What a month! 815 million records were added to MyHeritage in the month of February 2020: 545 million records from U.S. City Directories, 250 million of inventors of historical patents, 6.9 million from Canadian newspapers from 1752–2007, 4.7 million of famous people throughout history, 3.4 million from the Minnesota Birth Index 1900–1934, and 4.5 million from the Minnesota Death Index 1904–2001. This update brings the total number of historical records in MyHeritage SuperSearch
to 11.9 billion.
Here is a list of the new collections:
| Collection | Description | Number of Records | Link to Search |
|---|---|---|---|
 U.S. City Directories | A huge collection of historical U.S. city directories produced from 25,000 public U.S. city directories published between 1860 and 1960. | 545,346,859 records | Search collection now |
 Inventors of historical patents | An index of inventors of historical patents issued around the world. | 250,469,807 records | Search collection now |
 Canada Newspapers, 1752-2007 | A compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns across Canada from 1752 to 2007. | 6,961,070 records | Search collection now |
 Famous People Throughout History | This collection contains biographical summaries of millions of notable people from around the world. | 4,700,220 records | Search collection now |
 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 | This collection contains an index to birth records from Minnesota from 1900 to 1934. | 3,406,802 records | Search collection now |
 Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001 | This collection includes an index of death records from Minnesota from 1904 to 2001. | 4,460,579 records | Search collection now |
City directories contain an alphabetical list of adult residents and heads of household, often with their spouse, with addresses and occupations and additional information. This collection is a huge compilation from 25,468 city directories published in 1860–1960 across the United States, created exclusively by MyHeritage using advanced machine learning technologies. It comprises 1.3 billion individual records, which were consolidated to hundreds of millions of aggregated records, each featuring the same individual who lived in the same set of addresses during a span of years. The consolidation reduces duplication and makes this collection particularly easy and convenient to navigate.
Example: Thomas A. Edison, widely regarded as one of the greatest American inventors, is listed in the Fort Myers city directory along with his second wife, Mina, from 1921, 1925–1926, and 1927, as living at 606 McGregor Boulevard, where his occupation is listed as inventor. Edison invented the electric light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera. He established his first laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, but later moved down to Fort Myers and opened a botanic laboratory.
Learn more about the U.S. City Directories in this in-depth blog post.
Famous People Throughout History
This free collection of 4.7 million records contains biographical summaries of notable people from around the world. Living and deceased persons detailed in this collection include, among others, actors, musicians, authors, inventors, artists, and politicians.
Records may contain the following searchable information: names (including aliases as well as names in non-Latin scripts), birth dates and places, marriage dates and places, death dates and places, names of relatives, names of spouses and former spouses, and names of children. Occupations, burial places, and descriptions may also be found in some of the records.
Search Famous People Throughout History
Inventors of Historical Patents
This collection is a vast index of inventors of patents issued around the world. The most common countries of origin are the United States, Japan, and China, which together constitute more than half of the collection. Records may contain the following searchable information: first and last name of the owner or co-owner of the patent, the country where the patent was published, and the date of publication. The following may also be found in most records: title, abstract, publication number, filing date, and the assignee.
Example: Jonas Edward Salk, the prolific American medical researcher and virologist who discovered and developed one of the first successful polio vaccines, refused to patent it, saying “Does one patent the sun?” He believed public health should be considered a “moral commitment.” and had no interest in personal profit. His later studies, however — research to develop a vaccine for AIDS as part of the Immune Response Corporation — were patented and can be found in this collection.
Bonus: you can find in this collection a patent granted to famous genealogist Randall (Randy) Seaver in 1984, describing a thrust reversing system for controlling the fan gases from a thrust producing aircraft engine.
Search Inventors of historical patents
This collection is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns across Canada from 1752 to 2007 in the English language. It includes many localities prior to the Canadian confederation in 1867. Newspapers are an important resource for genealogy and family history research as they contain obituaries and other vital record substitutes such as birth, marriage, and death notices. Additionally, society pages and stories of local interest contain rich information on activities and events in the community and often provide details about the persons involved.
Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900–1934
This collection contains an index to birth records from Minnesota from 1900 to 1934. Information may include: first name, middle name, and last name of the child. It may also include the date and county of birth, and certificate number. In some cases, the mother’s maiden name is also available.
Birth certificates were used to record birth information beginning in 1907. When a child was born, a physician or midwife compiled information about the child on a birth certificate. The certificate was registered with the local county registrar. Birth cards were used to collect birth information from 1900 to 1907. Unlike birth certificates, many birth cards were not filled out completely. 80% of this collection takes place between 1907–1937, 19% is from 1900–1907, and 1% is from before 1900.
Search the Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900–1934
Minnesota, Death Index, 1904–2001
This collection includes an index of death records from Minnesota, from 1904 to 2001. Information may include the name of the deceased, their date of death, county of death, date of birth, county of birth and certificate number. It may also include the mother’s maiden name when available.
Information for the years 1908–2001 is recorded from death certificates as recorded by a physician or a mortician. Information in this collection for years prior to 1908 is taken from death cards. Unlike death certificates, many death cards were not filled out completely. Cards, especially for the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, frequently contain little more information than the name of the deceased, date of death, sex, marital status, birthplace, cause of death, and person reporting the death.
Search the Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001
Summary
Searching these collections on MyHeritage SuperSearch is free, and you can also view records from the free collections for free. To view records from the paid collections, or to save records from all collections to your family tree, you’ll need a Data or Complete subscription.
If you have a family tree on MyHeritage, our Record Matching technology will notify you automatically if records from these collections match your relatives. You’ll then be able to review the record and decide if you’d like to add the new information to your tree.
Enjoy the new collections!
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Source: My Heritage
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