Premium Websites, Free to Library Patrons!
Newspapers.com – World Collection
Newspapers.com is the online home of over 1 million pages of historical newspapers from the United States and beyond. Includes Santa Cruz newspapers. Available in the Santa Cruz library branches. Or, using your library member # and PIN #, you can access this resource from your computer at home.
Heritage Quest
Search over 25,000 family and local history books, US Federal Census Records from 1790-1930 as well as genealogy and local history articles. Purchased through funds donated by the Genealogical Society of Santa Cruz County. Available in the Santa Cruz library branches. Or, using your library member # and PIN #, you can access this resource from your computer at home.
New England Historic Genealogy Society – American Ancestors
Access more than 2,400 searchable databases containing over 110 million names, including: The American Genealogist, Massachusetts Vital Records 1841-1910, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850. Purchased through funds donated by the Genealogical Society of Santa Cruz County. – Available at all branches of the Santa Cruz Public libraries!
Ancestry Library Edition
Unlock the story of you with sources like censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court and legal documents, directories, photos, maps, and more. — Available at all branches of the Santa Cruz Public libraries!
Central Coast Websites
(click on underlined links to open websites)
The Ohlone Native Americans
The Ohlone people were the indigenous inhabitants of today’s Santa Cruz coastal area, prior to European contact.
UC Santa Cruz Digital Collection
The UCSC Library’s Digital Collections site holds a growing treasury of digitized photographs, maps, artwork, oral history transcripts, sound recordings, as well as “born digital” materials.
Santa Cruz County GenWeb
This site is maintained on behalf of the California USGenWeb project.
Santa Cruz County Wikipedia
A great starting point to learn all about Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz Genealogical Society Facebook Page
See whats happening with our Society!
Researchers Anonymous
Researchers Anonymous program of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) for people interested in the history of Santa Cruz County, California.
Santa Cruz Family History Center
A branch of the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. It is open to the public, with many resources stored locally as well as access to the full range of materials in Salt Lake. Free access to Ancestry.com is provided.
Soquel Pioneers
Soquel Pioneers is a community organization that maintains a history room at the Porter Memorial Library. They also sponsors a picnic each July to commemorate the town’s history and its role in the development of Santa Cruz County.
Pajaro Valley Historical Association
Monterey County Genealogy Society
Our neighbor society on the central coast. News of meetings, publications, and a newsletter are among their online offerings.
Monterey County Historical Society
The Society is responsible for a massive collection of family, city and county archival materials. These rare and valuable documents are housed in a temperature and humidity controlled archival vault.
Santa Clara County Historical & Genealogical Society
Another neighbor society, affiliated with the Santa Clara City Public Library.
California State Library Genealogy Hub
Excellent resources for starting your California Genealogy research
Other Useful Genealogy Web Sites
Beyond Kin
The site is useful both for descendants of enslaved persons, and also for descendants of slaveholders who wish to document the close ties between their families and the enslaved persons associated with their families.
Genea-Musings
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024.
Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites
A comprehensive, categorized list of over 300,000 genealogical websites.
One-Step Webpages by Stephen P. Morse
Steve Morse developed tools for simplifying and enhancing the search capability for websites already posted by others.
Some Great DNA Websites
compiled by Gail Burk
23andMe Genetics Learning Hub
https://education.23andme.com/
Bite-sized posts about various categories of DNA learning; many articles about genetics and health; appropriate for all levels
Ancestry DNA Learning Hub
https://www.ancestry.com/c/dna-learning-hub
Helpful posts with graphics about many aspects of DNA analysis, many specific to Ancestry DNA test takers; appropriate for all levels and especially helpful for beginners
DNAeXplained – – blog by Roberta Estes
Lengthy and detailed posts with graphics; emphasis on DNA tools at Family Tree DNA; frequent posts about Y-DNA and mitochodrial DNA; Roberta administers Million Mito Project and Acadian projects at FT DNA; she is knowledgeable about Native American DNA research. Best for intermediate level DNA analysts and people who have DNA tested or uploaded to FT DNA
The DNA Geek blog – – Leah Larkin
Interesting posts on a variety of subjects; some posts highly technical in nature, but with helpful graphics; best for intermediate level DNA analysts. Note: Leah Larkin is one of the founders of BanyanDNA, a recent third-party tool
DNA Painter – – blog by Jonny Perl
https://blog.dnapainter.com/blog/
Easily digestible posts on various DNA subjects, including analytical tools at other websites; explanations of analytical tools (the Shared Centimorgan Project; WATO; Matrix) available at DNA Painter (a third-party DNA website) and how to use them; appropriate for all levels
Family History Fanatics – – Andy Lee
https://www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/youtube
Short pithy videos on YouTube, many dealing with DNA topics, available for free; some programs require membership subscription; appropriate for all levels
Family Locket – – blog by Diane Elder and Nicole Dyer
Posts that are a bit more esoteric and technical; geared more for intermediate and advanced DNA analysts; incorporates discussions on various subjects including third party websites, charting, and use of artificial intelligence
FamilySearch Learning Center
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/DNA_Online_Learning
YouTube recordings by an array of presenters on various DNA topics over a number of years; some lectures overlap with archived RootsTech presentations; some programs include handouts; appropriate for all levels
Family Tree DNA blog
https://blog.familytreedna.com/
Posts in many varied categories, some include explorations of specific ethnicity; robust discussions of Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA analysis, as well as FT DNA’s autosomal Family Finder; posts include some graphics; appropriate for all levels; especially helpful for people who have tested or uploaded data to FT DNA
GEDmatch blog
https://www.gedmatch.com/blog/
Posts on various DNA subjects, including discussions on how to use the analytical tools at GEDmatch; lessons geared to all levels; beginner sessions labeled as such
ISOGG – – International Society of Genetic Genealogy
https://isogg.org/wiki/Special:PopularPages
Link is to the “Popular Pages” section of ISOGG, which is by far the easiest way to navigate to subjects of interest; site is helpful in explaining various DNA issues; helpful for all levels; ISOGG website has an excellent glossary of DNA terms
Legacy Family Tree webinars – – subscription webinar archive
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar-library?category=dna&language=english
Several hundred archived DNA webinars by various speakers; webinars are free to attend when first offered, with recordings accessible for seven days after presentation; subscription required to view archived webinars and to access all syllabi
MyHeritage Knowledge Base
https://education.myheritage.com/learn/dna/
Helpful posts about many aspects of DNA analysis, many specific to MyHeritage DNA test takers; appropriate for all levels; advanced level discussions are labeled as such
RootsTech – – free on-demand sessions, 2019 – 2026
Recorded webinars by various speakers from the past eight years of RootsTech conferences; sponsored by LDS FamilySearch; wide array of DNA topics from beginner to advanced levels; many with syllabus; some with slide decks
Segmentology – – Jim Bartlett
Posts are often technical in nature; geared to intermediate and advanced DNA analysis; frequent discussion of chromosome mapping and triangulation
Your DNA Guide – – blog by Diahan Southard
https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ydgblog
Short, easy-to-digest posts with fun graphics; covers a wide array of DNA issues; good for beginners; includes frequent promotion of her subscription courses; Diahan Southard regularly offers free webinars which can be viewed for up to one week after presentation
Note – – Some of the owners of these websites, blog platforms, and YouTube channels, have free e-newsletters to which one can subscribe. One can also follow or subscribe to the blogs and YouTube channels. Some purveyors have both free versions and paid versions of their sites.