JSTOR, a digital library for researchers, students and genealogists, will expand its free online reading program until the end of 2020.
You can read 100 articles for free each month without needing an institution affiliation. All you need to do is set up a free account.
There are more than 12 millions academic journals articles, books and primary sources across 75 disciplines. For genealogists, JSTOR is a source to understand local history during the time their ancestors lived.
There are many journals available from state historical societies. Try searching on keywords for places and occupations. Or browsing by topic in the History category may also unearth interesting articles.
To get started searching, go to: www.jstor.org