Ancestry Library Edition (in-Library access only)

  • U.S. collections: hundreds of millions of names from sources such as federal and U.S. censuses; birth, death, and marriage records including the Social Security Death Index; and U.S. border crossing and trans-ocean ship records.
  • Canadian collections: nearly 60 million records from the Census of Canada, and key vital records, such as the Drouin Collection (1621-1967), which includes nearly 30 million baptism, marriage, and burial records from Quebec.
  • U.K. collections: censuses for England, Wales, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, and Scotland, with nearly 200 million records: Births and Baptisms (1834-1906), Marriage Licenses (1521-1869), Deaths and Burials (1834-1934), and Poor Law Records (1840-1938) in London, and more.
  • Other international collections: more than 46 million records from German censuses, vital records, emigration indexes, ship lists, phone directories, and more; Chinese surnames in the large and growing Jiapu Collection of Chinese lineage books; Jewish family history records from Eastern Europe and Russia; and more.
  • Military collections: over 150 million records containing information often not found elsewhere and includes records from the colonial to the Vietnam era.
  • Multimedia collections: millions of files ranging from family and gravestone photos to postcards and newsreels.

*Click here to access charts and forms to track your research.

In-Library Access to Ancestry

Heritage Quest Online – Available from the Library or from home with your Holyoke Public Library card

Library Access

Home Access – Log in with your library card number.

Provides from-home access to the U.S. Census, City Directories, the records of the Freedman’s Bank, and much more. 

News: 2025 Federal funding cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services had a significant impact on the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. This led to MBLC’s decision to terminate its support of public library access to a wide range of databases, including HeritageQuest Online. The leadership Holyoke Public Library has now restored access for one year to HeritageQuest Online. This resource is available to HPL Library cardholders only (from home) or to anyone from a Library computer.   

Includes:

  • Census: Find ancestors in the complete set of U S Federal Census images from 1790-1940, including name indexes for many years.
  • City Directories:  from across the United States
  • Books: Find information on people and places described in over 28,000 family and local histories..
  • Revolutionary War:: Search selected records from the Revolutionary War Era Pension & Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files.
  • Freedman’s Bank: Serach for individuals in Freedman’s Bank (1865-1874), which was founded to serve African Americans.

Available for in-library use only. 

american ancestors

Library Access 

American Ancestors from the New England Historic Genealogical Society includes: Vital records, military records, probate documents, genealogies, periodicals and journals. Smaller than other databases, but growing every year, American Ancestors also indexes important sources, such as the repertoires from select Holyoke churches (available in the History Room). Note that the Holyoke Public Library’s subscription does not include access to American Ancestors’ external databases.  

Available from home with your Holyoke Public Library card.

newsbank

Massachusetts Newspapers (1988 – present)

Also note:  Available in the History Room only on Microfilm  – The Holyoke Transcript and Transcript-Telegram (1880s – 1993).  

Other Family History & Genealogy Resources

Just a few of the many free online research options available to family historians.  And remember, it’s not all online!

General

Immigration

New! Puerto Rican Genealogy

Irish history and records

Researching African-American History

French-Canadian Research

Links to the 7 volumes of Cyprien Tanguay’s Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes: