Genealogy Sites
- ANCESTRY. http://ancestry.com — The resource can be helpful to Filipino researchers when tracking … ancestors or family lines who are from or who migrated to other countries (civil and church records) … or those who made a voyage (via passenger lists) … or those included in the family trees of others. One would also need a paid subscription to get access to the nifty records. The site also offers DNA services.
- FAMILYSEARCH. https://familysearch.org/ — Run by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, Family Search owns an extensive database of records from the Philippines. They also have a mobile app
- GENI. http://geni.com — The platform has been helpful in finding ancestors through the work done by someone else (perhaps a relative). Collaboration partners that can help break our research “brick walls” can come from unexpected places. Please check your privacy settings to ensure each profile you create is kept secure.
- CATALOGO ALFABETICO DE APELLIDOS. https://bit.ly/3FajSKg — The catalog of surnames issued in November 1849 in connection with the Claveria Decree mandating Filipino families to select permanent names.
(Image byMario Alvaro Limos)
Digital Libraries
- ASIAN READING ROOM, US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/asian/philhtml/ — Compiled by the Asian Division of the Library of Congress, this classified bibliography consists of approximately 5000 entries for monographic works about the Philippines in all languages held by the Library
- BANTAYOG NG MGA BAYANI. https://bit.ly/3uBMLdA — Contains publications, sometimes collectively called the “alternative press” or the “mosquito press” published during the Marcos Administration.
- FILIPINAS HERITAGE LIBRARY. https://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/ — A one-stop digital research center, preserving the heritage of the Philippines through the written word, images, and music.
- FOLD3. https://www.fold3.com/ — Contains military records
- GOOGLE BOOKS. http://books.google.com/ — Contains a significant collection of historical books and journals. Some are available in full; many are not.
- INTERNET ARCHIVE. https://archive.org/ – Contains free books, movies, software, music, web sites, among others.
- PHILIPPINE ARMY AND GUERILLA RECORDS, US NATIONAL ARCHIVES. https://bit.ly/3wmcl6C — Contains records on the Philippine Commonwealth Army of the United States Armed Forces Far East (USAFFE) including recognized Philippine Guerrilla forces (not the Army of the United States or Philippine Scouts) during World War II.
- PHILIPPINE eLIB. https://www.elib.gov.ph/ — An online catalog of the libraries under the National Library of the Philippines (NLP), University of the Philippines (UP), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
- UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: THE PHILIPPINES. https://bit.ly/3Fir4El — Contains materials from the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library related to the US colonial period in the Philippines
- US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. https://bit.ly/3W23z9X — Contains newspapers, manuscripts, books, film, photos, prints, drawings, maps, and music on the Philippines
- UST Digital Library https://digilib.ust.edu.ph/browse-by-category.html#hist — Contains rare books and periodicals, and photographs, published from the 16th century up to 1920 (1945 for periodicals).
Historical Photo Collections
- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE PHILIPPINES. https://nlpdl.nlp.gov.ph/PX01/date.htm
- UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN https://quod.lib.umich.edu/s/sclphilimg?page=index
- UST BENAVIDES LIBRARY. https://digilib.ust.edu.ph/photographs.html
Mona Magno-Veluz is a self-confessed history geek, “ninuno” hunter, and certified “tita”. She is a passionate genealogist involved in growing family trees for clans, here and abroad, and in nurturing family forests as a Philippine curator on Geni.com. She is active on various social media platforms and has gained a following as “Mighty Magulang” where she discusses history and genealogy.
Angkang Pilipino 
I have been able to find some very good genealogical leads from the information listed in Supreme Court rulings. I find that the LawPhil Project, provided by Arellano Law Foundation: http://www.lawphil.net, is the easiest to navigate of all the sites that make the transcripts of the decisions available.
