Using HeritageQuest Online

HeritageQuest is one of the Ancestry.com family of websites in conjunction with ProQuest.com. It is available through local public libraries where the library has a subscription. I gain access by having a library card through the Maricopa County (Arizona) Library System. We pay an annual fee for our Library Card because we now live outside of Maricopa County. There are a number of county and city libraries that will allow non-residents to have a library card upon the payment of a fee. With my Library Card, I can use all of the Library's online resources except those requiring the use of an in-library computer.

Some time ago, the website was partnered with Ancestry.com and converted into a watered-down version of the Ancestry.com website with connections to certain pages for searching on the regular Ancestry.com website. It does give access to many records that otherwise would require you to be physically in a library using the Library Edition of Ancestry.com, but it also lost some of the really valuable assets previously provided by ProQuest.com.

Notwithstanding this limitation, there are still some valuable resources on the website not easily obtainable elsewhere. For example,  there is a comprehensive Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920. This resource is apparently not available on the Ancestry.com website.

If you are serious about research, you need to visit your local public library and even the libraries where your ancestors lived or might have lived. These local resources can be helpful in learning and research.