Are you stuck in your historical research? Have you hit a wall in your genealogy quest? Find your answer on History Hub! 

We invite you to explore History Hub, our pioneering crowdsourced history and genealogy research community.  

Free and open to anyone, you can ask questions and get answers from multiple sources including National Archives staff, other archives, libraries, museums, and a community of genealogists, history enthusiasts, and citizen experts like you.

Make History Hub your first stop! You can ask—or answer—questions on History Hub, or see if your question has already been answered.

Asking a question is easy on History Hub! Just go to History.gov and type your question into the “Ask” box. In a moment, answers to similar questions will appear:

If none of these suggestions answers your question, you can ask a new one. See section below: “Asking a Question on History Hub”

History Hub questions run the gamut from genealogy to military records to Native American history, and beyond! Think of it as a one-stop-shop for researching American history:

Here a user is searching for the naturalization records of their Polish ancestors:

Questions about military awards and decorations are very popular, such as this Bronze Star inquiry:

Another user is trying to trace their Native Cherokee heritage:

This user is researching the history of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp:

Finally, this user would like to know the history of the government’s use of the enigmatic “Glomar Denial,” aka “We can neither confirm nor deny…”

Experts from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and other archives and museums will respond to these questions, followed by a community of dedicated citizen experts, providing guidance and their valuable experience.

Here a National Archives staff expert responds to a user’s inquiry about Colonial-era maps of New York City, including links to multiple digitized records in the National Archives Catalog, as well as resources at other institutions:

You can also browse topical communities within History Hub, like those for Military Records or African American history, to help hone an inquiry.   

History Hub hosts 19 communities in all, including several new communities, noted by the star ⭐:

• Genealogy: including two new sub-communities dedicated to Census Records⭐ and Immigration and Naturalization Records⭐

• Military Records: with three new sub-communities for Army and Air Force Records⭐, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Records⭐, and Military and Civilian Personnel Records⭐

• Court Records⭐: one of our new communities, this covers Federal court records, including Supreme Court decisions, criminal proceedings, and more.

• Foreign Affairs Records⭐:  a new community, Foreign Affairs Records covers the history of foreign policy and diplomacy of the United States, including records from the Department of State and related foreign affairs agencies.

• African American Records

• Native American Records

• Women's Rights and Suffrage

• Land Records

• ...and more!

There’s even a community for Citizen Archivists! Meet other members; share favorite records; exchange tips and suggestions!  Past topics in the Citizen Archivists community include:

• How to Transcribe Forms?

• Tagging Multi-page documents

• What activities can Citizen Archivists participate in?

Once you’ve signed up, check out our poll:

        What kinds of records do you like to transcribe? ➔

Looking to connect with other Citizen Archivists offline? Be sure to see: How to Contact Another User on History Hub

Before you can ask a question or help answer a question, you’ll need to register for a History Hub account. History Hub accounts are free and only require a few basic pieces of information. 

See How to Create an Account on History Hub to start the process ➔

Need to update your account? See How to change your information on History Hub and How to Change your Avatar Image

Did you have a History Hub account but discovered it’s gone dormant? Accounts that have not been used for over 1 year are automatically deactivated. Email us at historyhub@nara.gov and we’ll be happy to reactivate your account.

Once your History Hub account has been created, you’re ready to ask a question!

You can enter your question in the “Ask” field on the History Hub homepage, or ask it within a specific community. 

Question tips:

• Include as many details as you can about your topic. Are you researching an individual such as a relative or ancestor? Names, significant dates, and places they might have lived are all critical clues.

• Where have you searched? Reference any records, websites, and other sources that you’ve already checked.

• All questions on History Hub are public. Do not include personally identifiable information (“PII”) such as social security numbers, phone numbers, or email addresses.

• All questions are reviewed and moderated in the order they are received. Questions are moderated and answered only on weekdays during regular business hours, typically Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.

• See How to Post a Question on History Hub for more. 

Have you found your answer on History Hub?

If you found the information you were looking for on History Hub, please let us know! Reply to that question (see below) with your news or share your success with us!

History Hub depends on dedicated citizen experts like you to share your knowledge and vast experience with users new to archival and genealogical research.

How to - Help Answer a Question on History Hub

Do you work for a library, archive, museum, government agency, or other historical organization? Contact us to learn how your organization can participate on History Hub!

The public is now able to download full datasets of the National Archives Catalog archival descriptions and authority records, as well as the entirety of the 1940 census, for the first time. This free service will provide researchers access through the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Registry of Open Data. In addition to the Registry of Open Data entries for these datasets, NARA published detailed documentation (Catalog; 1940 Census) to guide users on how to access both the full datasets and specific subsets of the data. 

The release of these datasets supports  NARA’s commitment to its strategic goals to Make Access Happen and Maximize NARA’s Value to the Nation. With the release of this data, NARA’s records will reach segments of the public beyond our traditional researchers. Universities, private industry, and other agencies are interested in accessing the data in this format and mining it to support new kinds of research and reuse on their own platforms. 

Read more about the dataset release in the AOTUS Blog post.  

COVID-19 Update

The National Archives is committed to the health and safety of our visitors and staff. We are closely monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19, and we are working with public health officials and our counterpart agencies to monitor and respond to the evolving conditions and following CDC guidelines. 

For more information, visit https://www.archives.gov/coronavirus