Archive and Library Lookups

Daughters of the American Revolution Library

The Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington DC has one of the largest collections of genealogical materials in the United States. Collections include books, research files, manuscripts, microfilm, publications, special collections, Bible records, and genealogical databases. Included in the genealogical databases are records submitted with lineage applications and supplementals, records pertaining to the Revolutionary War, Bible transcriptions, and genealogical records prepared by DAR chapters for the Genealogical Research Committee.

NOTICE:

The DAR Library will be undergoing restoration work staring July 2026 and lasting at least a year, if not longer. This means their print materials will not be available for review or copying. I will still be able to use their electronic and in-house resources.

Lookup services for this repository include:

Photocopies- Photocopies will be made of DAR Library Collection materials that include the following:

Electronic Resources available in the Library such as newspaper articles, online records from AmericanAncestors, Fold3, ancestry, familysearch, and more.
Manuscript Collection
File folders
Genealogical Records Committee (GRC) Collection
Patriot Records Project Collection Record Images
Images from microfilm
Library books

Supporting Documentation- Documentation submitted as part of a DAR lineage application or supplemental to prove a member’s line of descent from a Revolutionary War ancestor. Not every application or supplemental will have documentation, particularly those from the early decades of the society. Sometimes there’s documentation involving collateral lineages for families associated with or who married into the families of a Revolutionary War ancestor’s descendants. Also be aware that just because it’s in supporting documentation from a previously submitted paper does not necessarily mean the proof will be acceptable for a modern lineage submission. There are no indexes of names included in the documents found in an ancestor’s supporting documentation at this time. *Copies of vital records less than 100 years old and analyses are not available.

Research- Hourly based research of the resources available as part of the DAR Library Collections and in-house DAR resources including those mentioned above. This is usually for when you are not sure where or what genealogical information you’re looking for. Examples:

You do not know what records are in supporting documentation, but you don’t want all the documentation available for that ancestor or member’s lineage.
Going through hundreds of pages of supporting documents looking for information. Some ancestors have little to no documentation and others have hundreds.
What books the information you’re looking for is in.
Surname research. If it’s a common surname, as specific a location as possible (town if in New England and county everywhere else) and a time frame of no more than 15 years will be required. A list of other associated families and names will likely be necessary if it’s a super common surname such as Smith.
Searching through Family Bibles for specific information.
Conducting research for eligible lineages for various lineage societies.
Attempting to locate qualifying Revolutionary War service (*Note: This is not a guarantee as it’s ultimately up to the Genealogy Department Staff what they will and won’t verify as qualifying service for a specific ancestor).

The following are the fees for lookups and research at this repository depending on the requested service:

Photocopies- a minimum of $10 for 10 pages (including any title pages). Any additional pages will be .50/page. If physical copies rather than digital copies are requested, there’s a fee of $1.50 for shipping after the first 10 pages.
Supporting Documentation- a minimum of $10 for 10 pages. Not every page needs to be from the same ancestor or member’s supporting documentation. Any additional pages will be .50/page. If physical copies rather than digital copies are requested, there’s a fee of $1.50 for shipping after the first 10 pages.
Research- a minimum of one hour of research will be conducted. The fee is $35 an hour and covers 10 pages of photocopies and/or supporting documentation. If you do not want pages of specific things that are searched, be explicit about what. If you have a preference for what you’d like copies of depending on what’s located, please be as specific as possible. If physical copies rather than digital copies are requested, there’s a fee of $1.50 for shipping after the first 10 pages.

A contract laying out and agreeing to the requested services and fees involved will be signed by both parties (researcher and customer) before any services are rendered.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress in Washington DC has a vast collection spanning multiple buildings, some of which are in storage. Their Main Reading Room is awesome not only in its ambiance, but also in its architecture, artwork, and the number of books filling its space. Genealogical materials held by the Library of Congress include genealogies, local histories, microfilm, manuscript materials, newspapers, city directories, and periodicals.

Lookup services for this repository include:

Photocopies- Copies will be made of the following from the Library of Congress collection (when not available online and as allowed by the Library of Congress):

Genealogies
Local Histories
Manuscripts
Newspapers
Microfilmed Genealogical Records
Periodicals
Books focusing on topics in the Humanities (particularly history, art, literature, anthropology, and women’s studies)

Research- Hourly based research of the resources available as part of the Library of Congress’s Collections pertaining to genealogy or genealogical related materials. While copies of pages from books pertaining to topics in the Humanities are offered, no research will be done on these topics that do not correlate to providing context for requested genealogical research.

