HeritageQuest Online provides access to one of the largest collections of genealogy material in the country, including over 20,000 word-searchable family and local histories, searchable versions of the U. S. Federal Census (1790-1930), Periodical Source Index and much more. 

A MORE library card is required to access HeritageQuest Online from home:

• Go to the library’s website at www.ecpubliclibrary.info.
• Click on Research->Genealogy->Database and Internet Resources->HeritageQuest Online.
• Enter your library card number and click on Connect.

At this point you may search within the six collections in HeritageQuest Online:  Census, Books, Periodical Source Index, Revolutionary War, Freedman’s Bank, and U. S. Serial Set.

Search U. S. Federal Census, 1790-1930

HeritageQuest offers complete original images plus many head-of-household name indexes for the U. S. Federal Census from 1790-1930.  There are three ways to search the Census in HeritageQuest: Basic, Advanced and by Page Number. 

• In a Basic search you may enter the surname, given name, limit your search to a specific census year, search all years, and search by all or a specific state.  There are no Boolean operators and no truncation or wildcard characters available in the census search.  Some names may have been misspelled during the census or transcribed incorrectly during indexing.  If your searches are not returning the results you would like, try entering alternate spellings of names.
• If you select Advanced search, you may enter the same information in the fields as in a Basic search, but you may also narrow down your search by the use of other fields indexed in the census such as age, sex, race, birthplace, county and locality.
• When searching by Page Number, you can enter specific series, roll and page numbers to access corresponding images if you are looking for a specific page.  This search will take you directly to the Census Image page where you can scroll through the census page by page.

 Search Books:

Included in the HeritageQuest genealogy and local history book collection are almost 8,000 family histories and over 12,000 local histories.  In addition, HeritageQuest provides access to more than 250 primary source documents including tax lists, city directories, church and probate records and much more.  Every page of each book can be easily downloaded or copied.

• You may search by People, Places, or Publications; you may enter information in any or all of these fields. Your search returns a list of ranked results in order of relevance.

Periodicals Source Index (PERSI):

PERSI is a comprehensive subject index covering more than 6,600 genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French (Canada) since 1800.  

• In PERSI, you may search for articles by Surname, by Places, including information on towns, cities or regions or browse through periodicals by title and keyword.
• Also included is a section of How To’s, including articles on research methodologies.

Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files: 

Included in this collection are detailed records of over 80,000 individuals who served in the Revolutionary War including both genealogical and historical information.  Each veteran’s file usually contains six or more pages and normally includes the veteran’s former rank, unit, period of service, age or date of birth, residence, and often genealogical information on other family members. 

• You may search by surname or given name, limit your search to data from a specific state or limit your search to a specific branch of service.  Service includes other delimiting information besides the armed forces.

Freedman’s Bank Records:

This collection documents more than 105,000 bank depositors and over 480,000 of  their dependants and heirs from the Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company, the primary bank for America’s freed slaves and others from 1865-1874. 

• From the Search page of Freedman’s Bank, you may search for individual names, including the applicant (depositor), spouse, parents, siblings and children.
• You may also limit your search to data from a specific application year or from a specific bank location.

U. S. Serial Set: 

The Serial Set offers a glimpse into the people and places on whose behalf Congressional action was sought during the period 1789-1969.  These documents and reports prepared by the U.S. Congress include Private Relief Actions, Memorials and Petitions. 

• There are three search fields, plus a selectable date range in the Serial Set.
• The Person Name, Place Name and Keyword fields search the full text of each document as well as appropriate citation fields.
 

Questions?  Contact Information & Reference at 715-839-5004 or e-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .