POTTSVILLE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Last updated December 31, 2011.

History Sites

General History Sites

• Best of History Web Sites -- a guide to the best history sites on the Web; divided into general areas, such as ancient/biblical times, medieval, 20th century, etc, each web site is rated on a scale of 1 - 5 stars
• From Revolution to Reconstruction: A Hypertext on American History from the colonial period until Modern Times
• The HistoryNet -- primarily covers United States history, with other countries as they affected the United States; very good "Today in History" feature and biographies of individuals as well
• HyperHistory -- world history site organized by timeline
• Mapping History -- historic maps and atlases, produced by departments of the University of Oregon
• Today in History -- What happened today in U.S. history? hosted by the Library of Congress

Specific Subject History Sites

Africa and African-Americans
• African American Perspectives -- collection of pamphlets including sermons, biographies, speeches, legal documents, and poetry; from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s
• American Slave Narratives -- interviews of former slaves, done from 1936 - 1938
• Black Facts Online -- "Today in Black History" features selected facts for each day of the year
• Images of African Americans from the 19th Century -- collection presented by The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library; search by topic or key words to find images on all aspects of life

 
Ancient Civilizations
• ABZU Regional Index: Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
• The Ancient Greek World -- has information on the daily life of people back then, as well as other useful information
• Exploring Ancient World Cultures -- an introduction to ancient world cultures on the internet
• George Ortiz Collection -- "an online version of a travelling exhibit of the unique private collection of George Oritz, who has been gathering Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and other artifacts for some 42 years."
• The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire -- A huge amount of information on the Romans, including religion, timelines of emperors and battles, maps, and more.
• The Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser -- Djoser's Step Pyramid is generally considered the first tomb in Egypt to be built entirely of stone; this site gives you a tour and information about this particular pyramid
• Women's Life in Greece and Rome


U.S. History

• American Memory from the Library of Congress -- lots of historical photographs, early writings, and other information on the history of this country
• Archiving Early America -- this site has a wide variety of resources, such as famous obituaries, notable women, firsts in early America, and a "Music of Early America" section
• A Chronology of US Historical Documents -- has the full text of various documents including the Magna Carta, the First Thanksgiving Proclamation, and the Declaration of Causes of seceding states around the time of the Civil War
• First Nations Histories -- histories of and links to Native American tribes
• National Canal Museum
• Triangle Fire Disaster


Wars and the Military

U.S. Civil War
• American Civil War Homepage -- a HUGE collection of links
• The American Civil War Page -- collection of links with information about the Civil War, including the small arms used, poetry, uniforms, flags, etc.
• The 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry -- This online journal looks at some of the people involved and incidents involving the 48th PA Volunteers, many of whom were from Schuylkill County
Vietnam War
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall -- search for a particular name, or browse through the panels
• The Wars for Vietnam
World War I
• World War I - Trenches on the Web
• World War I History -- Pathfinder produced by the Internet Public Library, with links to excellent sites concerning the Great War
World War II
• Holocaust Denial on Trial -- This site provides the evidence and the transcript of a trial that took place in England in 2000, when a writer/historian sued a professor for libel.  The professor won her case, proving that the writer was a Holocaust denier, a neo-Nazi, and a distorter of historical fact.
• World War II History -- Pathfinder produced by the Internet Public Library, with links to excellent sites concerning the Second World War, the Holocaust, etc.
Other Wars and the Military in General
• Center of Military History -- take a look at the Online Bookshelves for histories of U.S. wars, or check the library's catalog for one of the many titles available in print!
• Korean War Project
• Trenches on the Web - Reference Library
• WashingtonPost.com: Fog of War -- focuses on the 1991 Persian Gulf War


The World and Everything Else

• 1492: An Ongoing Voyage
• A Canal Chronology -- chronology going back to 4000 B.C., including events involving the Schuylkill Canal
• Castles on the Web -- take a tour, look at pictures, or look up a word are just some of the things you can do on this site
• Views of the Famine -- newspaper articles from the Great Irish Famine

Genealogy Sites

For Schuylkill County-specific sites, visit our more complete Schuylkill County genealogy and local history page.  We have several indexes there, as well as contacts for local historical societies and links for some church and cemetery records on the Web.

• Census Online: Links to Online Census Records for Pennsylvania - this site lists free and for-fee census records for the state and individual counties.  Most of the links for Schuylkill County go to the Volunteer Census Project (see below); you can find other states and countries here, too.
• Civil War Pennsylvania Volunteers -- transcribed records from Bates' History of Pennsylvania Volunteers; primarily Schuylkill County volunteers at this time, others may be added in the future
• Historical Society of Pennsylvania -- located in Philadelphia, this organization is one of the largest family history libraries in the nation, and has a sizable collection of local and regional histories as well as ethnic and immigrant studies materials
• Pennsylvania Mining Resources from the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania -- links to online coal mining resources, mining glossary, and a list of major coal mine accidents are just some of what this page has to offer those with coal mining ancestors
• Pennsylvania Vital Records Information -- home page for the office which holds Pennsylvania birth and death certificates from 1906 on; order form and fees are both available
• Social Security Death Index -- type in a first and last name; database may include deaths that occurred up to 2-3 months ago.
• African American Genealogy and History -- list of useful resources put together by the ProGenealogists group
• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet -- absolutely enormous collection of links to just about any kind of genealogy-related website you might be looking for!  Topical indexes include societies, surname associations, records, ethnic groups, etc.
• FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service -- website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; get started by finding the nearest Family History Center (note: there are centers in Allentown, Reading and Harrisburg), or make use of free online resources
• Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies
• Find A Grave -- find the graves of famous people or of your ancestors!  Search by date, name or cemetery, add burial records, or visit a virtual memorial.  Browse Pennsylvania and Schuylkill County cemeteries by selecting "Search for a cemetery" on the right side of the main page, then click on "browse by US County".
• Genealogical Research Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania
• GENUKI -- Genealogy in the United Kingdom and Ireland; reference source that includes primary materials, finding aids and guides, with links to important British genealogical societies
• German Society of Pennsylvania
• Irish Genealogical Society
• The Italian Genealogy Home Page
• JewishGen: The Home of Jewish Genealogy
• Lithuanian Global Genealogical Society Online Databases -- check out this site for a large number of Lithuanian cemeteries, surnames, vital records, and other databases crucial to genealogical research.  Includes several resources for Schuylkill County.
• National Genealogical Society
• ProGenealogists Genealogy Sleuth -- HUGE collection of links for genealogy research in practically every state; note that some sites listed are subscription services
• ROOTS-L Library -- collection of links to a wide variety of genealogical web sites, including an excellent "Beginning Genealogy" feature