Local library offers resources for ancestry research

SELMER, Tenn. — Inside the History Room at the Jack McConico Memorial Library in Selmer, you can find just about anything you need related to years gone by, but a new service is making finding the information easier.

The McNairy County libraries are now offering Ancestry Library.

“We had it last year, starting in March, and we had a really good response. We had about 2,000 searches last year on it,” Emily Harris, Assistant Director of McNariy County Libraries, said. “You’re able to search not only the U.S. collection, but also the Canadian collection, the UK collections, other international collections.”

You type in as much or as little information as you know about the person, and then click search.

Harris says she’s found out some interesting things about her own history.

“I was able to find a World War I draft card for my grandfather on there as well, so it’s really a neat resource,” Harris said.

And if other people have already done some research, you can see a whole family tree.

The library is also offering classes to teach people how to use the website.