Ancestry.com Is Granting Free Remote Access to Search Your Family History During the Quarantine

The library is a great resource for a lot of things including uncovering your family roots using genealogy databases. Most libraries rely on Ancestry.com to populate that feature.

So, here’s the really cool part.

Ancestry.com, along with their partner ProQuest, has granted everyone who has a public library card access to their Ancestry Library Edition. All you need is a public library card and internet access.

The Joliet Public Library had this to say:

Here’s good news for genealogy researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread library closures. Joliet Public Library card holders have been given access, from anywhere, to Ancestry Library Edition, the popular online genealogy research tool, through the month of May. Normally, card holders can access the library edition of the research site only while in the library.

This is NOT restricted to just the Joliet Public Library. I’m about 99% sure every public library who uses Ancestry.com’s data is now offering free remote access.

Folks, I was up until 1:00 a.m. flipping through marriage licenses, death certificates, military paperwork and immigration documents. Before yesterday, I had no idea who the individuals in my family were who immigrated from Europe. Now I know of three names that were born in Poland and ended up in Wisconsin/Illinois. Or that my grandfather’s brother was a Marine who died in battle in Korea.

I’ve always been fascinated with my family’s genealogy, so this is truly a gift, and it’s something I will be spending a significant amount of time on!

Now is the perfect time to start filling in the leaves on your family tree!

Grab your library card, log on to your local library’s website and get crackin’!