The AGBI or American Genealogical-Biographical Index is an essential genealogy resource, providing an index of bibliographies for thousands of people. Here you'll learn how to access the full index free online.
First, if you have a subscription to Ancestry, you can search the index on their site here. You can, however, access the first 48 volumes freely on FamilySearch (free account required).
Start by finding the volume containing the surname you are researching in the list of volumes below.
For example: To see what I can find about the Leonards, I choose Volume 22 from the list below. In the window that appears, select "View all pages". Then, I use the arrow keys in the bottom right corner to navigate through the pages. (You can also enter a page number there to save time). The names are listed alphabetically. I find the Leonard names begin on page 292 and continue to page 306. I am seeking information about Charles, Russell, or Joshua Leonard, so I snip the entries for their names. You could just print the page or just jot down the info.
In order to decipher the results you will need to refer to the Key Title Index to find the full bibliography and title of the resource. For example, from the first Russell Leonard in the index above, what does "CantonMs ViR:195" mean? To find out, I check the Key Title Index and see it refers to "Vital Records of Canton, Ms. Edited by F. Endicott. Canton, Ms, 1896. (317p.)
"Tefft Des: 108" refers to "Partial records of the descendants of John Tefft of Portsmouth, RI and John Tifft of Nassau, NY, by M.E.M. Tifft. NY. 1896. (150p)". Information about one Russell Leonard will be found on page 108 of that book. Next I found the book on archive.org and see on p. 108 the following:
You can find links to many of them from my Genealogy Dashboard. For more places to find books, check out my "Historical Books" page.
American Genealogical-Biographical Index
You can find volumes 1-48 on FamilySearch* by using these links. Note: You must be logged in to view their materials online. Sign up is free and easy.
Volume 1 - AARON to ANTHONEY [Link]
Volume 2 - ANTHONY to BAROWS [Link]
Volume 3 - BARR to BLAITON [Link]
Volume 4 - BLAKE to BROWN, C. [Link]
Volume 5 - BROWN, D. to CANEEY [Link]
Volume 6 - CANFIELD to CLAGG [Link]
Volume 7 - CLAGGETT to COOGAN [Link]
Volume 8 - COOK to CYRUS [Link]
Volume 9 - DAB to DEWARR [Link]
Volume 10 - DEWARREN to DYZE [Link]
Volume 11 - EABORNE to EZZERS [Link]
Volume 12 - FA to FORRISTALL [Link]
Volume 13 - FORRISTER to GEIES [Link]
Volume 14 - GEIGER to GRAVER [Link]
Volume 15 - GRAVES to HALSETT [Link]
Volume 16 - HALSEY to HAWKINGS [Link]
Volume 17 - HAWKINS to HILLHOUSE [Link]
Volume 18 - HILLIARD to HOYSRODT [Link]
Volume 19 - HOYT to JEFFREYS [Link]
Volume 20 - JEFFRIES to KELSEA [Link]
Volume 21 - KELSEY to LANDYS [Link]
Volume 22 - LANE to LITTLEDALE [Link]
Volume 23 - LITTLEFIELD to MARKELL [Link]
Volume 24 - MARKER to McKEEMAN [Link]
Volume 25 - McKEEN to MITCHELE [Link]
Volume 26 - MITCHELL to MOWREY [Link]
Volume 27 - MOWRY to NORTMAN [Link]
Volume 28 - NORTON to PARDE [Link]
Volume 29 - PARDEE to PENDLESTON [Link]
Volume 30 - PENDLETON to PLATS [Link]
Volume 31 - PLATT to RALMER [Link]
Volume 32 - RALPH to RALSON [Link]
Volume 33 - RICKARD to ROWLETT [Link]
Volume 34 - ROWLEY to SCHMID [Link]
Volume 35 - SCHMIDT to SHERLY [Link]
Volume 36 - SHERMAN to SMITH, A. [Link]
Volume 37 - SMITH, E. to SPRAGS [Link]
Volume 38 - SPRAGUE to STODDARD [Link]
Volume 39 - STODDART to TATCHER [Link]
Volume 40 - TATE to TINKEY [Link]
Volume 41 - TINKHAM to TYLER, D. [Link
Volume 42 - TYLER, E. to WALDROM [Link]
Volume 43 - WALDRON to WEBRECHT [Link]
Volume 44 - WEBSTER to WHEELER, D. [Link]
Volume 45 - WHEELER E. to WHITMAN, D. [Link]
Volume 46 - WHITMAN, E. to WILLSMAN [Link]
Volume 47 - WILLSON to WRIGHMYER [Link]
Volume 48 - WRIGHT to ZYGAR [Link]
The AGBI currently contains 226 volumes of valuable history. The collection is held by the Godfrey Memorial Library, which offers lookups and research services. You can do a search of the collection with a subscription to Ancestry.com.
See more like this under the Free Genealogy Resources and Tools menus at the top of the page.
