MyHeritage Library Edition
A Bellevue University Library Guide
What is MyHeritage Library Edition?
MyHeritage Library Edition is an online genealogy resource that features billions of primary historical records from the United States, Europe, and other regions, with coverage spanning the past five centuries. Often accompanied by true document images, these records include the full U.S. federal census, hundreds of millions of European records, more than 80 million gravestone photos, and more than 80 million historical photographs. Location and keyword search options enable the researcher to directly access information about a specific region or topic.
How to access MyHeritage Library Edition
Mouse over Find on the library homepage then click on Databases. Now click on the letter M under "Browse by title." If off-campus, you will be prompted for your BRUIN Connect login. Once you are logged into one database, you are logged into all of them until you close your browser.
How to use
The homepage provides several ways to search for information on your ancestor: You do not have to fill out all the information but fill in as much as you can..
- Search all historical records. Fill in as much basic information as you can about your ancestor to search through all available historical records, such as census records, birth, marriage and death records, military records, and more.
- Advanced Search. This gives you a few more options for providing information about your ancestor, including relatives and life events by date and/or place.
- Search records by location. Click on a general area of the map on the homepage to display all the countries in that area. Click on the one your ancestor lived and you will be directed to a screen where you can fill in basic information about your ancestor. It will search all the available collections of records from that country.
- Categories. You may also choose to just search a particular type of record for information about your ancestor
- Choose the category or sub-category you wish to search.
- Depending on the category you choose, a form will be displayed where you can provide information relevant to this type of record.
The results page provides names of people that at least partially match the information provided. The number of stars indicates the closeness of the match.
- The source of the information is listed first, such as birth records, census records, etc.
- Other known information is listed next, including birth date and place, residence, spouse's name and children's names.
- The left column shows the information you entered, with an option to edit this search or start a new search. Beneath this are ways to narrow down by category (type of record) or refine by information (first and last name, birth year and place, and names of parents.
- Click on any record to view it. You can click on images to enlarge or view full screen.
- Beneath the record, there may be related records and people listed under "Record Detective."
Types of records available. Not all records are available for every person or every country.
- Complete US and UK census records
- Public records, such as birth, baptism, marriage, death, and burial records, including millions of international records
- Military records, immigration records, and passenger lists
- Directories, guides, references, biographies, and yearbooks
- Historical photographs
- Government land and court records
- Family trees posted by family members.
Other features and tips
- MyHeritage recognizes variations in spellings of names.
- If you are sure of the information you provided, you can check the "Exact search" option but bear in mind that names are often misspelled on records or have variations.
- It allows you to provide exact or approximate dates with a selected plus or minus range of years.
- When a record comes up for your ancestor that lists other family members, often you can click on one or more of the names to bring up records for that person.
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