Beginning Research Using
HeritageQuest and Ancestry
Library Edition (and a few other
on-line resources, too)
A presentation about resources available
through Hannibal’s Virtual Library,
www.hannibal.lib.mo.us
June 2013
What Is HeritageQuest?
• Collection of genealogical and historical
sources & index to other resources
• Coverage from the 1700’s
• Compliments Ancestry Library Edition,
Family Search, Missouri Digital Heritage,
and other genealogical databases
• Compact & easy to use
Finding HeritageQuest
HeritageQuest is provided by State tax
dollars, beginning July 2013, and available
at
www.hannibal.lib.mo.us
 Log-in ID is your Library barcode
 Use anywhere you have access to the
Internet
www.hannibal.lib.mo.us
10-digit barcode, numbers only, no spaces or dashes
What Is the U.S. Federal Census?
 The U.S. Constitution mandates a Census
every ten years to allocate Congressional
seats
 Collected data is used in aggregate for
statistical purposes
 Release of personal information is
prohibited for the person’s lifetime, defined
as 72 years. (92 Stat. 915, Public Law 95-416,
enacted on October 5, 1978)
Why Are Census Records
Important to Genealogists?
 Census Records provide a snapshot view of the
community once every ten years
 Many names were recorded as the enumerator
walked up and down streets, so neighbors are
placed side by side
 In Censuses taken in 1850 and later, an attempt
was made to record every resident of the
household
 Names, relationships, and other information was
enumerated. These provide valuable
genealogical clues
Are There Problems with
Census Records?
 Census Records were recorded by enumerators from
information conveyed by the respondent
 The respondent may have hidden the truth or not known
the information
 The respondent may have been a child or a neighbor
 In rural areas, particularly, the enumerator may not have
known about a family or found their household
 The enumerator may not have recorded the proper
spelling of a name, etc.
 The enumerator provided four copies each page, and
inaccuracies between extant copies have been found
 Handwriting may be difficult to read
Federal Population Census
Schedules
 Enumeration Schedules from 1790 to
1940 are available for public use
 Because of the 72-year rule, the 1950
Enumeration Schedule will be available in
2022
MO, Marion Co., Mason Twp., City
of Hannibal, 1930
HeritageQuest indexing and scan
On-Line Indexing
 Interactive indexing available at:
 HeritageQuest (available through Hannibal’s Virtual
Library, www.hannibal.lib.mo.us)
 Ancestry Library Edition (available at Hannibal Free
Public Library only on our computers)
 Ancestry.com (subscription needed to see the records,
but searching is free)
 FamilySearch (free)
 Cyndislist.com (http://www.cyndislist.com/us/census/ )
If you don’t find your ancestor in one index, try one or more
of the other indexes.
HeritageQuest’s Search Books
• 7 million digitized page images from
28,000 family histories, local histories, and
other books
• Titles digitized from HeritageQuest’s
microform collections and from the
American Antiquarian Society’s collection
Periodical Source Index (PERSI)
• Index of genealogy and local history
periodicals (Inter-Library Loan actual articles)
• Contains more than 2 million records
covering titles published around the world
since 1800
• Compiled and published by the Allen
County Public Library
Freedman’s Bank Records
• 480,000 names of bank applicants, their
dependents, and heirs from 1865–1874
• Use information about African American
ancestors prior to and immediately after
the Civil War
Revolutionary War Records
• Original images from pension and bounty
land warrant application files
• 80,000 American Army, Navy, and Marine
officers and enlisted men from the
Revolutionary War era
U.S. Serial Set
• Memorials, petitions, private relief actions
made to the U.S. Congress from 1789
• 480,000 pages of information
You probably will not use the U.S. Serial Set as a beginning
genealogist. It will become more interesting when you
start working on ancestors who lived in the 18th and early
19th century.
Hatched, Matched & Dispatched
• Birth Records
• Marriage Records
• Death Records
These are the primary source documents used in
genealogical research. Census enumerations are great
tools, as are newspaper obituaries, but your family
research must focus on legal records. In addition to the
vital records listed above, you also will want eventually to
research land and court records. Use vital records to
prove information on family trees and support this proof
with obituaries, census data, diaries, photos, etc.
Vital Records
• Ancestry Library Edition or
Ancestry.com
• Cyndi’s List
• Family Search
• Each State’s Historical Website
• National Archives
Ancestry Library Edition
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U.S. collections deliver hundreds of millions of names from sources such as federal
and U.S. censuses; birth, death, and marriage records including the Social Security
Death Index; and U.S. border crossing and trans-ocean ship records.
Canadian collections provide nearly 60 million records from the Census of Canada;
and key vital records, such as the Drouin Collection (1621-1967), which includes
nearly 30 million baptism, marriage, and burial records from Quebec.
U.K. collections offer censuses for England, Wales, Isle of Man, Channel Islands,
and Scotland, with nearly 200 million records; Births and Baptisms (1834-1906),
Marriage Licenses (1521-1869), Deaths and Burials (1834-1934), and Poor Law
Records (1840-1938) in London; and more.
Other international collections continue to grow with more than 46 million records
from German census, vital records, emigration indexes, ship lists, phone directories,
and more; Chinese surnames in the large and growing Jiapu Collection of Chinese
lineage books; Jewish family history records from Eastern Europe and Russia; and
more.
Military collections deliver over 150 million records containing information often not
found elsewhere; and includes records from the colonial to the Vietnam era.
Multimedia collections deliver millions of files ranging from family and gravestone
photos to postcards and newsreels.
Family Search
• FamilySearch, historically known as the
Genealogical Society of Utah, which was
founded in 1894, is dedicated to
preserving the records of the family of
mankind
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is the primary benefactor for
FamilySearch services
Cyndi’s List
• Began as a project for her local
genealogical society in order to help our
members find resources online
• She wants to make it easy for all
researchers to find online resources for
their genealogical research
Missouri Digital Heritage
Collaborative effort of the
• Missouri State Archives
• Missouri State Library
• The State Historical Society of Missouri
• and institutions across the state.
• Formally called Virtual Missouri
Browse Collections by Topic
Genealogy Topics Include
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Missouri Birth & Death Records Database Pre-1910
Missouri Coroner's Inquest Database (1842-1932)
Missouri County Histories
Missouri County Plat Books
Missouri Death Certificates
Missouri Fire Insurance Maps (Sanborn and Whipple
maps)
 Missouri Judicial Records
 Missouri Naturalization Records Database, 1816-1955
(abstracts)
 Missouri Soldier's Database: War of 1812 - WWI (service
cards)
www.hannibal.lib.mo.us
Hallie Yundt Silver, Library Director
Hannibal Free Public Library
200 South Fifth Street
Hannibal, MO 63401
573-221-0222
[email protected]
www.hannibal.lib.mo.us