Yes, me too! Sadly, it comes with the burden of knowing of some nasty law suits involving inheritance. The more interesting ones that I’ve read involved the Tuazon’s, the Viola’s and a female Cojuangco. :)
Thank you for that link! I found out the truth about the assassination of my grandfather through that site. It did not paint a pretty picture, but I at least know what happened to him now.
genealogy research always comes, if not at all, with land inheritances. but looking at the relation brings sadness to me because tracing one’s family tree opened up things that made me realize why families or clans from one generation to the other keep on quarreling over properties. meaning, this value is an inherited form of acquiring properties especially when inheritances are at stake. no wonder people, kins and relatives kill one another just because of property inheritances. even to the extent of using evil acts like “gamud”. sorry but it is still not only rampant but is happening still nowadays despite the use of technology.
Looking for information on a Enrique Plaisted b. 1903. His father was Arthur Plaisted from the spanish american war. His mother was Solodad Minerva. He married Emiliana Alvarez in 1929. Need ideas on where to look. This info was from Family Search. We wouldlove to know if there are any descendants.
My grandmother’s name is Leoncia Monterola Bracero and her husband is Emilio Monsanto Aredidon, both from Sogod, Cebu. I’d like to know if who are there relatives there in Cebu and wanna keep in touch with them.
I am researching my family tree… Rosario.. so far no luck…
I’m currently doing my family tree and my maternal grandfather’s last name was Gonzaga. I know he was from Leyte and his birthday but that’s all I know. I’d love to be able to trace back to his parents if possible… does anyone know where I might be able to access birth or baptism records in that region??
Hi Scarlet. LDS Family History Centers all over the world are always the best bet. Limited vital records from Philippine provinces are now also available on familysearch.org.
Muriel
Looking for information on Debbie Anne Spiess b 15 Oct 1981 in
Manila, mother name Adelpa. Can anyone help?
i found out my grand dads death record, but his birth record is not available, my research about cruz family ancestry in obando bulacan ended there, i wonder where can i get further info about severino cruz and my ancestors before him.
I found my great-great grandfather & grandmother’s marriage record on familysearch.org. It was interesting to see the names of their parents there. I found another duplicate record, same date, same first names but different spellings of surnames. How strange..
I tried to go deeper and research them, sadly no luck so far. I’ve tried other sites but they weren’t reliable. Does anyone know any other sites apart from Family Search?
I am the first Fil-Am having researching my Ancestral Gaddang Tribe Genealogy for the past 40 years, which is still a work in progress. Had it not been for my uncle Eustaquio Lumicao Lauagan urging me to start our Lumicao-Liban Family Tree, I believe our tribe genealogy would have been at least 28 years behind time, because all the older relatives (I knew) in the U.S and later in the Nueva Vizcaya Province would have died taking their genealogy knowledge to their graves. With the help of my cousin Nez Inocencio Danguilan conversing in their Gaddang dialect interviewing our aunts, uncles, relatives in San Francisco and Seattle in those early years of research, with their keen knowledge of names and relationships, they were able to fill in the missing names I had been searching for. In 2002 Cousin Geno Bulan Lumicao created the first Gaddang website. We collaborated and added my Gaddang Tribe Genealogy to our website. With the help of my cousin, the late Alexis Padilla Balunsat and his son Craig adding their Padilla-Balunsat Family Clan since before 2003, the year I first met them. Many ancestors and descendants are on GENi. Many relative descendants have been invited to add their family trees. There is still much searching back to our earliest ancestors. Collaborating the colossal task of translating Spanish written births, baptisms, marriages, and deaths from the Bayombong church records are Fil-Ams, cousin Geno Bulan Lumicao and nephew Craig White Balunsat, they have been doing this painstaking work for a few years now. Geno once told me there are over a thousand pages to translate. Another FilAm niece is Leticia “Tish” Liban Tallungan researching her Liban-Tallungan Clan, which she linked to our GENi Gaddang Tribe Family Tree. I have been using familysearch as well, also obtaining family tree from new relatives I’ve never met before.