HeritageQuest Online

HeritageQuest Online resources is a comprehensive treasure —rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, convenient research guides, interactive census maps, and more. 

Discover the amazing history of you with HeritageQuest Online. With more than 5 billion records, it delivers an essential collection of genealogical and historical sources—with coverage dating back to the 1700s—that can help people find their ancestors and discover a place’s past. 

New: Unified search across all collections – search all collections and billions of records from one search box on the updated home page for faster, more comprehensive research. 

Powered by Ancestry®, this amazing collection consists of the following core data sets: 

• Census collection contains nearly 1 billion records from the U.S. Federal Census 1790-1940, and national censuses including Argentina, Netherlands, Czech Republic and several other countries. 

• Books collection contains over 22,000 family and local histories, compiled genealogies, documentary collections, church records, military records, vital records, city and county histories, and more. 

• City Directories with over 1.5 million records from various US city and county directories during 1821-1989. 

• Military Records containing over 2 million records from selected state and country military records including the US Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files 1800-1900, US Records of Confederate Prisoners of War 1861-1865, and US Remarried Widows Index to Pension Applications 1887-1942. 

• Wills and Probate Records has more than 170 million pages from the largest collection of wills and probate records in the United States, with searchable records included from all 50 states spread over 337 years (1668-2005). 

• Freedman’s Bank contains an index and original images of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company's registers of Signatures of Depositors 1865-1871. 

• US Serial Set (subset) contains more than 140,000 private relief actions, memorials, and petitions drawn from the records published "serial" fashion from the US Senate and House of Representatives 1769-1969. 

• Maps & Photos includes US Indexed County Land Ownership Maps 1860-1910, US Enumeration District Maps and Descriptions 1940, US Indexed Early Land Ownership and Township Plats 1785-1898, and Library of Congress Photo Collection 1840-2000. 

With a robust search interface, thumbnail images hit highlighting, easy-to-use tools, and convenient in-library or remote access through the library portal, it’s easy to see why HeritageQuest continues to be one of the most recommended resources by family history publications and genealogists. 

The clues are out there waiting. Let HeritageQuest Online help you to find them. 

How to access: 

All TexShare databases are available on library computers. To access at home or on your personal devices, request the TexShare password at the library circulation desk with your library card. 

HeritageQuest can be found on our Research and Resources page.