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Genealogy and Family History: LGBTQ+

A guide to assist those interested in starting a family history project.

LGBTQ+ Family History Research

Are you interested in tracing your LGBTQ+ family history? If you are, the TMCC Library dedicated family history research room has what you will need to begin your journey. Each June we celebrate Pride Month. The materials on this page will help you know what clues to look for in researching your LGBTQ+ ancestors.

Find My Past Video Series: LGBT Ancestors

Vocabulary

Family Vocabulary
Connect with families and caregivers in your classroom community to find out the language they use to refer to their families to help respectfully answer questions that may arise.

Podcast

LGBTQ Family History Podcast
In this episode, our theme is genealogy, but specifically understanding how LGBTQ stories fit into our family histories, a timely and important topic for Pride Month.

Links

5 Tips for Finding Your LGBTQIA+ Ancestors
Have you ever been curious about whether there could be LGBTQIA+ ancestors in your family tree?
Cyndi's List: LGBTQ+
A categorized & cross-referenced index to genealogical resources on the Internet.
Discover the hidden history of LGBT Britain – and how to find out if you have LGBT ancestors
Was someone in your family tree LGBT? Discover the history of the LGBT community in Britain and how to trace the surviving records
Finding our LGBTQ+ ancestors
To trace and identify our LGBTQ+ ancestors, we need to think outside the box! Sometimes, we need to look beyond the “traditional” sources typically used in genealogical research.
Finding Your LGBT Ancestors
You heard family stories about a relative who was “different” or perhaps you’ve discovered someone who simply “disappeared.” Have you considered the possibility that you could have a gay or lesbian relative in your family tree?
How to Search for Your LGBTQ Ancestors
We all have people with different backgrounds in our family tree, from the everyday farmer to criminals, and yes, probably to LGBTQ ancestors as well.
How to Trace LGBT Ancestors
Mary McKee reveals the best ways to discover lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender relatives in your family's past.
LGBTQ+ genealogy – Be proud of your ancestors
We all have LGBTQ+ ancestors in our family trees. Finding those ancestors and giving them a voice, just as we give a voice to other ancestors, is the responsibility of every family historian.
Uncover the lost LGBTQ branches of your family tree
Our ancestors are coming out of the closet.

FamilySearch:

Connecting and Correcting Relationships in Family Tree
LGBT History Project: LDS ancestry database to add same-sex families
There are several other family history sites – Ancestry.com is probably the best known – that already allow same-sex recognition. In addition to Ancestry, other major sites are Israel-based MyHeritage and England-based Findmypast. FamilySearch is the only one that is totally free for all of its databases.