Genealogical Research

Reference staff may respond to specific inquiries about our resources, but cannot undertake genealogical research on families. Information about people who lived in Williamsburg in the eighteenth century can be found through our Digital Library.

The following research guides will lead you to important resources in the field, many of which are widely available in large academic libraries all over the United States.

• Seventeenth-Century Virginians
• Williamsburg Area Residents
• Revolutionary War Virginians

Search our Online Catalog by author, title, family name, county name or other subject. Review the Special Collections finding aids for other documents of interest.

Good genealogical research rests on a variety of documented facts. Many primary source documents can be found on the Internet by following these links from the Library of Virginia:

• Land Patents and Grants
• Virginia Colonial Records Project
• Military Records
• Bible Records
• Virginia Historical Inventory

Virginia records are also available from the following websites:

• Ancestry.com (subscription required)—census records and indexes
• National Archives and Records Administration—military records

If you need further help, please contact the Reference Department.