Like History & Genealogy? You'll Love HeritageQuest

If you are a fan of history or genealogy, you'll want to know about the new HeritageQuest Online database. Produced by UMI, and containing over 20 million images, it's an online resource that will let you search for people, places, publications, and events in books, magazines, and census and other records dating back to 1700.

HeritageQuest Online™ combines digital, searchable images of U.S.federal census records with the digitized version of the popular UMI® "Genealogy & Local History" collection and other valuable content. This online database is an essential collection of unique material for both genealogical and historical researchers, with coverage dating back to the late 1700s. Researchers can use HeritageQuest Online to find their ancestors, trace their paths across America, and learn what life was like in the areas where they settled.

HeritageQuest Online includes all of the images, and extensive indexing, from the 1790 - 1930 U.S. federal censuses. It offers more than 20,000 book titles, including nearly 8,000 family histories and over 12,000 local histories. Additionally, there are more than 250 primary-source documents such as tax lists, city directories, probate records, and more.

Many other sources of information can be found within HeritageQuest Online. These include Periodical Source Index (PERSI), a widely recognized resource guide, updated annually, that covers more than 6,300 genealogy and history periodicals written in English and French (Canada) since 1800.

There are other valuable collections such as the "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files," which identifies more than 80,000 American military, naval, and marine officers and enlisted men. The "Freedman’s Bank Records" is a database that documents more than 70,000 bank depositors and their dependants and heirs. The Freedman’s Bank Records is considered one of the most important resources for African-American genealogical research. All of these resources are fully searchable through HeritageQuest Online’s easy-to-use Web interface.

Library patrons can use HeritageQuest Online in or outside the library. If you're connecting from home, you'll need to sign in with your library card's barcode and PIN (if you don't know them, call the Circulation Desk for assistance).