take a look! - Westbank Library

Genealogy Resources Available @
The Westbank Community Library District
Genealogy [jee-nee-ol-uh-jee] -- the study or investigation of ancestry and
family history
Wondering about your lineage? Want to investigate who is in your family tree? The Westbank Community
Library District offers a broad, well-rounded collection of print and online research resources to get you
started, or help you delve deeper into your roots.
Resources available
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Online subscription databases designed for genealogists of all levels, including:
o America's GenealogyBank -- in-library or home use (with valid library card)
o
HeritageQuest Online -- in-library or home use (with valid library card)
o Ancestry Plus – in-library use only
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A collection has over 50 printed volumes
Websites recommended by our librarians
Online databases offered by the library include:
America's GenealogyBank -- coverage dates 1690 -- 1980
This resource searches:
Historical Newspapers for articles, obituaries, marriage notices, and birth announcements
Historical Books for information from more than 11,700 books, pamphlets and printed items
including: genealogies, biographies, funeral sermons, local histories, cards, charts and more - all
published in the U.S. prior to 1900.
Historical Documents for military records, casualty lists, Revolutionary and Civil War pension
requests, widow's claims, orphan petitions, land grants and more. Historical documents include the
American State Papers (1789-1838), and genealogical content from the U.S. Serial Set (18171980).
HeritageQuest Online
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HeritageQuest Online is a collection of genealogical materials, including the entire U.S. Federal
Census, Revolutionary War Pension Records, depository records from the Freedman's Bank, the
Genealogy & Local History Collection, and PERSI™ -- an index of genealogy and local history
periodicals dating back to the early 1800s.
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HeritageQuest Online provides original page images for all documents which are downloadable in
Adobe® PDF format. This database may be used at the library or from your home.
Further Details About HeritageQuest’s Online Content:
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Genealogy & Local History Collection offers over 25,000 keyword searchable, family and local
history publications from all 50 states and Canada. Every page of each book in the collection can
be downloaded or copied.
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U.S. Federal Census, 1790-1930 provides page images for the entire census, 1790-1930 and
can be searched by name, place of birth, age, or ethnicity.
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PERSI™ - The PERiodical Source Index is a comprehensive subject index covering more than
6,600 genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French since 1800. PERSI™
provides the researcher the ability to search on surnames, locations, and methodologies as well as
the ability to browse the journals by title and keyword.
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Freedman's Bank Records. This HeritageQuest collection provides documents on more than
105,000 freed slaves and bank depositors and over 480,000 of their dependants and heirs.
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Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files. Use this collection
to locate information on more than 80,000 Revolutionary War soldiers, including: rank, unit name,
period of service, date of birth, residence, and sometimes-genealogical information on other family
members.
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U.S. Serial Set. This collection offers information about people and places on whose behalf
Congressional action was sought from 1789-1969, including private relief actions, memorials,
petitions, pensions, claims of election fraud, public works projects, immigration and naturalization,
land grants, taxation, and more.
