General Resource Sites

• Circus-Folk Genealogy Resources 
• CircusNews.com 
• Circus, Theatre & Music Hall Families Research Resources 
• Circus World Museum: Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center  ~ Baraboo, Wisconsin
  Collections of paper, photographic and sound materials relating to circus life.
• Entertainment in the 19th Century  ~ Scotland
  Scanned examples of original documents from the Lamb Collection of the Dundee Library.
• The Era CD ROM Project  ~ U.K.
  The Era was a Victorian entertainment newspaper and is a valuable resource in both academic theatre research and genealogy of entertainers. This project will make decades of this paper available on searchable CD ROM.
• FamilyOldPhotos.com - Circus Performers 
  Old, antique, or vintage photos. User submitted with family history and details.
• Footlight Notes 
  Theatre, Variety, Music Hall, Vaudeville, Musical Comedy, Revue and other popular entertainment. Portraits, biographies, reviews, 1850s-1920s.
• thegalloper.com - Researching Circus, Fairground, Music Hall, Variety, Magic and pre-TV novelty entertainment  ~ UK
  Includes selected transcriptions of various census entries for showmen, actors & other travellers.
  • Advice for Fairground family researchers 
• HAT - History of Australian Theatre 
  Including the Tivoli theatres in Sydney and Melbourne.
• Internet Movie Database 
  Online searchable database including a cast and crew name search for people working in the film industry as early as 1890. Provides basic biographical details.
• Newsreel Staff by Newsreel  ~ United Kingdom
• Playbills from Edinburgh’s Theatre Royal  ~ Scotland
  Searchable scanned images.
• Prior and Norris Troupe Photographs 
  Photographs and ephemera from a collection of vaudeville performers, acts, and stage productions, primarily from the American vaudeville circuit from the late 1800s and early 1900.
• Two Centuries of Circus People  ~ UK
  Ongoing project to develop a biographical database of circus folk.

Libraries, Archives & Museums

• American Vaudeville Museum 
  Has a place to post questions about vaudeville performers.
• Circus World Museum: Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center  ~ Baraboo, Wisconsin
  Collections of paper, photographic and sound materials relating to circus life.
• Harvard Theatre Collection 
• Mander and Mitchenson Theatre Collection  ~ London
• National Fairground Archive  ~ United Kingdom
  Collection of photographic, printed, manuscript & audiovisual material covering all aspects of the culture of travelling showpeople, their organisation as a community, their social history and everyday life; & the artefacts and machinery of fairgrounds. From the University of Sheffield
  • Family History in the NFA (my great-grandfather was a showman...) 
  • Introduction to The National Fairground Archive and its Holdings 
• New York Public Library for the Performing Arts  ~ New York City, New York
  • Collections 
  • Help With Research 
  • Performing Arts in America 1875-1923 
    Scanned original documents and other artifacts from America's peforming arts of yesteryear.
• Performing Arts Museum  ~ Melbourne, Australia
• Professional Touring Entertainment Industry Archive  ~ Austin, Texas
  Supported by the Society for the Preservation of Professional Touring Entertainment History to document the touring entertainment industry's history. From the University of Texas at Austin.
• Scottish Theatre Archive 
• University of Bristol Theatre Collection 
  Research centre dedicated to the study of British Theatre history and people.
• Variety.com Archives 
  Online searchable database of Variety magazine from 1914 onwards. Periodical of the American entertainment industry.

Mailing Lists, Newsgroups & Chat

• Genealogy Resources on the Internet - Occupations Mailing Lists 
  Most of the mailing list links below point to this site, wonderfully maintained by John Fuller. John indexes links for all known genealogy mailing lists, including RootsWeb and others.
• RootsWeb: Genealogy Mailing Lists: Occupations 
  The majority of genealogy mailing lists are hosted by RootsWeb.com. Messages on RootsWeb lists are archived. The links to RootsWeb below point you to the archives (browse or search).

• CARNIVALS-AND-SIDESHOW-ACTS Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in traveling carnivals including sideshow acts and others who worked in them. Archives: browse or search.
• CIRCUS-FOLK Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in circus folk. Archives: browse or search.
• itinerantroots Mailing List 
  For genealogy resources relating to itinerant professions: circus, theatre, music hall, vaudeville, fairs, showmen, portable theatres, etc.
• MOTION-PICTURE-ANCESTORS Mailing List 
  For those with a genealogical interest in ancestors who worked in the movie industry. Archives: browse or search.
• MUSIC-OCCUPATIONS Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in those who made a living by music; either as players, writers, or whatever. Archives: browse or search.
• ORGAN-BUILDERS Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest folks who are in the trade of building organs. Archives: browse or search.
• PHILLY-MUMMERS Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in the Mummers (Comics, Fancies, String Bands, Fancy Brigades) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. Archives: browse or search.
• THEATRE-UK Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the theatre and entertainment business, primarily in but not restricted to the United Kingdom, including ancestors, buildings, productions and plays. Archives: browse or search.
  • THEATRE-UK 
• THEATRICAL-ANCESTORS Mailing List 
  For anyone who is researching ancestors who participated in any type of theatrical or film work. Archives: browse or search.
• VIOLIN-MAKERS Mailing List 
  For anyone who is researching ancestors who were luthiers (makers of violins, guitars, and the like). Archives: browse or search.
• YTANDV Mailing List 
  A mailing list, supporting the Yiddish Theater and Vaudeville Research Group, for those genealogists tracing relatives who were involved in Yiddish theater and/or vaudeville in any capacity, in any location, and in any time period.

Publications, Software & Supplies

• Cyndi's List Genealogy Bookstore 
  A categorized list of genealogy research books that looks a lot like my bookshelf at home.

Queries, Message Boards & Surname Lists

• Ancestry.com - Message Boards - Occupations 
  • Circus 
  • Rodeos and Wild West Shows 
  • Theater 
  • Violin Makers 

Societies & Groups

• Circus Historical Society 
  Dedicated to recording the history of the American circus from the first one in Philadelphia during 1793 to today.
• Theatre Historic Society of America 
  • American Theatre Architecture Archive - Theatre Historical Society 

Report a Broken Link / Update a Link