ONE-ON-ONE
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Trying to learn more about your family history? Join local amateur genealogist Nancy Borman at the Chesley Memorial Library for one-on-one genealogy sessions (beginning-level instruction) using Ancestry Library Edition, Heritage Quest, and other sources. Please email Nancy at nancy.genealogy7@gmail.com to schedule your one-hour session at a mutually convenient time. If you do not have email, you can call the library at 942-5472 and we will forward your contact information to Nancy. Ancestry Library Edition and Heritage Quest are both sponsored by the Friends of the Northwood Libraries.
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Heritage Quest is also available for you to use from home or in the library. http://www.heritagequestonline.com. A password is required to access this website.
Call us at 603-942-5472 for the required password. (Available to library patrons in good standing.) |
We now have open access to a genealogy website! ancestrylibraryedition.com
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“Where did previous generations come from? How did they live? What did they fight for? And how did their lives affect yours? Historical records and photos hold so many answers about the fascinating people in history. Ancestry Library Edition puts them at your fingertips, enabling both research and inviting critical thinking. Ancestry Library Edition provides access to billions of historical documents, millions of historical photos, plus local narratives, oral histories, indexes and other resources in over 30,000 databases that span from the 1500s to the 2000s.”
The Chesley Memorial Library now has access to Ancestry Library Edition thanks to the Friends of the Northwood Libraries! Stop in and use one of our public access computers to start your genealogy search today. |
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Get started...
Collect Family Information
Write down the names of people on your immediate family tree. Talk with your relatives. Find out if someone already started a family tree. Gather as much information as possible from people before starting your digital research. Set up a family tree on paper to aid with your research.
Begin the Digital Search with Known Information Always start your digital search with the people you can verify. This typically means starting your search with individuals living in the early part of the 1900s and included in the 1900-1940 census records. Searches on Heritage Quest Online for U.S. Census records can be done from home.
Starting your research with relatives not yet born in 1940 can be problematic. States have different laws pertaining to making vital records (births, marriages, and deaths) public. Some states restrict the availability of vital records for as much as 100 years. At the library, search Ancestry Library Edition’s Card Catalog to find out if the records you need are available.
Narrow Your Search Results
Instead of performing a simple search by name – which can result in thousands of potential results – include a birth date, a spouse’s name, or known location for better results. Note that exact dates are not necessary. It is possible to search for individuals by an approximate birthdate.
Search Creatively
If your ancestors had names that could be easily misspelled, it is likely that you will need to perform multiple searches before finding a match. If you know where your ancestors were living, try browsing census records by location or searching for known neighbors to find them. Names corrected in Ancestry.com will also be searchable by the corrected version of the name in Ancestry Library Edition. Many databases also allow you to search for similar sounding names.
Gather Information from Each Census Year
Each decade of census records collects different sets of data. Do not assume that you have discovered everything about an ancestor from one census record. Some records contain conflicting information about the person and some records asked for different information altogether.
Use Family Tree Data Wisely
Be cautiously optimistic about family trees. Continue to do your own research and use the hints from another user to discover maternal lines, but always verify your own research.
Collect Family Information
Write down the names of people on your immediate family tree. Talk with your relatives. Find out if someone already started a family tree. Gather as much information as possible from people before starting your digital research. Set up a family tree on paper to aid with your research.
Begin the Digital Search with Known Information Always start your digital search with the people you can verify. This typically means starting your search with individuals living in the early part of the 1900s and included in the 1900-1940 census records. Searches on Heritage Quest Online for U.S. Census records can be done from home.
Starting your research with relatives not yet born in 1940 can be problematic. States have different laws pertaining to making vital records (births, marriages, and deaths) public. Some states restrict the availability of vital records for as much as 100 years. At the library, search Ancestry Library Edition’s Card Catalog to find out if the records you need are available.
Narrow Your Search Results
Instead of performing a simple search by name – which can result in thousands of potential results – include a birth date, a spouse’s name, or known location for better results. Note that exact dates are not necessary. It is possible to search for individuals by an approximate birthdate.
Search Creatively
If your ancestors had names that could be easily misspelled, it is likely that you will need to perform multiple searches before finding a match. If you know where your ancestors were living, try browsing census records by location or searching for known neighbors to find them. Names corrected in Ancestry.com will also be searchable by the corrected version of the name in Ancestry Library Edition. Many databases also allow you to search for similar sounding names.
Gather Information from Each Census Year
Each decade of census records collects different sets of data. Do not assume that you have discovered everything about an ancestor from one census record. Some records contain conflicting information about the person and some records asked for different information altogether.
Use Family Tree Data Wisely
Be cautiously optimistic about family trees. Continue to do your own research and use the hints from another user to discover maternal lines, but always verify your own research.
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