Do you have family roots in Appalachia? If so, the Digital Library of Appalachia should be in your list of resources!

The home page explains that the online items are curated from collections housed in the Appalachian College Association member libraries.

Items are grouped in categories, making topics easy to find and/or browse:

I decided to investigate MUSIC and chose a banjo sound clip of Cumberland Gap by Clarence “Penny” Perry that was broadcast on a local music station in the 1960s and another, guitar, called Railroad Bill by Turner Foddrell.

I was quite amazed to see 1000 pages of music items!

I also checked out the Visual Arts and Handcrafts collection, with 41 pages of entries.

Lincoln Memorial University’s 1946 yearbook, The Railsplitter, is online, along with items about glassblowing, theater, woodworking and much more.

The last collection I viewed is Religion and Beliefs, which is a blend of memories, music and sermons.

While you won’t find any items about a specific ancestor, unless they were well known in his/her field, you will learn a lot about the social and cultural life of Appalachian residents.

The collection is free to view and items can be downloaded and saved.

This is an excellent regional GeneaGem!