Don’t Ignore Scholarly Resources – They are Genealogically Leverageable and a Must for Your Genealogy Toolbox

While we rely on familiar genealogical websites, we often overlook the vast world of academic/scholarly resources that can enrich our family histories. Social historians, archivists, librarians, and other academics are conducting in-depth research on genealogically relevant topics, publishing their findings in online resources. This often means they have done a “deep dive” or jumped down a “rabbit hole” that will benefit our genealogical journey.  By leveraging their work, we can gain valuable insights, historical context, and access to original documents, datasets, and more.

This treasure trove of information is readily available online, including open-access collections, journals, databases, theses, gateway platforms, and dissertation repositories like ArchiveGrid, JSTOR, and OATD. We’ll explore these resources, as well as recognizable institutions like Colonial Williamsburg, MESDA, the British Library (and other British resources – think colonial and Caribbean ancestral research), European portals, enslavement-era platforms, and more, to uncover fresh perspectives and new leads in our genealogical journeys.