Free records and information for genealogists

If you are a beginning or long-time genealogist and have never visited the HeritageQuest website - don't wait any longer! HeritageQuest is a product of the ProQuest company (the company that provides Ancestry.com to libraries) and is free to anyone with a valid library card from the Henderson County Public Library.

This is a great website for searching census records, family books and much more. On a personal note, I had a major breakthrough in tracing my own family tree when I came across a family book in HeritageQuest that provided detailed information about my ancestors.

Many distinctive and invaluable sources of information can be found within HeritageQuest Online. This is a growing collection which at this time includes:

• Genealogy & Local History Collection of over 20,000 books, including nearly 8,000 family histories and over 12,000 local histories, in addition to more than 250 primary source documents such as tax lists, city directories, church and probate records, and more;
• 1790-1930 U.S. Federal Census with complete original images, plus many head-of-household name indexes;
• Periodical Source Index (PERSI), a comprehensive subject index covering more than 6,300 genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French (Canada) since 1800;
• The Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, which identifies more than 80,000 Americans who served in the war;
• The Freedman’s Bank records (1865-1874) enables researchers of African American heritage to search registers of signatures of depositors in branches of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company; and
• The Lexis Nexis® U.S. Serial Set contains House and Senate documents, such as Private Relief Actions, Memorials and Petitions from 1789-1969.

Each record in HeritageQuest is downloadable in Adobe PDF format. HeritageQuest also makes it easy to save, retrieve and take notes on your research through the Search History and Notebook features.

Take advantage of this valuable genealogy resource at www.hcpl.org/heritage either from home, on the road, or in the library during regular library hours. Read more or get started now. And don't forget to check out the library's genealogy page which is full of indexes and information related to Henderson families and local history.