Surname research- If it’s a common surname, as specific a location as possible (town if in New England and county everywhere else) and a time frame of no more than 15 years will be required. A list of other associated families and names will likely be necessary.
Newspapers- For New England areas, please give a specific town with newspapers you’d like searched within a ten-year period. If the desire area is lacking in sufficient extant newspapers in a ten-year period, this will be waived to a time span with a sufficient number to search through. Outside of New England, please give a county of focus. Note any other towns or counties (even in other states) that may have what you’re seeking.
Manuscripts- Be as specific as possible for the time frame, location, and what you’re looking for.

The following are the fees for lookups and research at this repository depending on the requested service:

Photocopies- a minimum of $10 for 10 pages (including any title pages). Any additional pages will be .50/page. If physical copies rather than digital copies are requested, there’s a fee of $1.50 for shipping after the first 10 pages.
Research (Not including Newspapers and/or Manuscripts)- a minimum of one hour of research will be conducted. The fee is $35 an hour and covers 10 pages of photocopies. If you do not want pages of specific things that are searched, be explicit about what. If you have a preference for what you’d like copies of depending on what’s located, please be as specific as possible. If physical copies rather than digital copies are requested, there’s a fee of $1.50 for shipping after the first 10 pages.
Research (Including Newspapers and/or Manuscripts)- a minimum of one hour of research will be conducted. The fee is $40 an hour and covers 10 pages of photocopies if search is successful. If you do not want pages of specific things that are searched, be explicit about what. If you have a preference for what you’d like copies of depending on what’s located, please be as specific as possible. If physical copies rather than digital copies are requested, there’s a fee of $1.50 for shipping after the first 10 pages.

A contract laying out and agreeing to the requested services and fees involved will be signed by both parties (researcher and customer) before any services are rendered.

The National Archives, Washington DC

The National Archives in Washington DC holds many genealogically rich record collections. They are continuously working on making these records available to the public through digitization, so many of their records are online. However, there are genealogical goldmines that have not yet reached that stage. Due to their ongoing efforts to digitize their records, many collections go through periods where they are unavailable for request by researchers. There are also specific records within a collection frequently requested, so they may not be available for a bit. At this point in time, due to many of their records already being digitized on their online catalog and others in the process of being digitized, only select records will be offered for lookup and research. Please also be aware that not all of these records are held by the Washington DC branch of the National Archives. There are many genealogically relevant military records held by the National Archives branch in St Louis, Missouri.

Lookup services for this repository include:

Photocopies- Copies will be made of the following from the Library of Congress collection (when not available online)

Federal Land Records, many of which are indexed on The Bureau of Land Management’s website.
Pension Files for veterans of conflicts through the Civil War.
Compiled Military Service Records for those who served in conflicts through the Spanish-American War.
Bounty Land Applications and Warrants
Sale of bounty and federal land after it had been granted to the initial claimant (*Note that not all of these exist)
Final Payment Vouchers for pensions (*Note, this collection is currently being digitized, so is not yet available. Once it’s available for request again, lookups for this will depend on how quickly this collection is searchable/viewable)
Records of the US Congress Relating to Private Claims. You must know the name of the claimant, the number of the Congress the claim was introduced in, whether the House of Representatives or the Senate considered the claim, and the committee(s) the claim was referred to. (There are indexes available in the journals of the House of Representatives and the journals of the Senate. Claims prior to 1817 are in American State Papers)

Research- Hourly based research of the aforementioned records. This is usually for when you are not sure where or what genealogical information you’re looking for. Examples:

Surname research- If it’s a common surname, specific locations and associated people/surnames will be needed.
Your ancestor has a common name- specific locations associated with your ancestor, family and associates, and likely state of service (if applicable).
Researching collateral lines and associates in hopes your ancestor is referenced.
Researching the possibility your ancestor performed military service, was a pensioner, received federal land, made a private claim, or are attempting to locate proof of family relationships.
What happened to the land my ancestor applied for?
What types of depositions or records giving glimpses into my ancestor’s lives may have been included in their applications/files?

