by Sara Wagner, Digital Branch Librarian

I’ll admit it: I’ve been bit by the genealogy bug. It’s like a big treasure hunt, finding documents to prove that my mother’s mother’s father’s father’s mother’s father’s mother Phoebe (aka my 5th great-grandmother) was indeed a Tilson before she married my 5th great-grandfather and became a Bundy at the turn of the 19th century. If so, then one very tiny branch of my family tree came to North America on the Mayflower. How. Cool. Is. That?

However, there’s an overwhelming number of documents out there to help me in my search, and it can seem daunting to try and hunt them all down. Enter Ancestry.com. It has national and state census data from 1940 and earlier, baptism and marriage documents since churches around the world first began recording such things, Social Security death records, US war draft cards and pension information, and so much more.

Here at the Kansas City Public Library, we know that Ancestry.com is a vital resource for genealogists, so for the last several years we have included it in our list of digital resources. Typically, the site can only be accessed via Library log-in while physically in one of our 10 locations. In this socially distanced, stay-at-home time, however, Ancestry.com has temporarily lifted limitations and, for a brief time, you can access the Library Edition of Ancestry.com from the comfort of your own home.

If, like me, you’ve already started your own free account on Ancestry.com to build your family tree, you will not be able to link the records you find in the Library Edition to your own tree. However, most records are downloadable. You still can save them, then upload and save the records to your own tree if you wish. All you need is an active Kansas City Public Library card (click here if you do not have one) and access to the internet.

Oh, and don’t forget to fill out the current U.S. Census online, so that your great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren will be able to fill out their own family trees!