Ancestry from home
Accessing Ancestry from Home
For a limited time, Springfield-Greene County Library card holders have been given access to Ancestry Library Edition, from home. Patrons using their library cards may access Ancestry from thelibrary.org/genealogy
If your library card is expired, update your card online. If you don’t have a library card, apply for a temporary card.
Ancestry offers billions of genealogical records for online research. If you are new to researching your family, read through our online Basic Genealogy guidelines.
If you have not used Ancestry before, the Library District offers great introductory videos to get you started. This video will introduce you to the site’s basic search function and tools.
Ancestry.com offers a multitude of different record groups including: census records and indexes, vital, church, military, public member trees; birth, marriage and death records; tax, criminal, land and wills stories, memories and histories, pictures, city directories, immigration and travel schools, maps and more. These record groups (or collections) are listed under Ancestry’s Card Catalog. This video will explain how to find the Card Catalog and tips for searching the records.
Beyond the billions of genealogical records, Ancestry.com offers access to family trees generated by its users. These Public Member trees may help you fill in your family tree. This video covers how to search Pubic Member Trees and the types of information you can find in them. These family trees are a great way to get started but be aware that they are submitted by individuals and are not verified by Ancestry.
Here are some additional tips for searching Ancestry.com:
-If there are no results or not the ones you are looking for, there may be too much or too little information. It is not necessary to fill out all the search boxes. Start with entering a name and just a birth year, plus/minus [+/-] two years, or just a location to begin.
-Use a paper generation chart to record information. The Springfield-Greene County Library District offers blank forms.
-Utilize Ancestry.com’s map tool. The map is located below the main search box for a quick search of the card catalog by location.
-Not all records on Ancestry.com are searchable by name. You may find books and records that are online but are not yet indexed. These records cannot be keyword searched, but can be read page by page.
-Access the Ancestry Learning Center for additional tips, blank forms, message boards, and new collections.
Find this article at