What Is HeritageQuest® Online?
HeritageQuest® Online is a genealogy and local history resource with billions of records dating back to the 1700s. Library cardholders can access for free to explore their own family stories as well as the communities they lived in.
What Can You Find?
HeritageQuest Online is built for real-life research questions:
- Who lived at this house 90 years ago?
- When did the Rook family move from Michigan to Indiana?
- Can I find a copy of my grandparents’ marriage license? My great uncle’s obituary? A cemetery listing from 1702?
- What was life like in my ancestors’ town?
Highlights You’ll Want to Explore
Below are just a few of the major collections.
Birth, Marriage and Death Records
The Vital and Civil Registration collections include large sets of birth, marriage, death and church records across the U.S. and other countries.
City Directories, Cemeteries and Wills
You can also search city directories (1821–1989), cemetery indexes, and a large set of wills and probate records (1668–2005).
Census and More
The census collection includes records from the U.S. Federal Census (1790–1950) plus other census and related record sets.
How to Access HeritageQuest Online
You can use HeritageQuest Online at our library or in your home.
- Visit our Online Resources page.
- Select HeritageQuest Online and begin your journey.
- When at home, you will be prompted to enter your library card number.
Tips to Get You Started
HeritageQuest Online includes over 5 billion records.
You can dive in several different ways.
- A unified search across collections (one search across many record types)
- A search experience powered by Ancestry technology
- Research aids and tips, including help with census research
- An interactive U.S. census map (1790–1920) that shows how county boundaries have changed over time
Need Help?
Our library staff can help you get connected. For support in navigating HeritageQuest Online, consider making an appointment through our Tech Assistance service.
Check out our other genealogy resources on our Local & Family History page.
Simplified Summary
HeritageQuest Online is a free genealogy and local history resource for #MPHPL cardholders. It helps you search records like U.S. census pages, birth and death records, marriage records, city directories, cemetery lists, and wills. You can use one search box to look across many collections. It is free because the library pays for access. To use it, visit our Online Resources page, choose HeritageQuest Online, and enter your library card number when you are outside the library.