Genealogy
The genealogy collection of McAllen Public Library is located on the first floor of the Main Library. The collection contains over 6,500 items and is a non-circulating resource ideal for personal research.
Feel free to direct your genealogy-related questions to the reference desk of the Main Library:
(956) 688-3300
genref@mcallen.net
Genealogy Resources
TexShare Databases
Access available from: home or the library.
A variety of genealogy research databases are available through the TexShare
portal of the Texas State Library. Listed below are a list of genealogy databases which can be accessed by clicking on the image below. To access the databases from home, contact the
reference desk of any library location for the TexShare login and
password.
- Handbook of Texas Online: Explore Texas with articles on people, places, and
events.
- HeritageQuest Online:
Research materials to trace family lineage.
- Texas Digital Sanborn Maps: Historical maps for historians, geographers, and
genealogists.
- Texas Reference Center: Search EBSCO resources for Texas-related
information.
Ancestry Library
Access available from: the library only.
AncestryLibrary.com is a database of census, birth, death, and other genealogical records. Access is available only through an internet-enabled computer at all three library locations. If you are on a library computer now, click on the image below:
- Census Collections
- Vital Records Index (Birth, marriage, and death)
- Schools, Directories, and Church Histories
- and more...
Special Collections
The Main Library houses a series of special collections that supplement the core genealogy collection. These collections are located on the first floor, near the reference desk.
Directories
McAllen City Directory: 1936 - 1978, 1982, 2000
Rio Grande Valley Telephone Directory: 1969 - 2001
Cole Directory: 1961 - present
Local History Files
Contain newspaper clippings, brochures, and pictures as they relate to McAllen, Hidalgo County, and the Rio Grande Valley.
- Material is organized in vertical files according to subject. Each folder is labeled with a subject heading and indexed in a binder located at the reference desk. For a partial view of the subject headings contained within this binder: local history subjects.
Local Newspapers & Magazines
ETC Magazine: 1982 - 1983
Fiesta Magazine: 1972 - 1986
The Monitor (formerly Valley Evening Monitor): Microfilm from 1925 - present; PDF format from October 2003 - present
Monty's Monthly: 1920 - 1939
Ruth Clark Scrapbook
A digitized collection of articles pertaining to McAllen and the Lower Rio Grande Valley in the first half of the twentieth century. Ruth Clark was secretary of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce in the 1930s and ‘40s.
- Online access to the scrapbook will be restored at a future date! Please contact ReferenceLibrarian@mcallen.net with questions.
Yearbooks
Elementary
Middle School
- Brown: 1980-81
- Lamar: 1993
- Lincoln: 1971, 1983
- Morris: 1990, 2002
High School
- McAllen High School: 1937, 1942 - 1986, 1992, 1996, 2000
- Memorial High School: 1981 - 1992
- Nikki Rowe High School: 1993-2000
University
- UT-Pan American: 1948 - 1989
PLEASE NOTE: Although dates are listed for most items, chronological sequences are by no means complete. Gaps exist in all collections listed above, particularly the yearbooks. Patrons are encouraged to contact the reference desk of the Main Library to confirm a certain date or volume is available.