Ancestry® Family History
Get the most out of the family history resources available on Ancestry and learn how to find generations of your family and their stories.
Maritime Job Records
Are seafaring ancestors part of your family heritage? Looking at the maritime industry across the different eras of U.S. history can be a fascinating voyage into your family’s story.
Featured Family History Articles
Immigration in the 1600s and 1700s
Immigration to North America in the 17th and 18th centuries reflects a complex blend of motivations. Does your family’s story include immigration to North America during the 1600s or 1700s? Immigration records on Ancestry® may help you piece together your family’s story.
Some war stories get passed down through generations, others may never have been shared, and still more are likely to have been lost over time. When you dive into the Ancestry military record collections, you can gain new insights into your family history about an individual's involvement in serving their country.
How much do you know about what your ancestors did for a living? Exploring an ancestor’s job history can provide so much more than just the cold, hard facts about the person. Discovering more about your ancestors is a thrilling and often introspective pursuit.
Throughout the 19th century, railroads became a vital method of transportation in the United States—for goods and people. If your ancestors worked on the railroads, they laid the tracks of your family history.
Getting Started with Family History
Vital Records
- Birth Certificates
- Death Certificates
- Death Notices
- Marriage Certificates
- Marriage Licenses
- Marriage Records
- Obituaries
- Social Security Death Index
- Vital Records
- Wills & Probates
Immigration
- Immigration Overview
- 1600s & 1700s Immigration
- 1800s U.S. Immigration
- 1900s U.S. Immigration
- Naturalization
Jobs & Occupations
Military
International Records
Historical Events
Going Beyond Family History
Learn how DNA can give you new details about your family history or even help you connect to your past in a deeper way.
What makes you, you? Learn how certain characteristics may be passed down in your DNA.
Explore visual stories about important people, moments and movements in history.