The Ventura County Library has two new web-based resources that make it easier for you to trace your family tree. HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition allow you to start exploring your roots by searching a surname.
Anyone with a Ventura County Library card can access the databases through the Library’s website at www.vencolibrary.org. Once you arrive at the website, click on either “Databases” or “Research.” There you will find the Library’s electronic resources collection arranged by subject and listed alphabetically. The links for HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition are under “Genealogy.” HeritageQuest Online can be searched from home as well as from within the Library.
This database is an essential collection of material for both genealogical and historical researchers, with coverage dating back to the late 1700s. Besides U.S. federal censuses, it offers family and local histories, Revolutionary War records, and other information.
Ancestry Library Edition can be accessed from the Library’s Internet workstations, available at 14 locations. Once connected to Ancestry Library Edition, you’ll find a friendly opening screen that asks for the name of the person to be searched. Key in the name, click on “Search” and Ancestry Library Edition scans its vast selection of U.S. census data, birth, marriage, and death records, World War I draft registration information, Social Security death records, and immigration lists. There is also an extensive collection of information from the United Kingdom.
HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition each provide unique resources that complement one another and provide more information than either used alone. To find out more about how you can access the databases, contact your local Ventura County Library branch or visit the Library on the web at www.vencolibrary.org.