internment.net contains 25+ million cemetery records, transcripts, and burial registers, from tens of thousands of cemeteries across the world, all contributed by genealogists, cemeteries, government agencies, and private organizations.
Cemeteries of Rogers County is part of Internment.net, featuring transcriptions of cemetery records and links to key Rogers County cemetery records.
Death Indexes is a directory of links to websites with online death indexes, listed by state and county. Included are death records, death certificate indexes, death notices and registers, obituaries, wills and probate records, and cemetery burials. You can also find information here about searching the Social Security Death Index online.
Ellis Island Passenger Search allows you to search passenger records for immigrants who were processed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924. Note that although free, a registration of your email address is required to conduct searches within the records. Passenger Search Tips and Tricks is a helpful guide to searching passenger manifest records.
Castle Garden at Family Search is a database of over 8 million immigrants from 1820 through 1891, the year Ellis Island was inaugurated and can be viewed for free. You can view their blog at Family Search Blog. It is noteworthy that over 73 million Americans can trace their ancestors to this early immigration period.
Baltimore, Maryland served as a prominent port of arrival for approximately 1.2 million European immigrants. The names listed in the index are directly linked to the corresponding passenger manifest. Baltimore Passenger Lists at Ancestry are available for the years 1820-1964 with an Ancestry subscription and free of charge at Baltimore Passenger Lists at FamilySearch for the years 1829-1948.
Ellis Island Passenger Search allows you to search passenger records for immigrants who were processed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924. Note that although free, a registration of your email address is required to conduct searches within the records. Passenger Search Tips and Tricks is a helpful guide to searching passenger manifest records.
Castle Garden at Family Search is a database of over 8 million immigrants from 1820 through 1891, the year Ellis Island was inaugurated and can be viewed for free. You can view their blog at Family Search Blog. It is noteworthy that over 73 million Americans can trace their ancestors to this early immigration period.
Baltimore, Maryland served as a prominent port of arrival for approximately 1.2 million European immigrants. The names listed in the index are directly linked to the corresponding passenger manifest. Baltimore Passenger Lists at Ancestry are available for the years 1820-1964 with an Ancestry subscription and free of charge at Baltimore Passenger Lists at FamilySearch for the years 1829-1948.
U.S. Ports 1820-1960s is an Index of passenger lists and immigration records of arrivals at various U.S. Ports from Europe.
Immigrant Ships Transcriber’s Guild has over 30,000 passenger manifests in 25 volumes plus numerous other passengers listed in Special Projects. Searchable by name, with additional listings by date, ship’s name, port of departure and port of arrival.
One-Step is a highly efficient tool that enables users to locate records across a range of genealogy databases which includes immigration records, vital records, census records, social security death index, and voter records. Ellis Island Passenger Search brings you directly to the index of passengers arriving at New York ports.
Daughters of the American Revolutionary War is a free resource provided by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution 
(DAR) to aid general genealogical research and to assist with the DAR membership process. The GRS is a collection of databases that provide access to the many materials amassed by the DAR since its founding in 1890. Search for your DAR Ancestors by name to see if they are listed as a Patriot. For additional help with DAR please ask a Genealogy Volunteer at the Will Rogers Library.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records.
($) Fold 3 serves as an exceptional resource for military records and Native American research. The complete digitized collection of Dawes Packets pertaining to the Cherokee tribe is also accessible on this platform.
($) Gopher Records specializes in acquiring Civil War and 19th-century military documents from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Records include service records, pensions, medical records, Court Martial records, and more. They offer expedited delivery at a lower cost than ordering directly from NARA.
Dawes Rolls is a searchable database on the Oklahoma Historical Society’s research website of the individuals in the Five Civilized Tribes who lived with their nation in Indian Territory, who chose to apply and were approved by the Dawes Commission.
NativeWeb has compiled links to researching American Indian and First Nations genealogy resources organized by tribe and by geographic region.
Google Books A great place to search for a surname or a place you’re interested in to see if any books have been digitized for online reading or to download for free. Add the word “genealogy” to the surname to narrow your search.
Family Search Books, Maps Family Search Digital Library has over 500,000 genealogy books, family histories, maps, yearbooks, and more.
Newsbank offers Web-based access to tens of millions of articles and video clips from local, state, regional, national and international news sources. Free for library patrons via access with your library card, Newsbank also includes web-based access to the Tulsa World, Claremore Progress, Oklahoma newspapers and other local, state, regional, national and international newspapers, from the 1980’s to today.
Chronicling America Newspapers, the Library of Congress free website that covers American historical newspapers from 1770-1963, select the state, and dates, and add some search terms, i.e., surname and town.
FamilySearch Links to Online Newspaper Collections is a guide to locating online U.S. newspapers for genealogy research.
($) Newspapers is the largest online newspaper archive covering many states in the US, as well as, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Panama, and the United Kingdom. This is a subscription website but is also included with Ancestry’s All Access membership. Not all states and years are covered.
($) Genealogy Bank is another great subscription website for digitized old newspapers and covers some towns that Newspapers.com doesn’t cover.
Additionally, researching your family name and ancestral locations on popular online platforms like Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest can help you find others interested in genealogical research on your ancestors and their regions.