Family history
Newport Reference library has resources and experienced staff to help you get started on tracing your family tree.
All public access PCs in Newport libraries offer online family history search tools.
Free home access to Ancestry Library Edition
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Ancestry.com has allowed libraries to offer free home access to the Ancestry Library Edition to registered library members. This free home service will end on 31 December 2021 but you can still access Ancestry for free at your local library.
You will need your library membership card to log in.
Not a library member?
Join Newport Libraries online and we will send your library card number and PIN number to you as soon as possible.
How to access Ancestry Library Edition
Library members should go to our online library catalogue.
From the library catalogue home screen, log into your account using the link on the left-hand side of the pink bar at the top.
When you have signed in, click on the Ancestry Link at the bottom right-hand side of the home page which will take you to the homepage of the Ancestry Library Edition.
The family history resources below are available from Newport Reference Library:
- Census returns for Monmouthshire, 1841-1911 (with street indexes)
- Voters lists - Poll books from 1714 and Electoral Registers from 1830
- Local directories - locally published trade, gentry and building information from mid-18th century to the 1970s
- Maps and newspapers
- Gwent Family History Society resources, including monumental inscriptions and parish registers
- Roll of Honour - detailing casualties and those who returned wounded from the First World War
- a large selection of family history guides