Maps can be a valuable tool in genealogical research, offering insights into the locations and contexts of your ancestors' lives. Ancestry provides a comprehensive collection of maps that can enhance your family history research. In this article, you’ll learn how to use map images, interpret map symbols, understand map scales, and navigate changes in place names over time.

Maps on Ancestry

We have many collections of maps on Ancestry. Maps serve as visual records. They can confirm or challenge information found in text-based sources. Maps can help researchers identify ancestral locations, migration patterns, and the evolution of geographic boundaries. Ancestry's map collection contains various map types, including historical maps, county atlases, and topographical maps, each providing unique insights into different time periods and regions.

You can find maps showing:

Country, state, province, territory, county, or city boundaries
Migration and transportation routes
Distribution of various churches
Ethnic population migrations
Battle maps

How to search Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers:

Go to our Maps, Atlases, and Gazetteers search page.
At the top of the page, leave Match all terms exactly unchecked. This will help you find records even if spellings have changed over time, or if a record contains spelling errors.
Enter the name of the person you’re searching for, as well as any other information you want to include in your search.
Click the Collection Focus menu and select a region.
Click Search.

Note: Use the options on the right side of the search panel to browse the collection. You'll typically find filters for locations, dates, and titles.

Interpreting Map Symbols

Each map has its own set of symbols that are typically shown in the margin, on a separate accompanying sheet, or on a page at the beginning of an atlas. Many symbols are standardized internationally or only change slightly from map to map.

Landforms

On some older maps, landforms (like hills and mountains) are shown using lines called “hachures.” The closer together the lines are, the steeper the slope.

Modern large-scale topographic maps use contour lines, which trace paths that run around a hill or mountain in such a way that the line is always at the same height above sea level. When contour lines are close together, the slope is steep; along a cliffside, they run together. When the lines are farther apart, the land is more level. Usually every fifth line is labeled with its elevation, showing the height in feet or meters (check the margins to see which) above sea level.

Water features

Water features include everything from oceans, rivers, and canals to intermittent streams that flow only after a rainfall. Maps may also mark wells and springs. The level of detail depends on the importance of water to a region’s environment, economy, or transportation.
watermap

Cities and roads

Small-scale maps usually label only major cities and towns, while large-scale maps will identify important roads, public buildings, and other major structures. citymap

Map Scale

Map scale is the relationship between distances on the map and distances on the ground. Understanding scale will help you estimate real-world distances and compare the level of detail in different maps.

Large-scale maps show the largest amount of detail of a small area. Typical examples are the USGS quadrangle maps, city and suburban street maps, and private property surveys. A large-scale property survey might have a bar two inches long with “0” at one end, “100 feet” in the middle, and “200 feet” at the end. Usually the scale is stated beneath the bar or graphic scale, like “One inch equals 100 feet.”

The same scale may also be expressed by the fraction 1/1200, or by the ratio 1:1200. This means that one unit of length on the map—inch, centimeter, or foot—represents 1,200 of those same units on the ground. One inch on the survey or map equals 1,200 inches on the ground, which in turn equals 100 feet, as described by the text under the bar.

Medium-scale maps have scales between a little over a mile to the inch up to nearly ten miles to the inch. These maps strike a balance between detail and coverage. Common examples include highway maps of smaller U.S. states and many 19th-century county maps and atlases. In regions where development was limited, they often provide just the right level of detail for understanding local geography and tracing historical locations.

Small-scale maps show less detail but cover much larger geographic areas, making them ideal for getting a broad overview and understanding general locations. Examples include world atlas maps and highway maps that cover many states.

Location name changes

A map can show the geography and/or political boundaries of a place as it existed when your ancestor lived there. Boundaries for countries, states, provinces, and cities often change over time.

Counties often began as large areas. As the population increased, they were often divided, sometimes several times. Your ancestors may have lived on the same farm for two hundred years, but their records may be in five counties, due to shifting borders. Using maps from specific time periods will help you find those boundaries and locate records for the area.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why aren’t the maps loading?

Some maps are very large and have been scanned at a higher resolution in order to make the finest details easy to read. As a result, they may require more time to load, especially if you have a slower internet connection.

Can I download maps?
Yes, you can download maps.

Click Save in the top right corner.
Select Save to your computer.

Open the map you’d like to download.
Select the Share Icon and select Download. The map will be saved to your computer.

How do I print maps?

On the right side, select the Tool icon that looks like a wrench.
Choose Print.
Select either Print the entire image or Print zoomed view.
Click Continue.
Select the printing option you want > Print.

Can I save a map to someone in my tree?

Yes, you can save maps to your tree.

From a map image, click Save in the top-right corner > Save to person in your tree.
Select the tree, then start typing the name of the person you want to save the map to. When the right name appears below the field, select it.
Click Save.

Can I rotate the map?

Yes, you can rotate the map to the view to your preference.

From a map image, click the Tool icon that looks like a wrench.
Select Rotate left or Rotate right until the map is displayed the way you want.