Explore your
American family story
Explore U.S. records on MyHeritage
The 250th birthday of the United States offers an invitation to reflect on how your family’s past fits into the larger story of America. For countless Americans, that connection spans generations, from an ancestor’s arrival to the lives their descendants built.
MyHeritage helps you explore your American genealogy in a global context. Start with U.S. records, then expand your research beyond America’s borders to uncover the deeper roots of your family’s history.
A global approach to American genealogy
American genealogy often extends beyond the nation’s borders. For many families, understanding their place in America means tracing earlier generations and the places they came from.
Hundreds of thousands of Scandinavians seeking land and opportunity arrived on the U.S. East Coast.
Over 1.5 million fled the Great Famine. New York received the highest total volume of arrivals.
Nearly 4 million Germans departed from Bremen during this era, fleeing economic hardship and political unrest.
Fleeing extreme poverty, millions arrived. Many were young laborers intending to save money and return home to Italy.
Economic instability drove thousands across the Pacific until the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act halted immigration.
Fleeing pogroms, roughly 2 million Jewish emigrants traveled overland to ports like Hamburg, then crossed the Atlantic to Ellis Island.
MyHeritage combines extensive U.S. historical records with international records, making it possible to follow families across countries and historical eras. This broader view helps place your ancestors’ lives within a larger context and see how families arrived, settled, and became part of life in America.
Diving into American historical records
American genealogy research is built on historical records that place families in specific times and locations. These records allow you to move beyond family lore and explore real lives across generations.
MyHeritage offers extensive U.S. historical records, including federal census collections from 1790 to 1950, immigration and passenger lists, newspapers, military service records, vital records, and much more. Together, they make it possible to trace your family across generations in the United States.
What sets MyHeritage apart is the ability to connect those U.S. records to historical record collections from around the world. As your research goes back in time, you can continue tracing your family beyond the immigrant generation and into earlier chapters of their story.
Notable American collections on MyHeritage
U.S. Federal Census
U.S. population records available by decade
U.S. City Directories
Annual records of residents and their addresses
U.S. Newspapers
Historical newspapers with articles, notices, and obituaries
Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists
Passenger lists from Ellis Island and earlier ports
U.S. Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
Vital records of births, marriages, and deaths
U.S. Military Records
Military service and draft records
From records to real lives
For many people, exploring American genealogy leads to moments of recognition and surprise that transform the way they see their family’s place in history.
From uncovering unexpected family ties to reconnecting relatives separated by war or migration, personal discoveries bring American history into sharp focus. These stories show how historical records can bridge generations, recover lost relationships, and turn national history into something deeply personal.
MyHeritage helps make these discoveries possible by helping people find historical records and identify matches between family trees, which can reveal new connections and previously unknown details about ancestors.
Stories of American family history discovery
Reuniting a Purple Heart Medal with a War Hero
August 7 marks National Purple Heart Day. The Purple Heart is a U.S. military medal awarded since 1917 to those either wounded or killed while serving in the U.S. military. Its precursor, the Badge of Military Merit, was established by George Washington in 1782, and was a heart made out of purple cloth.
Channeling My Inner Sam Bass: I Discovered My Ancestor Was a Famous Outlaw
When I was a kid, my mom bought a mock-up of an old-style “WANTED” poster from the Old West. The outlaw on it was Sam Bass, a train- and stagecoach-robber who died on his 27th birthday during a bank-robbery attempt in Round Rock, Texas.
I Discovered My 3rd Great-Grandpa Was a General Who Helped Shape American History
Over the years, I’ve explored both my own ancestry and that of my late husband. Like many people who enjoy genealogy, I built folders full of names, documents, and notes. But in recent years, I slowed down. Life has a way of filling up, and honestly, I thought I had uncovered most of what there was to find.
The Three Stevens Brothers: An Extraordinary Transatlantic Bond Formed in Memory of a Fallen D-Day Soldier
Since the end of WWII, a beautiful and incredible friendship has connected the family of Sylvie Laillier, a French user from Normandy, and an American family from Pennsylvania that sent 3 sons to fight in the war.
She Discovered That Tennessee Whiskey Brewer Jack Daniel Was Her 3rd Great-Uncle
Linda Pickle, a dedicated family historian from California, was stunned to discover that she shares a close family connection to one of America’s most iconic figures: Jasper “Jack” Daniel, founder of the world-famous Tennessee
A Bittersweet D-Day Love Story Comes Full Circle as Brothers Find Each Other After 70 Years
The upcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day is an opportunity to reflect on the colossal impact that day had on our world. It’s also a good opportunity to note the stories of those for whom D-Day served as a catalyst on a much more personal scale.
