Get To Know Your Family!

For many of us, connecting with friends and family has been especially challenging this year. If you’re unable to spend time with loved ones in person this holiday season, here are some tools to help you connect with them online! 

To access these resources you’ll need your library card number and password. If you’re not sure where to find that information, visit our eLibrary access guide to get started.

 

Ancestry.com

 

Discover your family’s story with Ancestry.com. Their 3,000+ databases hold billions of census records, immigration passenger lists, military records, and more that will help you piece together your family tree! Archived birth certificates and yearbook photos help you to connect and understand your family history. Through March 2021, Ancestry is temporarily accessible from anywhere with your library card number and password!

Newspaper Archive

Learn about the events that shaped your ancestors’ lives. Newspaper Archive covers Indiana history from 1800–2017 and its easy-to-use search interface makes it an invaluable tool for genealogy and family research. This resource can be especially helpful in uncovering obituaries and events involving ancestors. Use your findings as a springboard to contact relatives and ask them what they remember, then preserve their stories for future generations.

Access World News

This powerful database offers more than 665 million current and archived articles spanning more than three decades that can be searched, browsed, printed, emailed and even cited from over 10,000 news sources around the world. The database includes unique and trusted sources you won’t find anywhere else!

Reference Solutions

Did you discover new family members during your research? Lost touch with a loved one and want to reconnect? Reference Solutions can help you find their contact information! The resource gathers data from voter registration files, utility connects, real estate assessments and more to build a database which includes 89 million U.S. households. Reference Solutions is continuously updated to offer the most current and accurate information possible.

These four resources will keep you busy for a while, but they’re just the beginning! Dig even deeper with the databases in our local and family history eLibrary. Share your findings on social media and tag us @mcplindiana on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!