Visit our FamilySearch Center located on the fourth floor of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Volunteers provide free, personalized assistance in tracing your ancestors. The library is open to everyone, from beginners to advanced genealogists.
Please schedule your appointment by calling 513-333-7654 or emailing genealogy@nurfc.org.
Groups are also welcome by appointment, but please schedule at least one week in advance so our volunteers are prepared.
Each family holds many stories
What will you discover? You have four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, sixteen great-great grandparents—there are a lot of potential stories! Some could have been prominent citizen in their communities. Others will be difficult to learn about, and odds are good that a few made some bad life decisions or have a tragic story—try to respect them all. Aspiring to find a collection of impressive ancestors is not always the best end goal. Instead, we honor our ancestors by learning to live in a way that reflects well on them.
Genealogy Resources
FamilySearch volunteers will help you organize your information and will show you how to search online records that connect you to other family members. Our genealogy specialists will guide you to resources that help you conduct family research on your own. Bringing some preliminary information with you will enhance your research experience:
- Bring any known names, maiden names, birth places and approximate birth/death dates of your deceased family members - parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. (See downloadable resources)
- Remember that names and places are more important than exact dates.
- Ask your relatives for information and family stories that may help you connect with family members.
You’ll get the best understanding of the lives of your ancestors by combining oral history with public records research and local history about the places your ancestors lived. Begin your public records research by opening a FREE genealogy account with FamilySearch.org. Search U.S. census records from 1790 to 1950. Look for online bird, marriage and death records. Begin to build your family tree online. Add photographs, recordings and stories.
Find a Family Search Center close to you. There more than 5,400 FamilySearch Centers around the world. These FamilySearch Centers have the same database with millions of new records being added each week. Volunteers in these centers offer free help and consultation.
FamilySearch partners with other genealogy websites that you can access free of charge at any FamilySearch Center including Ancestry, My Heritage, American Ancestor, Find-A-Grave and more. FamilySearch also has a comprehensive wiki that can tell you about the records available for the places you are searching.
Remember to keep a record of your work – a simple notebook is fine. Note the dates of interviews with family members, and keep complete citations (author, title, etc.) for any source you consult. And if you want to use a computer program to keep track of your data, you can download a FREE program called “Personal Ancestral File” from FamilySearch.org.
- Don’t worry right now about “how far back you can get”— start with what you already know, write it down, and gradually work back to earlier generations.
- Seek out old photographs for clues to direct your search.
- The best source of family history is always family. Interview your parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Remember that your family is larger than you think – your parents’ first cousins will also have information about earlier generations.
- If you have a very elderly relative, don’t wait to talk until next year. Even when people are healthy, memories fade.
- Have pencils (to easily correct) and plenty of paper handy to take notes.
- For in-person interviews, make sure your relative is comfortable. Take notes and record the conversation if possible. Be aware that video cameras make some feel people self-conscious, so they may not open up as quickly.
- Ask open-ended questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. Need ideas? Download a list of sample history questions below.
- If the person you are interviewing starts to become defensive or upset, do not press them – change the subject to more comfortable territory.
- Pay attention to small details, like names of places and distant cousins.
- After your interview, type out a detailed summary of what you learned. Do this right away while the interview is fresh in your mind—there may be portions of the notes or recording which are unclear
- Be aware that it is unusual to get the best stories from your first interview. Reflect on what you learn, discuss with other family members, and then set up a follow-up conversation!
Visit Today
Hours: Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.* by appointment.
Admission: Free and open to the public. Museum admission is not required to access the library. Appointments are highly recommended.
*Due to the extensive nature of our research, last appointments begin at 3:00 p.m. for a 45-minute session. If no patrons are present and no appointments scheduled, the library may close early.
Partnership
This FamilySearch Center is sponsored and supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Downloadable Resources
Research FAQs
Family members often remember more about their family than they realize. Ask for phone numbers, addresses and email addresses of cousins, aunts and uncles who may be able to fill in the gaps of missing information. At least one of them may have interesting personal reminiscences. Others may have family photos, old letters or the beginnings of a family tree.
Begin with FamilySearch.org. Its wiki can guide you to sources that are not online, such as courthouses and state archives.
County courthouses keep deeds, wills, and some marriage records. Each state has a vital records office with birth and death certificates and marriage and divorce records. The federal government has military service files, naturalization records, Social Security applications (which are public for deceased persons), and Native American resources. Most public records are not yet on the internet – but some are. These include the records of the U.S. Census Bureau – a gold mine for genealogists. Census records from 1930 and prior decades are available on several websites, including Ancestry.com.
Visit the county-seat library in the county where your ancestors lived. They may have books of cemetery inscriptions, old city directories, historic newspapers (with obituaries), local histories, maps, and a lot more (Tip: the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has one of the finest genealogical collections in the United States).
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center staff are not available to assist with individual research requests. However, our FamilySearch volunteers are happy to assist you with general genealogy research and teach you how to continue researching your family history on your own. Make an appointment by phone at (513) 333-7654 or by email at genealogy@nurfc.org.
Our FamilySearch Center is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is during this time that volunteers have access to your phone message or email and will respond as soon as they can.
FamilySearch volunteers conduct your research online, accessing the data available through the FamilySearch website and its online partners. The museum currently holds few records documenting individual conductors or safe houses that were part of the Underground Railroad. Due to the secretive and dangerous nature of participating in this network, few physical documents still exist today. In many cases, the best way to gather this type of information is by reading books, collecting oral histories or contacting your state, county or local historical society.
