Your Guide to Finding Ancestors Using Heritage Quesst

• Available only through library subscription, but can use in libraryand from home
• Michigan residents: available through your public library or use MEL (Michigan E Library)
• Heritage Quest and Ancestry.com Library Edition are not Either/Or. There is different content in each.

About Heritage Quest Online

Census * Books * PERSI * Revolutionary War Pension Applications * Freedman's Bank * U.S. Serial Set
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• Search or Browse census images (choice at top of page)
• 1830, 1840, 1850 are not indexed; 1930 only partially indexed (CT, DE, MD, TX, VA)
• 1890 is included, but almost none of the 1890 census survives.
• Indexing is by head of family only -- not an everyname index, although it will pick up other surnames in a household.
  • Exception: there is an every name index for 1880
• Indexing is only by exact spelling -- no wildcards or soundex
  • If your library has Ancestry.com Library Edition you will probably prefer to use it to find census records because it is indexed by every name and has a very sophisticated search capability.
  • If your library doesn't have Ancestry.com Library Edition, you can supplement the HQ indexing with records and indexes at FamilySearch.org or elsewhere on the internet.
  • You can search Ancestry.com even without a subscription and use the results list to find the spelling used.
  • You can use browse to look through the entire census of a township or city. (That's the way we used to do it!)
• Note three search options: Basic, Advanced and Find by page number.
  • Start with the basic search.
  • Use the Advanced search for censuses 1850 forward
    • to narrow a very large list of results -- most useful for common names
    • if you are having trouble finding a surname. Search for criteria other than the surname to see if you can find the record.
  • Find by page number is useful if you have the citation and know where to find the record.
• If you are browsing... (see the "Browse" tab at top of page)
  • First you select a year, then after you select a state you will be given the option of viewing a map. This map shows the county boundaries as they were at the time of that census. It is especially important to use it for the earlier censuse
• Viewing results
  • If there is a SUBPAGE A and a SUBPAGE B at the top of the census record, the record may be on either. If you don't find it on A, be sure to check B.
  • Note you can print, download or add the page to your notebook.

Originally a microfiche set "Genealogy & Local History" -- here is a list of books included in that set. I think you will find most, if not all, in the "Books" section of Heritage Quest online.

Searching books is tricky...

• When you enter words into a single search box HQO looks for the words within 4 words of each other.
• If you put search terms in more than one box, HQ finds any book that contains both words, but not necessarily on the same page! And... when you get the results, you can't tell which page has which word. Usually you really don't want to use more than one box!
• You can search for variations of a name Keep these tips in mind:
  • * - The asterisk is a wildcard that matches zero or more characters. For example, a search on 'sam*' will bring back results that include 'sam', 'samantha', 'samuel', etc. Note: you cannot use an asterisk as the first, second, or third character of a search term.
  • ? - The question mark acts as a single-character wildcard. For example, a search on 'eli?abeth' will bring back results that include 'elisabeth' or 'elizabeth'. Note: you cannot use a question mark as the first character of a search term.
• You can use bolean operators (OR, AND, and AND NOT, NEAR, and double quotes. Note that these words are case-insensitive; 'AND' works the same way as 'and'.
  • Double Quotes - To match an exact phrase, the phrase should be enclosed in double quotes.
  • NEAR - Used with two terms, 'near' will find all matches of the two terms within 4 words of each other. To specify how many words can separate the two terms, include a number preceded by a colon after the 'near'. For example, 'women near:5 history' will find all occurrences of 'women' that are within five words of 'history'.
  • AND - Using 'and' retrieves results that include two or more terms that you have entered in the search field. For example, 'women and history' retrieves all results with 'women' and 'history' in them; 'women and history and politics' retrieves all results with 'women', 'history', and 'politics' in them.
  • AND NOT - Using 'and not' indicates that you want to retrieve results that include your first entered term but not the second. For example, 'women and not politics' will retrieve results that include 'women' but not 'politics'.
  • OR - 'Or' will retrieve results that include either your first entered search term or your second. For example, a search on 'women or history' will find results with 'women' or 'history' in them.
  • "" - When you enclose a phrase in double quotes, your search results will match the phrase exactly.
  • ( ) - When you enclose a logical group of terms and operators in parentheses, HQ will assign a higher precedence to that grouping of terms. For example, 'paris AND (ohio OR texas)' evaluates 'ohio OR texas' first.
  • All of these words are reserved words; this means that you are not able to search for them unless you enclose them in double quotation marks. For example, searching on 'women and history' will bring back results with 'women' and 'history' in them, while searching on 'women "and" history' will bring back results with 'women', 'and', and 'history' in them.

  Note: All search fields are connected by the Boolean search term 'and'. If you enter 'Annapolis' in the Place Name(s) field and 'Smith' in the Additional Keywords field, HeritageQuest Online will search for 'Annapolis' and 'Smith'.

Here is the way to search for a name within a single book or a number of books on the same subject

I want to find information about WITHEY families in Bradford County Pennsylvania.