Print Volumes @ Westbank Library District Include:
929 BES Genealogy For The First Time: Research Your Family History
929 BEV Tracing Your Ancestors In The National Archives: The Website And Beyond
929 CAR Your Guide To Cemetery Research
929 CEL Celebrating The Family: The MyFamily.com Guide To Understanding Your Family
History
929 CHR The Genealogist's Internet
929 CLI The Complete Beginner's Guide To Genealogy, The Internet, And Your Genealogy
Computer Program
929 CRO Genealogy Online
929 CRO Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best-Selling Basic Guide To Genealogy
929 GAL The Genealogy Handbook: The Complete Guide To Tracing Your Family Tree
929 MOR The Official Guide To Ancestry.com
929 ROS Courthouse Research For Family Historians: Your Guide To Genealogical Treasures
976.4 WHI 1830 Citizens Of Texas
976.42 GRO Alamo Defenders : A Genealogy, The People And Their Words
R 929BCG The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual
R 929 GRE The Researcher's Guide To American Genealogy
R 929 HAN The Handy Book For Genealogists: United States of America
R 929 KEM Virtual Roots 2.0: A Guide To Genealogy And Local History On The World Wide Web
R 929 SCH Genealogical Encyclopedia Of The Colonial Americas: A Complete Digest Of The
Records Of All The Countries Of The Western Hemisphere
R 929 SOU The Source: A Guidebook To American Genealogy
R 929.4 TEX Texas First Families: Lineages, Volume 1 (applications 1 through 2400)
Suggested Web Resources
Genealogy Research: Getting Started from the National Genealogical Society
(http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/getting_started)
Blank ancestral chart to use for recording your family tree
Genealogy Resources from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
(http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/genfirst.html)
Austin History Center
(http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/)
Texas Genealogy & History –Texas GenWeb
(http://www.rootsweb.com/~txgenweb/)
Austin Genealogical Society
(http://www.austintxgensoc.org/index.php)
Williamson County Genealogical Society (www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txwcgs/index.htm)
Texas Tombstone Photo Page
(http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/cemph/cemphoto.html)
Travis County Archives
(http://www.traviscountyhistory.org/contact.html)
Handbook of Texas Online
(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History database
(http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp)
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System searchable database from the National Park Service
(http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/index.html)
Questions? Contact the Reference Desk
Phone:
Email:
(512) 381-1403 during regular library hours
[email protected]
Down to Brass Tacks -- Database Specifics
The genealogy databases may be accessed from the library homepage (westbanklibrary.com).
1. Log into your library account.
2. A pop up window will open; Look in the upper right-hand corner of the new window and
enter your library card number and your telephone number as directed.
3. The next screen you see will be the Premium Resources page which provides access to
Genealogy and other databases.
4. The GenealogyBank database is available directly from the Westbank Library electronic
resources page. To access other Genealogy databases, you can select the TexShare
Databases icon.
5. Using GenealogyBank:
Holding your mouse curser over the GenealogyBank icon on the page above will show you
information about the contents of the database and provide you with username and
password information:
6. Click the GenealogyBank icon from the Westbank Library electronic resources homepage
and enter the “westbank” username and password, if needed.
7. Access the search area of the GenealogyBank database by clicking America’s
GenealogyBank.
8. You are now at the search interface for America’s GenealogyBank! Here you can type the
name of a family or individual you would like to locate more information about.
9. Notice that both Historical and Modern information is available from America’s
GenealogyBank.
10. A search for the name Ralph Douglas yielded the following results:
11.To review these results further, choose document type desired (i.e. Historical
Newspapers). Next, click the headline of a story to read it further.
Document
Type
12. Many genealogical researchers find useful information in America's Obituaries
document type, in part, because the death date and location are listed.
13. To check out the TexShare Databases genealogy offerings, click the TexShare
Databases icon on the Westbank Library electronic resources homepage.
14. The page below will now load. Click the TexShare Databases Menu option to access the
list of available databases.
15. The genealogy databases are listed below the heading History and Genealogy.
HeritageQuest is another genealogical research database available to you that may be
used from home or in the library.
16. To begin your investigation in HeritageQuest, select one of the Search options on
HeritageQuest’s opening screen.
17. The Census may be searched by entering the Last and first names of the individual you
are inquiring about.
18. Please feel free to refer back to page 1 of this Genealogy Resources Available @ The
Westbank Community Library District document to see detailed explanations of the other
HeritageQuest database offerings.
Other Genealogical Research Tools Available From the TexShare Databases
Digital Sanborn Maps
This is a collection of Texas fire insurance maps dated 1867-1970. The printable map files
provide information about the history, growth, and development of Texas cities, towns, and
neighborhoods, and may be helpful to historians and genealogists.
Handbook of Texas Online
The Handbook of Texas, created by the Texas State Historical Association, is a multidisciplinary
encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture offering concise, authoritative, and
accessible articles. Readers will find this collection of over 23,000 articles on people, places,
events, historical themes, institutions, and other topics to be factual, nonpartisan accounts on
virtually every aspect of Texas history and culture.
Texas Reference Center (from Ebsco)
The Texas Reference Center database is comprised of periodicals, reference books, reports, and
newspapers specific to Texas. Use this database to search for articles about people, places and
events.
Enjoy your quest!
Please feel free to ask for help or let us know what other
library materials could be useful in your research.