Although it’s a tremendous resource, the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) doesn’t catalog every name in every journal, and most citations on HeritageQuest Online won’t link to digitized articles for some time. Fortunately, every-name indexes and digital images of several major genealogical journals already have been published online. Altogether, these resources let you search quickly through millions of names in thousands of pages.
The American Genealogist
Each issue of the journal The American Genealogist features well-researched family histories with thousands of names and families featured. The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) has a searchable, indexed database volumes 9 to 88 (1932 to 2016) on its website AmericanAncestors.org. The indexed database is free to search, however to view digitized pages, you must have a membership to NEHGS ($34.95/3-months; $99.95/year). Digitized copies of The American Genealogist published in 1961 and before are available on the Internet Archive for free here.
The Mayflower Descendant
Mayflower Descendant was published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants beginning in 1899. In 2015, the NEHGS took over publishing of the journal. In addition to compiled genealogies, it also includes transcriptions and abstracts of wills, deeds, vital records and other original documents. The database is accessible on AmericanAncestors.org and includes volumes 1 to 69 (1899 to 1935, 1937 and 1985-2021; the journal was not published in 1936 or between 1938 and 1984). Volumes 1 to 69 include more than 350,000 records, plus the first five volumes of Pilgrim Notes and Queries reference a total of about 200,000 names. The indexed database is free to search, however to view digitized pages, you must have a membership to NEHGS ($34.95/3-months; $99.95/year). Volumes 1 to 25 are digitized and freely viewable on the Internet Archive.
National Genealogical Society Quarterly
The National Genealogical Society (NGS) has digitized every page of its journal, National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ), (published between 1908 to today), including research guides, compiled family histories and more. The NGSQ index is free to search on NGS’ website. A membership to NGS ($85/year) is required to view past issues.
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register
The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) has digitized 176 (as of 2025) volumes (published from 1847 to 2022) of its quarterly journal, The Register. In addition to in-depth articles on history and genealogy, you’ll find transcriptions of obituaries and cemetery, church, tax, land, Bible and vital records — plus an index of names. The index database is searchable and The Register is viewable for free on AmericanAncestors.org. You also can read some back issues of the NEHGS Nexus newsletter and New England Ancestors magazine on the website.
New York Genealogical and Biographical Record
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society‘s (NYG&B) quarterly journal, New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (NYG&B Record), is freely searchable and viewable on the Society’s website. The NYG&B Record contains over 600 issues comprised of compiled genealogies of New York families, transcriptions of New York sources and book reviews. The index contains over 1.2 million names. The NYG&B also offers Worden’s Index to The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record 1870-1982, Macy’s Subject Index (1983-2018), and An Index to Authors in the NYG&B Record (1870-2015) available as PDFs.
The Virginia Genealogist
Published and edited by John Fredrick Dorman from 1957 to 2006, The Virginia Genealogist includes abstracts and transcriptions of local records (including court orders, wills, deeds and marriage registers), church records, military records, personal property tax lists and mercantile records, as well as compiled genealogies. All 50 volumes of The Virginia Genealogist are searchable on AmericanAncestors.org. The indexed database is free to search, however to view digitized pages, you must have a membership to NEHGS ($34.95/3-months; $99.95/year).
William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine
The William and Mary College Quarterly was first published in 1892 by the Omohundro Institute in Williamsburg, Virginia and is one of the oldest academic journals in the United States (one of the first ten to be archived on JSTOR). The journal includes not only compiled genealogies, but abstracts and transcriptions of local and vital records, as well as articles on broader history topics, events, chronologies and themes.
Volumes 1 to 78 (1892 to 2021) are searchable for free on JSTOR, which also has volumes 1 to 9 (1892 to 1929) viewable without an account. To view issues from 1930 to 2021, you can log in to JSTOR through your library (if they have access) or sign up for a free independent researcher account, which grants access to 100 articles per month for free.
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A version of this article was originally published in the October 2004 Family Tree Magazine. Last updated: July 2025
Author
A contributing editor for Family Tree Magazine, Rick Crume specializes in online research, genealogy software, DNA testing and British genealogy.
