Genealogy Department

Visitors searching their roots or interested in studying the history of a particular town or locality in New England or one of the states along the Eastern seaboard will find the Library's Genealogy Department to be of valuable assistance. Located on the second floor in a gallery overlooking the Library's main reading room, the Genealogy Department is considered one of the best of its kind on Cape Cod. The core of the holdings is the Edgar Frances Waterman Memorial Genealogical Collection, organized and integrated into the Library commencing in 1979. This collection and the other holdings are continuously being added to. Computer research of many genealogy data bases is also available through CD-ROMs.

General Reference

Guides for genealogical research; emigrant and passenger arrival lists; military pension indexes; Mayflower families; DAR indexes; heraldry; compendia of colonial lineages.

Histories

County and town histories of New England and middle Atlantic and southeastern states to Georgia; Vital Records to 1850 for most Massachusetts towns; Canadian records; Vols. 1-7 "The Search For Missing Friends - Irish research.

Family Histories and Genealogies

Over 500 volumes of individual families, by surname, including many early Cape Cod families.

Periodicals and Newsletters

National, state and local historical and genealogical societies.

Electronic Data Sources (CD ROM)

National, State & International Resources.

Useful Genealogical Web Sites

Online Genealogy Database

HeritageQuest Online. HeritageQuest Online is designed specifically for patrons in public libraries who are either just beginning their family research or who after years of work are still uncovering their past. With over 25,000 books, the entire U.S. Federal Census, and other expanding collections, HeritageQuest Online gives any library the chance to tap in to one of the largest collections of genealogy material in the country. You must have an Eldredge Public Library CLAMS card to gain access to the database.

Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com is an online database that includes U.S. census records, obituary records, U.S. immigration collection and marriage, birth and death records (social security death index). There are newspaper entries, OneWorldTree and military records. This is an excellent resource for searching for genealogy records. This database is available from within the Eldredge Public Library only.

The Genealogy Department is open 1:00 to 5:00 PM Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.