Tracing Your Roots - Revisited
Following on from our previous post of five steps to get started with your family history journey, we delve deeper into the resources we hold at Central Library.
Level 3 at Central has a wide range of resources to help you in your family history journey. Our book collection includes instructional books on how to research your family including the titles listed below.
We hold a wide range of local histories from all over New Zealand. School histories and church histories may also yield useful information.
If your family were local consider investigating our Archive and Special Collections. This includes oral histories, ephemera, historic photographs and archival material. These items are available on request, please use our Research Enquiry Form to book a time to view items. We regularly digitise material, which is made available on our Hamilton Heritage Collections website.
Other resources include:
The New Zealand Birth, Death and Marriage indexes are available on microfiche from 1840-1990
• These indexes will provide a reference number which for births and deaths can be tracked to find a place of registration. Historic indexes can also be searched for free on Births Deaths & Marriages Online.
The Waikato Times from 1872
• The Waikato Times from 1872 - 1945 is available on Papers Past, 1872 - present is available on microfilm in the Library. 2007 - present is also available via PressReader, a database available to Hamilton City Library members.
New Zealand Electoral Rolls
• New Zealand Electoral Rolls from 1853-2010 are available on Ancestry Library Edition.
Historic Street Directories
• If your ancestors lived or worked in Hamilton, you may be able to locate their home or work address using directories from the time.
Cemetery Records
• Cemetery lists in both hard copy and microfiche, compiled by genealogy societies across the Waikato, are available at Central Library. These are also available on Ancestry Library Edition.
International Genealogy Databases
• Ancestry Library Edition – This vast database contains over 30 billion records from over 80 countries. It includes cemetery records, street directories and electoral rolls for New Zealand.
• Find My Past – Offers over a billion records from United Kingdom and Ireland, United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
• Both databases are available to use from within Hamilton City Libraries either from our internet computers or on your own device via our wifi network.
Further useful websites for family history research: