As important as offline research is, the internet has made it easier than ever to find all sorts of records. From school histories to naturalization records, more and more repositories are digitizing and making records available online every day!
These databases can be found in a variety of places, although not all of them are available for free.
If you are a patron of the Malone library, you are able to access the Heritage Quest database from home using your library card! Visitors to the libraries may also receive guest privileges to use this database. To access from home with a Malone library card, visit https://cefls.org/libraries/malone/.
Ancestry.com library edition access is available from Plattsburgh Public library computers only due to licensing restrictions. However, the NY State library offers free access to the New York portion of Ancestry.com.
Genealogy can be an expensive hobby, with software to buy, subscriptions to expensive research tools, and even travel. However, there is a way to create, research and save your family tree, complete with photos, recordings and stories, all for no cost.
The Familysearch.org website, operated by the Church of Latter Day Saints, provides tools to enter the information you know, and find ancestors you didn't know about. There are millions of historical records from over 200 countries available online through the site. New records are constantly added. For example, in April 2017, FamilySearch published over 3.3 million French Census records from 1876 to 1906.
The site contains lots of help, and there are even volunteers that provide free research help over the phone!