The following are the fees for lookups and research at this repository depending on the requested service:

Photocopies of Federal Land Records- a minimum of $10, which will cover up to two files (not every file has a lot of documents). Every file after will be $5 each.
Photocopies of Pension Files- $30 per file. However, if a file contains more than 150 pages it will be $60.
Photocopies of Compiled Military Service Records- a minimum of $10. Some have few cards and others quite a bit. If a file contains more than 25 cards, it’ll be an additional $5 every 10 cards.
Photocopies of Bounty Land Applications and Warrants- $25 each, which covers both the application file and the front/back of the warrant.
Photocopies of Sale of Bounty/Federal Land- Not available in every case, an unsuccessful search is $5. A successful search is $10 for photocopies of any documents.
Final Payment Vouchers- Not available currently.
Photocopies of Records of the US Congress Relating to Private Claims- Not always a successful search despite the index. An unsuccessful search is $5. A successful search is $15 for photocopies of any documents.
Research (common name)- a minimum of one hour of research will be conducted. The fee is $40 an hour.
Research (not considered a common name)- a minimum of one hour of research will be conducted. The fee is $35 an hour.
Shipping- For orders where physical copies rather than digital are requested, it’s $6.50 every 100 pages. 30-99 pages will be $3.

A contract laying out and agreeing to the requested services and fees involved will be signed by both parties (researcher and customer) before any services are rendered.

The Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia in Richmond holds many records from throughout Virginia’s history. People mentioned in their records were not only from Virginia, but throughout the country as families migrated, conflict occurred, and areas that were once considered part of the state separated to create new ones. Manuscripts, periodicals, tax records, Bible records, chancery cases, newspapers, church records, microfilm, genealogies, land records, and local county records are just some of the types of records that make up their immense collection to help with genealogical research.

Lookup services for this repository include:

Photocopies- Copies will be made of the following from the Library of Virginia’s Collections as allowed by the Library:

County and city records on microfilm- many county and city records on microfilm are available for viewing on familysearch or an affiliate library, but some microfilm are not. The Library has a guide on what records on microfilm are available for each county and some cities.
County and city records (not microfilmed)- can be found in the Library’s catalog.
Chancery Court Files- not every county sent their chancery files to the Library of Virginia, and some have not yet been digitized. Cases that are only available as original files will be looked up. The Library’s Chancery Records Index is an excellent resource for determining which localities sent their records to the Library, the time periods the records for each county that’s available covers, and if a chancery case is viewable online or only in person.
Tithable/Tax records- many are on microfilm, but some are not and are part of the Library’s collection.
Manuscripts- There are finding aids at the Library for their manuscripts as well as Archival Resources of the Virginias. You may also find them by searching in the Library catalog. Some may not be available for copying, particularly if they are fragile.
Newspapers- The Library of Virginia has put some of their newspaper collection online. Requests should be for newspapers not yet digitized or years not available online.
Church Records- Be aware that not all church records survive, particularly those from the 18th century. Reliable record keeping and what was included in church records largely depended on the denomination, time period, and locality.
Bible Records- Many of their Bible Records are searchable in the Library’s online catalog. Only those not yet digitized will be searched.
Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants
Genealogies

Research- Hourly based research of the resources available as part of the Library of Virginia Collections, including those mentioned above. This is usually for when you are not sure where or what genealogical information you’re looking for. Some examples:

Surname research. If it’s a common surname, as specific a location as possible and a time frame of no more than 15 years will be required. A list of other associated families and names will likely be necessary if it’s a super common surname such as Smith.
Attempting to locate unknown parentage in unindexed records.
You don’t know what denomination/religion your ancestors were.
Looking for specific information in Bible records or newspapers.
Searching for any mention of your ancestor in records.
Going through manuscripts for possible mentions of your ancestors.
Attempting to trace land through inheritance or sale.
Going through loose court papers and other unindexed records.

The following are the fees for lookups and research at this repository depending on the requested service:

Photocopies- a minimum of $10 for 10 pages. Any additional pages will be .75 per page.
Research (common name)- a minimum of one hour of research will be conducted. The fee is $50 an hour.
Research (not a common name)- A minimum of one hour of research will be conducted. The fee is $45 an hour.
Shipping- If physical copies rather than digital copies are requested, there’s a fee of $1.50 for shipping after the first 10 pages. 30-99 pages will be $3.

A contract laying out and agreeing to the requested services and fees involved will be signed by both parties (researcher and customer) before any services are rendered.