1. Under SEARCH ALL BOOKS choose PUBLICATIONS: Browse all titles...
2. Then click For advanced publications searching, go to Search Publications
3. Put the name (or word) that you want to search in the keyword box. For this practice test, use the name WITHEY
4. If you want to search only one title, put that title in the title box and hit search. Otherwise leave it empty and proceed. For this practice test, leave it empty.
5. Go to "Subject" and hit the browse arrow.
6. Type BRADFORD into the jump box and hit the arrow to jump to Bradford.
7. Check the boxes for the two subjects that include Bradford County Pennsylvania.
   1. Leave the OR box checked. (If you check and you will find Withey's only in books for which the description has both subject headings. )
8. Click OK
9. Your box is now filled out with both subjects and the search term is in the keyword box.
10. Hit search to find any mention of WITHEY in a book about Bradford County Pennsylvania.

Viewing results... also a little tricky when you are viewing hits in books.

• When you click VIEW hits you get taken to a screen that shows the table of contents.
• A # off to the side shows in which chapter or section you will find hits.
• Click on that line and you will be taken to the first page of that section or chapter.
• Click on the arrow button above to get to the first actual hit!
• Keep clicking on arrows to get to subsequent hits.
  

• PERSI stands for Periodical Source Index and is an index to articles in hundreds of genealogical journals. More Information.
• Want to learn even more? There are a number of articles on PERSI in the Ancestry.com articles archive (no subscription needed).
• REMEMBER: Persi searches titles, authors and subjects of articles, but not full text (too bad... it sure would be nice if it did that!)

You use it to find an article about methodology, records of a certain area or articles on a family. Once you identify the article, you can order it from Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne (for a fee) or wait until you next go to the library to find it and read or copy it there.

You can search PERSI for PEOPLE, PLACES, HOW To and find what publications are indexed.

PEOPLE

• The surname box is for ONLY the surname.
• You can search for two connected surnames, e.g. try Withey AND Burt. You can use bolean operators, *, ?
• Use the keyword box to add a given name, e.g.McWethy in the surname box, Sarah in the keyword box
• If you use the keyword box to narrow it down by state, you will only narrow it down to those periodicals published in the state you specify.
• In general, be very cautious of the key word box. For example, I want to find obituaries for the surname Binford. Search it first using obituary as a key word, then obit. , then death notice.... see the problem?
• You don't have to use a surname. For example, try the word suicide as a keyword.

PLACE

• Note it is divided into three sections: United States, Canada and Other Countries
• Specify county
  • You can use OR to search for information on more than one county, e.g. using the state Michigan, search for county Genesee OR Washtenaw.
• Use the keyword to designate local place name, e.g. if you search Washtenaw, you might indicate Saline as a place name.
  • As always, use Keyword with caution. It can give you unexpected results.
  • If you have a problem, use ADVANCED SEARCH to specify locale as a field.
  • In fact... I might prefer to just start with the ADVANCED SEARCH
• Narrow down by record type, using the drop down.

HOW TO

These are articles that help you solve a specific problem or learn more about a record type.

• You can search by keyword only, for example, Divorce
• You can use bolean searching to narrow down the results, e.g. Divorce AND Ohio
• You can combine a keyword with a record type, e.g. Women, record type from dropdown Naturalization
• You can search for only a record type, using the drop down

RESULTS

• A result will tell you the title of the article, the name, date and issue number of the periodical.
• At the bottom is an option to print out a form you can use to request a photocopy of the article (for a fee) from the Allen County Libray.
• A click on the name of the priodical will give you more information, including a listing of issues held at Fort Wayne.
• Click on the issue number to get a table of contents for that issue.

This indexes the Revolutionary War Records and provides a digital copy of selected records from the original application. '

• To learn more about these records, click the "Read more about the Revolutionary War" link, upper left corner.
• It covers more than the Revolutionary War. You can find pension apps for War of 1812 and other early wars here too.
• Searching
  • Use an asterisk to find name variations. Try Richard* and note that not only do you get Richards and Richardson, but also Prichard, Richarson and Richart.
    • Use the dropdown, upper right to sort by first name.
  • State is the state from which the soldier served.
• Results
  • Warning: they can be hard to read
    • But worth it !
• And often there is a typed summary, a letter written in response to a query.
• Will usually contain several pages
• You can print, download or save to notebook.

Freedman's Bank records can be invaluable if you are trying to trace a black family in the period immediately following the Civil War; "Read more about Freedman's Bank records" top right corner. Also, the Family History Library Wiki has a good overview of the Freedman's Bank records and their value to the genealogical researcher.

Search

• Allows soundex search
• Surname search will find all names, not just that of applicant
• You can combine surnames using AND -- so it will find applications that carry both surnames

Results

• These applications contain family information ! They are extremely valuable.
• Card image is of the handwritten original.
• A transcription follows, but make sure you check the image as not every bit of information is transcribed.
• You can print, download or save to a notebook

Read more about U.S. Serial Set, top right corner for more information. See also "Using the Congressional Serial Set for Genealogical Research" and "Public Lands and Claims in the American State Papers" both published in Prologue Magazine.

Searching

• You can use the AND operator. e.g. place Manchester AND Washtenaw -- then try Manchester AND Michigan.

Results

• The full text of the record displays.
• You can print, download or save to a notebook

PRINT * DOWNLOAD * SAVE TO NOTEBOOK

• Printing will print the document; when there is a transcription (as with the Freedman's Bank Records) it won't print that.
• Be sure to annotate your print with the source (unless you print from the notebook).
• Download options: .pdf or TIFF
• Use the Notebook to manage your research results and take notes as you go.
  • Notebook help
  • Taking notes

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This page last updated January 18, 2011