Genealogy Resources

Physical Collection

  • Buffalo County Marriage Records (1872-1978, microfilm)
  • Kearney City Directories
  • Kearney Hub (1889-2018, microfilm)
  • Family Tree Magazine (available in the library or digitally on the Libby app)
  • Nebraska and Genealogy book collections

Genealogy - Book and Photos

Preserve Family Photos and Video

Want to preserve old photographs, video, negatives or slides? Visit our Digitization Station in the makerspace! We have a station to scan photographs, as well as convert negatives, slides, and VHS tapes to digital files. We also have the supplies to encapsulate and preserve old photographs and family documents.

Genealogy - Keyboard

Local / Nebraska Resources

Questions?

Submit a reference question or email the Reference Librarian to learn more about these resources.

Reference Desk Phone: 308-233-3256

Online Resources

FamilySearch 2025

Kearney Public Library is part of the FamilySearch Affiliate Program. Visit the library for expanded access to FamilySearch records and resources. Available in-house only. 

Additional Genealogy Websites

  • Find A Grave
    • Search or browse cemeteries and grave records from around the world. 
  • Billion Graves
    • Resource for searchable GPS cemetery data.
  • GLO Records
    • This site provides live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, including image access to more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1788 and the present.
  • USGenWeb 
    • The USGenWeb Project is a group of volunteers working together and having fun providing free online genealogy help and information for every U.S. state and county.
  • Cyndi's List
    • Cyndi's List has been a trusted genealogy research site for more than 20 years. Cyndi's List is free for everyone to use and it is meant to be your starting point when researching online.
  • Genealogy.com
    • Genealogy.com is a source for family history buffs to find genealogical research originally posted in GenForum and our most popular genealogy articles.
  • Ellis Island
    • The Port of New York Passenger Records 1820 - 1957 contains the passenger lists of almost 65 million immigrants, passengers, and crew members who came through Ellis Island and the Port of New York from 1820 to 1957. The period from 1892 to 1924 at Ellis Island was the largest human migration in modern history!
  • Chronicling America
    • Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress
  • Community History Archive
    • This collection from Advantage Archives is designed to make it easier to access and explore a vast collection of historical resources. It includes over 125 million images from over 1,000 different communities in the United States. Digital historic newspaper access can be found for many Nebraska communities including Gibbon, Grand Island, Lexington, Minden, Norfolk, North Platte, Seward and more!
  • Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
    • The Newberry Library's Atlas of Historical County Boundaries is a free online website that helps you identify changing county boundaries throughout history.