CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, May 17, 2005 - Today the people of England and Wales come one step closer to their ancestors as Ancestry Library Edition, exclusively distributed by ProQuest Information and Learning, launches the complete 1861 Census records featuring 52 counties.

For the first time ever, the original Census records, complete with names, family members, addresses and occupations are scanned and ready to search at no additional cost to the subscription fee.

Ancestry Library Edition, powered by MyFamily.com and exclusively distributed in the library market by ProQuest, has the largest number of searchable records available on the web including four other Censuses, and the addition of the 1861 Census now gives users the chance to discover their family history over the course of 40 years.  Users can find out where their ancestors lived, who with and even how they made a living.

When using the Census to search their family tree, users may well discover famous or infamous family members. They may discover they are descendents of Queen Victoria or even the king of chocolate John Cadbury, both of whom feature as part of the 1861 records, along with Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and professional cricketer Heathfield H Stephenson.

“The past 12 months have seen a huge increase in people searching their family trees and we're very proud to have the most comprehensive Census records available online.  It would literally take months if not years to go around the country and search by hand.  We have created an online community that not only allows people to search official records but also exchange information with fellow users,” says Josh Hanna of Ancestry.co.uk.

In total, Ancestry Library Edition features over 275 million searchable names dating back to the 1500s including Census records, birth, marriage and death records, military, immigration/emigration and court, land and probate records.

If you would like further product information please e-mail marketing@proquest.co.uk

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