Genealogy and DNA testing are two of the fastest growing hobbies in America. At Beaumont Library, we’ll help you search down your ancestors and unlock the mysteries of your past!

Visit the Beaumont Library and you can build your family tree by using the world’s most popular public library database with free access to Ancestry Library Edition.

In addition, you will be able to find census and city directory information through HeritageQuest Online. Beaumont Library cardholders can also use this resource from home.

An amateur genealogist for more than 40 years, Beaumont Library Director Luren Dickinson has made a number of stunning discoveries over the years:

Through traditional records, he uncovered the birth parents of his father’s father who was adopted as a baby. And he confirmed that paternal line with Y-DNA testing.

He found out what happened to his Aunt Elsie who “disappeared” at age 25 in San Francisco in 1938 when he was matched to an unknown relative after both had taken an Ancestry DNA test.

And, most recently, he discovered the birth mother of his mother-in-law’s mother, who was adopted as a baby. A mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test confirmed the connection.

You can gain from his expertise as he discusses the “ABC’s of Genealogical DNA” at a special workshop on Sunday, October 27, at 3 p.m. in the Library’s Laura May Stewart Community Room.

Dickinson will review the various testing companies that most people use, the types of tests available, what can be learned from testing, and how to analyze results, with real-life examples from library staff who have been tested.

He will also present a followup workshop, “Genealogy Show & Tell / Q & A,” on Sunday, November 10, at 3 p.m. at the Library.

You might want to bring in old photos to share, like the one above dated around 1924, showing Mr. Dickinson’s mother, Ella (left), who will be 97 in December, and her older brother, Lewis (who was shot down over France in 1944 while serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII).

You will be able to hear stories about great family research breakthroughs, or share some of your own findings, and bring in the questions that are giving you the most trouble. Library staff and local experts will work together to try to come up with answers.

Beaumont Library, a California Special District independent of both city and county government, provides library services to Beaumont and Cherry Valley and is located at 125 E. Eighth Street in Beaumont. Call 951-845-1357 or visit for more information.