ESGR Member Resources

This page is under development. Plan is to describe the extensive genealogy related information resources available to you when join ESGR as a member.
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ESGR is a 100% volunteer organization of people interested in family and local history in Erie County and the surrounding area. Our members are encouraged to nurture and foster interest in genealogy by providing instruction, education and information resources to others.

If you are looking for help locating records in Erie County we are here to help you! We ask you to first consider joining our Society. An individual membership is currently only $15 per member year. Our volunteer members strive to point you in the right direction so you can conduct your own research. We no longer provide a fee based research service. However, we do accept donations.

Our benefits include access to the Members Only section of our website. It contains Roadmaps to Resources in Erie County to help self-guide you to finding various resources, including many that are not available on the internet. You can also find 50 plus years of our newsletters containing much more research assistance about local resources. We continue to digitize and upload numerous ESGR publications compiled by our members over the years. We continue to add new resources as fast as we can.

The following INFORMATION RESOURCE materials are currently available in the Members Only section of this website:

ESGR Membership Directory
This online directory includes active members and Erie County resource associates.
It updates in real time.

Roadmaps to Resources

Our Roadmaps to Resources are a series of collaborative articles compiled by various ESGR volunteers to help you locate genealogy and historical resources in Erie County and the surrounding area. They are written and published in our Keystone Kuzzins Newsletter, first appearing in 2022. For ease of reference, we have captured the individual "Roadmaps to Resources" articles on this page.

The Erie County Courthouse
The Heritage Room at Erie's Blasco Memorial Public Library
The Erie County Historical Society's Hagen History Center Library and Archives
Erie County Township Historical Societies
Erie County Newspapers
Erie County Historical Reference Books
Erie County Formation & Boundary Changes
City of Erie Boundary Changes
PA Soldier & Sailors Home
Buffalo NY Grosvenor Room

Keystone Kuzzins Newsletters
The official quarterly newsletter of the Erie Society for Genealogical Research. Published quarterly since the inception of our Society in 1972. All past issues are archived on this website.

Research Tips by Connie Edwards, ESGR Contributing writer
Quarterly research guidance articles on a variety of genealogy topics including: Land Records; Finding Civil War Photos; Tidying Up Genealogy Records; What's New Online; A Walk in the Cemetery; What to Do with Family Treasures; Divorce Records; Making the Most of Family Search; Ethics in Genealogy; Obituaries; Flattening Curled Photos; Genealogical Timelines; Searching the Census; Writing Your Family History; Genealogy Road Trips; Research Logs; Finding Family Photos; Don't Overlook Libraries; Hiring a Professional Genealogists; Interviewing Your Relatives; Local Historical Societies; DNA Finds Lost Relatives.

Erie County Historical Center Holdings

Burial Guides & Records
This guide contains township maps of known burial sites, directions for finding the cemeteries and GPS locator coordinates; It also includes the names and alternate names of the cemeteries. The Data pages include the approximate dates burials occurred in each cemetery and who to contact for information (as of 2006).
It has been uploaded in four sections:
- Cover page showing a map of Erie County
- Part I. Introduction, Lists of Burial Sites, alternate names, and directions to each cemetery.
- Part II. - Maps of each township and where the cemeteries are located.
- Part III. - Cemetery Data Pages - dates of burials, who to contact at the cemetery office, etc.

Erie Newspapers & Obituaries

Cemeteries in Erie County

FindAGrave

Church Records in Erie County

Church Resource - A 2024 ESGR project goal is to up date the extensive listing of historical churches in Erie County which ESGR published over 20 years ago. The original is available in the Members section.

Vital Records in Erie County

Naturalization Records in Erie County

Erie County Almshouse Records
Digitized records of the Erie County Almshouse - the institution which once offered free housing for the destitute. This includes records of those who were transferred from the Almshouse to the Warren State hospital facility. Note, Alms was the old English term for aid for the poor.

DNA Resources

Speaker Handouts