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Richland Library

Genealogy

Researching your family history?

Need an obituary from the Columbia area?

Search the Online Obituary Index

Request an Obituary

The research tools listed below include links to South Carolina online resources and provide library patrons with access to library-supported national genealogy databases. If you would like to access these databases but don't yet have your Richland Library card, click here to apply. Out-of-county residents can apply for a card for a fee of $65 per year.

Genealogy Resources

  • Accessible Archives (Info | Start Now)
    Genealogy and history researchers will find full text articles from several historical newspapers. Coverage focusses on the Southeast and African American newspapers of the 18th and 19th centuries.
  • America's Obituary and Death Notices (Info | Start Now)
    America's Obituaries & Death Notices is NewsBank's large and comprehensive collection of newspaper obituaries and death notices from around the United States.
  • Ancestry Library Edition (Info | Start Now (inside the library only))
    Provides access to a number of genealogical sources, including Census, military and immigration records, periodicals and newspapers and birth, marriage and death records.
  • Columbia City Directories (Info | Start Now)
    This searchable collection of Columbia City Directories from 1859 is an invaluable source for historians and genealogists.
  • Community Resources (Info | Start Now)
    Includes Obituary Index, Local Magazine and Newspaper Index and Quick Facts. The Obituary Index contains obituary and death notice information from Columbia, SC newspapers.
  • Confederate Rolls of South Carolina (Info | Start Now)
    The Confederate Rolls of South Carolina is a rare, searchable ledger listing Confederate servicemen by name and divided by company and regiment. It includes age, rank, county, and remarks on their service.
  • Heritage Quest (Info | Start Now)
    Provides a keyword searchable collection of genealogical research materials for tracing family history and American culture.
  • NewsBank (Info | Start Now)
    Access full-text articles published in The State (from 1987 to present) and 187 other newspapers from around the country. Also provides obituaries and death notices, and some news magazine coverage.
  • South Carolina Historical Newspapers Collection (Info | Start Now)
    The SC Historical Newspapers is a custom collection of early SC newspapers spanning the years from 1783 to 1848 and the State Newspaper covering the years 1891-1922.
  • Walker Local and Family History Photograph Collection (Info | Start Now)
    Richland Library has a diverse collection of historic photographs organized into sets on Flickr.
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