Steve Doocy of Fox & Friends Discovers He’s Related to the First 3 Presidents of the United States
In honor of July 4th, MyHeritage explored the family history of Steve Doocy, host of Fox & Friends, and surprised him with information about his connection to the first 3 presidents of the United States: George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.
Early America and the birth of a nation
Revolutionary War pension files, early military records, land grants, and the 1790 U.S. Census offer rare glimpses into these early American families. These records document not only names and relationships, but also service, residence, and the circumstances of daily life at the nation’s beginning.
For many families, this period also marks a transition point between life in the United States and earlier generations abroad. MyHeritage helps connect these early American records to international collections, allowing you to trace family lines further back in time.
Learn more about early American family history
Revolutionary War Pension Records: Goldmine for Genealogical Research
Inside the 1790 US Census: The Families Who Founded a Nation
Boston Tea Party Genealogy: How to Trace Your Revolutionary Ancestors
From the Mayflower to the First Census: Which Pilgrim Surnames Endured?
Revolutionary War Heroes Found in Historical Obituaries
Historical Records That Hold Clues About the People Who Built America
American families in a century of growth and change
The 19th century was a period of profound change in the United States. As the nation expanded westward and industrialized, families moved, settled new regions, and experienced events that reshaped American life.
This era generated a wealth of records that are central to American genealogy research. Census records from 1850 onward begin naming every household member, while Civil War service files, land records, and local documents reveal how families lived, worked, and responded to conflict and opportunity.
For many Americans, the 19th century also includes the arrival of immigrant ancestors. MyHeritage connects U.S. records from this period to international collections, making it possible to trace families from their lives in America back to their places of origin.
Learn more about 19th century American genealogy
The California Gold Rush: Facts and Myths
The Legacy of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’: The Anthem & the Flag That Inspired It
Civil War Era Album Returned to Living Descendant Thanks to Chelsey Brown and the MyHeritage Research Team
The Woman Who Made Thanksgiving Happen
How An 11-Year-Old Girl Influenced Abraham Lincoln to Grow His Beard
The Real Uncle Sam: The Family Behind the American Icon
A nation of immigrants
Immigration is central to the American experience. For centuries, people crossed oceans and borders in search of safety, opportunity, and a place to belong. Their journeys shaped the nation and continue to influence the families who call it home today.
The idea that America was built by immigrants is etched into the country’s most enduring symbols, such as Emma Lazarus’s poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty. It is lived out in the experiences of generations of families who found refuge and possibility on American shores.
Passenger lists, arrival records, naturalization papers, and census documents preserve these moments of transition. They record when an ancestor arrived, where they came from, and how a family began its life in the United States.
MyHeritage helps you uncover your family’s immigration history by linking records about individual ancestors to your family tree. This makes it possible to follow an ancestor’s journey from their arrival in the United States back to earlier generations in other countries.
Learn more about American immigrant genealogy
Coming to America: The Legacy of Castle Garden and Ellis Island
Ellis Island: Discover Your Ancestors’ Stories
Ships That Brought Immigrants to North America: What Ship Records Can Tell You About Your Ancestors
An Alternative Way to Research Your Ancestors’ Immigration to the US
Spanish Immigration to America: A Genealogical Guide
Lady Liberty, the Statue That Welcomed Millions of Immigrants to America, Turns 135
Identity across generations in American families
As families put down roots in the United States, identity continued to evolve. Names changed, languages shifted, occupations transformed, and traditions adapted, while connections to earlier generations remained part of family life.
Census records capture these changes over time. By recording households decade after decade, they show how families grew, moved, and redefined themselves across generations. Names preserved in these records reflect cultural heritage, assimilation, and the blending of identities that shaped American families.
MyHeritage helps place these changes in context by connecting U.S. records to earlier records from other countries. This makes it possible to see how identity developed over time, linking who families became in America to who they had been before.
Learn more about American identity
America’s Most Common Surnames From 1790 to 2010
Most Popular Female Names in the U.S. Census
These Rare U.S. Surnames Might Be Going Extinct
Hidden Gems: Exploring Rare Female Names in the U.S.
Exploring U.S. Presidents’ Lives in 1950 Census Data
What You Must Consider When Researching African American Genealogy