Special Collections

Local History & Genealogy

The Special Collections room at Portsmouth Public Library includes information and resources pertaining to local history and genealogy topics for Portsmouth, the Seacoast, and some surrounding cities and towns.

While the collection development efforts have focused on acquiring materials relating primarily to the city of Portsmouth, information about other towns in Rockingham County, including town histories for Strafford County, NH, York County in Maine, and a bit of Essex County in Massachusetts, are also available.

Our collection consists of books, articles, city documents (tax records, annual reports, etc.), city directories, vital records (birth, marriage and death indexes), maps, art work, photographs, historical newspapers and ephemera.

Hours: The Special Collections Room is open to the public during the regular hours of the library. No appointment necessary.


 

Online Databases

Content

American Ancestors

American Ancestors is the database of New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), which is a Boston research library for genealogists and family historians and home to 12 million+ original documents. Much of the collection is digitized and searchable by subscription only. Includes full access to the 162+ volume NEHGS Register!

FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch.org is a free genealogy website providing access to a large collection of genealogy resources from over 100 countries. Search over a billion names and images online. Portsmouth Public Library is now an Affiliate Site, which means that many restricted items are now available on-site in our library using our public computers or wifi connection.

HeritageQuest Online

HeritageQuest Online is a genealogy resource, including full text of historic texts and genealogies, Census, revolutionary War records, Persi, etc.

Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry Library Edition is a genealogical database, including access to Census records, Social Security death index, Immigration records, Military, etc. Covers the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Learn about the differences between Ancestry.com and Ancestry Library Edition, as well as tips on researching with Ancestry.

Newspaper Resource Guide

Newspapers are an invaluable research tool for genealogists. This guide will help you navigate all of the newspaper resources available to you through the PPL, including microfilm and digital papers.

Portsmouth Herald

There are several different ways to access the Herald, depending on what years you are interested in.

*City of Portsmouth Maps

Maps from the Planning Department, including tax maps, street maps, parking mats, and more. This includes MapGeo, which permits users to view combinations of layers, search parcels by property owner, address, or parcel, and to perform tasks including measurements and map creation. Thematic overlays for zoning, polling and ward locations, elementary school districts, and solid waste and recycling routes maps.

Newspapers.com – Northeast Collection 

Newspapers.com – Northeast Collection is the online home of 100+ million pages pages of historical newspapers. At Newspapers.com it's easy and convenient to search or browse the collection to find news, notices of births, marriages and deaths, sports, comics and much more.

Fold3

Fold3 provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. Original records at Fold3 help you discover and share stories about these everyday heroes, forgotten soldiers, and the families that supported them.

*New Hampshire City & Town Annual Reports

The New Hampshire State Library, in partnership with UNH, is working to provide a permanent digital collection of town reports for all 234 New Hampshire Towns. UNH’s collection includes 15,700 digitized reports from 214 of the 234 towns in New Hampshire. Records for Portsmouth go back to 1849.

Salem Press/Grey House Collection 

This is an online reference collection of books from Salem Press/Grey House on literature and history. It includes:

  • HW Wilson's Reference Shelf series
  • The Working Americans series
  • Magill's Literary Annual, 1977-2014
  • Opinions Throughout History
  • Civil Disobedience, Social Justice, Nationalism & Populism, Violent Demonstrations and Race Relations
  • Treaties in the News
  • Pandemics: the Invisible Enemy
  • a selection of books on Ukraine and Russia
  • Video tutorials on Salem Press's titles

Black Freedom Struggle in the United States

This Proquest database features more than 1,600 primary source documents related to critical people and events in African American history, from 1790 to the present. The documents featured center on the experiences and perspectives of African Americans, in the hope that this collection imbues the study of Black history with a deeper understanding of the humanity of people who have pursued the quest for freedom