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Arizona has implemented one of the newest and best online searchable databases. It's at genealogy.az.gov/faq.htm. This state-sponsored site puts at your fingertips birth records from 1887 to 1928 and death records from 1878 to 1953. Not only can you view an entire document on your screen, you can print out a free copy.
Funding for the project, which was three years in the making, came from the Arizona Legislature, which provided $500,000 to cover the cost of imaging and microfilming. Volunteers created the index for the query system. Close to 1.6-million searches were conducted and more than 900,000 documents downloaded during the first six months.
Kudos to Arizona's government for setting the bar so high. Let's hope others soon follow suit. The cost of accurately tracing one's family tree has become exorbitant.
The Virtually Missouri site at www.virtuallymissouri.org deserves attention for making a good hunk of data available. Sponsored by the Missouri State Library, it contains entire issues of 11 newspapers, some dating to 1835. I have not seen this done before, but I hope it's part of a new trend. Historic photographs and numerous digital collections are also featured.
If your roots are showing in Kentucky, check out this site on the Internet: www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kvrp Birth, death and marriage records are lumped together in one large, but indexed, database. Plans call for the records to be separated to make them easier to search. Volunteers are needed. Data contributions and corrections are solicited. You can also check out Kentucky's searchable vital statistics database. Go to ukcc.uky.edu/~vitalrec.
Indiana's Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne sponsors a searchable database abstracted from obituaries published from 1841 to 1900 in Indiana. It also offers one-stop shopping for state and international genealogical contact information. Go to www.acpl.lib.in.us and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click on Genealogy Gateway. Choose a state or country.
Virginia rooters will like this site: www.alexandria.lib.va.us It focuses on the Alexandria area but has something for everyone. Among the offerings are an index of naturalizations from 1909 to 1929, an 1890 veterans index and Civil War burials at the Alexandria National Cemetery.
The Virginia state library at www.lva.lib.va.us also has records pertaining to other areas.
Every state has an archive or a state library. Some have both. All maintain a wealth of information, and most sponsor a Web site that lists their holdings. For a directory of individual state archives and Canadian archives, go to www.nagara.org/websites.html
Some state sites include searchable databases.
The Pennsylvania State Archives at www.phmc.state.pa.us features ARIAS, a military records index.
The Maryland State Archives at www.mdarchives.state.md.us has a death index spanning 1898 to 1944.
Getting to the right spot for Illinois rooters requires patience, but once you're there, you'll find a number of searchable databases. Go to www.cyberdriveillinois.com click on departments, then archives and finally genealogical research. Hit state and federal records. Choose from birth, death and marriage indexes, or go to land transactions.
The National Archives and Records Administration site at www.archives.gov click on research-room, then genealogy is often overlooked. There are no searchable databases. But you'll discover what records the administration owns and how to access them. Topics include Revolutionary War records, American Indian tribal rolls and census records. The site offers free publications, too.
At www.italiangen.org you'll find almost 1.5-million names in the New York City Death Index. The searchable database includes Manhattan from 1891 to 1894, Brooklyn and Manhattan from 1895 to 1897, and all boroughs from 1898 to 1911.
- Read past Donna Murray Allen columns online at www.sptimes.com Type "Donna Murray Allen" in the search box. You can write to Allen c/o Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail her at rootscolumn@yahoo.com Her Web site: www.rootsdetective.com includes information on classes and lectures. Allen welcomes your questions about genealogy and will respond to those of general interest in future columns.