Tools for Working with Maps & Land Records:
DeedMapper – Have you ever tried to make heads or tails out of the old “metes and bounds” property surveys? DirectLine Software sells DeedMapper, which will actually plot out the shape of a piece of property as described in the deed. I used this program a number of years ago to solve my Miller problem in Virginia. Since then, the newer version includes the ability to integrate it into GoogleEarth.
HistoryPin – upload your own photos to show how it used to look
WhatWasThere – similar to HistoryPin where you can upload photos to show how a building or street used to look
United States Map Resources:
American Panorama – an interactive historical map website that is adding new statistical maps in on-going projects
Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States – This atlas, published in 1932, includes hundreds of clickable maps showing geographical changes through the years.
Bureau of Land Management Land Office Records – free, searchable database of land records beginning in 1820.
USGS Maps, Imagery and Publications
Sites with information on U.S. migratory roads and trails:
Cyndi’s List – Migration Routes, Roads and Trails
FamilySearch Wiki – U.S. Migration Trails and Roads
Sites that have large collections covering multiple, if not all, states:
Bureau of Land Management Land Patents
Historic USGS Maps of New England and New York at the University of New Hampshire
New York Public Library Digital Collections -Maps & Atlases
OldMapsOnline – This portal has links to historical maps around the world.
University of Texas, Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection
USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer
U.S. State Collections:
University of Alabama Historical Map Archive
Alaska Digital Archives
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Idaho
Illinois – University of Chicago Library
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Kansas – Wichita State University
Kentucky – University of Louisville
Louisiana Digital Library
Maine – University of Southern Maine – Osher Map Library
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts Lowell Libraries
University of Michigan
Minnesota Digital Library
Missouri – The Kansas City Public Library
Nebraska – Omaha Public Library
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
New Jersey – Princeton University
New Jersey – Rutgers University
New York – Cornell University
New York Public Library
University of North Carolina
Oklahoma State University
University of Oregon
Pennsylvania – Free Library of Philadelphia
Pennsylvania – Historic Pittsburgh
South Carolina – The South Caroliniana Library Map Collection
Tennessee State Library and Archives
Texas – University of Houston Libraries
Vermont – Middlebury College
Library of Virginia – including Civil War maps
Virginia Tech
Washington State University
University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
Canadian Map Resources:
In Search of Your Canadian Past: The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project
European Map Resources:
World Map Resources:
Brigham Young University Library – Maps, Atlases and Gazetteers: Maps and Atlases Online
RootsTech 2019 Contest Entry – GREAT blog & alot of great resource links! Have marked your blog on my FAVS list!
Thanks, Charlene. Glad you are enjoying the resources I’ve assembled.
Have some Whitaker ancestors in common.
Linda,
I love your site. So many resources. I am recommending it in class I am teaching this week on illustrating family histories. and will be adding it to my list of must see sites for other classes I teach as well.
Brigham Young University also has a large collection of digitized maps for the U.S. and the World. I especially love the German collections.
https://guides.lib.byu.edu/c.php?g=216365&p=1428522
Thank you for the kind words, Laurie. I’ve also added the BYU map collection link to my map resources page. It’s much appreciated.
I am president of the Palm Springs Genealogical Society in California. A former member of ours sent me a Pima County Genealogical Society newsletter in which your article of chancery courts was included. I wondered if you would give us permission to include this in our newsletter? If so, could you send me a copy, please?
Thanks you,
Sondra
Done. 🙂