Heritage Quest is designed specifically for patrons in public libraries who are either just beginning their family research or who after years of work are still uncovering their past. Heritage Quest includes the following databases:
Census: US Federal census, 1790-1930. The page images for the entire census; all years, are included. In addition to the ability to search by name, census records can be searched by place of birth, age, ethnicity and other variables. Researchers can quickly see all African-Americans or all persons born in Ireland living in a state or county.
Books: This collection of 20,000+ family and local history books is searchable by every word in each book. Every page of each book is presented and can be downloaded or copied.
PERSI: The PERiodical Source Index is a comprehensive subject index covering more than 6,500 genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French (Canada) since 1800. Researchers can search by surname or location or browse the journals by title and keyword. More than 1.6 million article citations are currently available. PERSI is produced in cooperation with the Allen County Public Library Foundation.
Revolutionary War: This collection details pension and bounty land warrant applications of 80,000+ individuals who served in the Revolutionary War. Each veterna's file usually contains six or more pages including rank, unit, period of service, age or date of birth, residence and sometimes information on other family members.
Freedman's Bank Records: At the close of the Civil War, the Freedman's Savings & Trust Company was the primary bank for America's freed slaves and others from 1865-1874. This Heritage Quest collection documents more than 105,000 bank depositors and over 480,000 of their dependants and heirs. It is considered one of the most important resources for African-American genealogical research.
Access "Help" screens by choosing one of these indexes to search and click on "help" at the upper right. The help screen also gives access to the "Table of Contents" from which you can choose a given area for more information.
Heritage Quest is available at the Lake County Public Library located at 1919 W. 81st Avenue (route 30) in Merrillville, Indiana (46410) as well as at our 11 branch locations.
