How to Get Started
- The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide by Joy Neighbors
- The Family Tree Toolkit by Kenyatta Berry
- Family Photo Detective by Maureen Taylor
- Finding answers in U.S. census records by Loretto Szucs
- How to Archive Family Keepsakes By Denise May Levenick
- Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher by Drew Smith
- Understanding documents for genealogy & local history by Bruce Durie
- Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook by Nancy Hendrickson
Reference Materials
At the Manhattan Public Library, we offer a variety of materials and resources that offer information on local individuals and events.
Recording your family history will require you to do some indepth research. We provide a variety of collections and digital resources for genealogy research. Documents such as census records, marriage licenses, cemetery and burial locations, obituaries, yearbooks, and many other documents can be found that will give you clues about your family history.
Some physical materials may be available in our Reference collection, or you may try using the Microfilm workstation which includes archived local newspaper issues dating back to 1859, or you can scan your own microfilm or microfiche.
Staff at the second floor reference desk can assist with locating these materials or give an introduction on how to view microfilm.
Yearbooks
- Ancestry Yearbooks, 1900-2016 (Access by going through Ancestry)
- Royal Purple (online)
- Royal Purple (K-State) – Reference Collection – R 371.8976 Royal
- The Blue M (Manhattan High School) – Reference Collection – R 371.8976 Blue
Cemeteries & Obituaries
Our reference collection includes several informational resources on grave locations. These can be found at: R 978.128 Cemeteries in the Kansas History Cabinet or R 929.5 Cemeteries in the Reference Collection.
- Findagrave.com: If you know the grave site, it’s most likely available with this resource and can tell you what day they passed. Ancestry also searches Find A Grave, so you can either go directly to their website or through Ancestry.
Manhattan Mercury Access
There are few options for accessing Mercury articles, depending on the date you’re looking for.
- 1857 to 2017 – Microfilm*
- 1997 to present – Newsbank (no images), available remotely
- There is a gap March-September of 2020, due to the pandemic.
- *The Kansas Historical Society’s Open Access Portal also contains a digital archive of all Kansas newspapers from 1854 -1923. If you are looking for an article or obituary in that timeframe, you can check there first!
MPL Online Resources
Ancestry (IN LIBRARY USE ONLY)
- Ancestry is the World’s Largest Genealogy Site — There’s No Better Way to Find Generations of Your Family and Their Stories. Access 71+ Billion Records on the World’s Largest Online Family History Resource. Billions of records.
Genealogy Connect – (Access with Kansas Library Card)
- A collection of digitized, online books covering genealogy and history. The books are fully searchable. All titles can be listened to online, downloaded as MP3s, or downloaded as PDFs to a compatible eReader. To access Genealogy Connect, check out our Online Resources page.
HeritageHub
- HeritageHub provides access to hundreds of years of obituaries and death notices from thousands of newspapers and funeral homes throughout the United States. To access HeritageHub, check out our Online Resources page.
Kanopy
- This is a streaming service available with your library card. Kanopy offers a variety of videos on Genealogy and how to research. Currently, “Discover Your Roots” offers multiple episodes to teach you the variety of ways you can learn more about your family history. You can also checkout the companion guide: Finding your roots : the official companion to the PBS series