Discover Your Past: Finding and Using Digitized Manuscript Collections for Genealogical Research

Manuscript collections can contain genealogical gems. Letters, diaries, photographs, histories, and many more information-packed wonders reside in repositories around the world. Many repositories are digitizing parts of their collections and making them available online, so we don’t have to visit the repository to access the information we’re looking for, but finding these collections can still be a challenge. Professional genealogist Annette Burke Lyttle explains how to search for online collections, use finding aids to determine their usefulness for our research, and locate amazing records.