Free Access to Ancestry's U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900-1999

3 Generations: 1991, 1969, 1941

Ancestry now has over 450,000 yearbooks from all 50 states! 

From Aug 27 - Sep 2, you can browse U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999 for free!

Over 450,000 yearbooks

More than 62 million pages

Is your yearbook missing?  Immortalize your yearbook by donating!

Fun Ways to Learn About Your Parents' School Life

I am always on the lookout for the Yearbooks of Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute from the 1920s and 1930s. Both my parents went there, as did many other relatives. 

A few years ago I was lucky enough to find one from 1928, one from 1929 and one from 1933. There was mention of my dad in 1928 and 1929! 

Actra Nostra, Yearbook of Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute

1928. Form 3 Industrial: "What Would You Say if You Saw" (followed by a half dozen student names, each with a one line statement) "Cecil McGinnis attend school regularly?" Hah! Sounds like my dad skipped school a lot!

1929. Alumni Section "Cec MGinnis is [working] at Holman Luggage" 

The fun thing is that I had no idea where my father worked before marrying my mother other than Biltmore Hats. Knowing he was at Holman Luggage sent me scrambling to find out more about them.

The Curator at Guelph Civil Museum told me "They made luggage and cribbage boards". I did more research and found this:

Holman Luggage was first known as the Stratford Luggage Company in 1923 and was located in Stratford. Expansion was necessary and by 1925 Mr. Ivey Holman moved the company to Guelph and it was located on the 2nd floor of 82 Yarmouth. In 1930 they moved to Carden Street in the Bell Piano building. In 1946 there was a fire and company had to relocate to 167 Suffolk St. West. Holman's stayed on Suffolk Street until they closed in 1975. The company manufactured luggage, cases and tables.

I even found a photo of my mother and notice that she had won a Typewriting Award. 

Last week I was able to purchase the 1931 GCVI Yearbook and there was my mother's name again. 

There was no photo but I found out she was in the Second year of Commercial. Now I know that I have to keep looking for the 1932 issue of Acta Nostra to see a photo of her when she graduated.

100 Years of McGill University Yearbooks Online

If you have an ancestor who attended McGill University in Montreal Quebec you won't want to miss this new database. The years online are 1898-2000 and you can browse or search by name.

For details see Gail Dever's blog post  More than 100 years of McGill University yearbooks digitized and available online

Page from 1899 McGill Yearbook

25,000 U.S. Yearbooks Added to Ancestry.com

ANCESTRY.COM EXPANDS U.S. SCHOOL YEARBOOK COLLECTION TO INCLUDE MORE THAN 150 MILLION RECORDS OF RELATIVES’ SCHOOL DAYS

PROVO, UTAH – August 24, 2011 – Ancestry.com , the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced a massive expansion of the world’s most extensive searchable collection of U.S. school yearbooks online.  The company has added nearly 25,000 new yearbooks to the collection, which now totals over 35,000 and carries 155 million records encompassing the years 1884 to 2009. The U.S. Yearbook Collection includes close to seven million images from thousands of U.S. high schools, junior highs, academies, colleges and universities.

The U.S. Yearbook Collection provides candid photos and insight into a relative’s appearance and extracurricular activities during their formative school years. The information and images contained in the collection also reveal insightful historical and cultural trends about fashion, style, politics, sports and social beliefs over the past 125 years of U.S. history. With the addition of the new records, family historians can more easily find what their current family members and ancestors looked like as youngsters and discover the types of activities in which they were involved. This collection can help tell a more complete story by offering rich details and providing context about the time their family members were in school.

"Our school years are often some of the most memorable times of our lives,” said Josh Hanna, Ancestry.com Executive Vice President. “With the additions we’ve made to our U.S. School Yearbook collection, millions of Americans can experience their family members’ school years vicariously through the photos and records contained in this important collection. The details they include are often difficult to find, and while you’re searching, you might just find a famous classmate.”

High School Yearbooks - an overlooked treasure?

A few weeks ago I found, and bought, two old yearbooks. They were from Guelph Collegiate Institute in Guelph Ontario for 1931 and 1932. Both my parents were born and raised in Guelph and I figured there was a good chance my mother at least would be mentioned in those yearbooks!

Sure enough there she was in a class photo for 1932. What a treasure! She was 16 years old and almost finished her Commercial Classes.

Other surprises in the Yearbooks were photos of Len Peer, my father's cousin. He is with the rest of the Senior Rugby Team in one photo which I have scanned and inserted here. He's the teenage boy at the top.

In the text I also spotted mention of Albert and John McGinnis, more cousins to my father. I am really enjoying going through the yearbooks, not only to look for names of relatives and ancestors, but also just to get a glimpse of what was "in" duing my mom and dad's teenage years.

I was surprised to also find death notices for students who had passed away. I decided to have a hunt for one teenage girl whose photo was with her death notice in 1931 and found her death registration on Ancestry.com Her death notice and details from her death certificate are on AncestorsAtRest blog.

The ads are amusing from my present-day perspective, as are the musical references but what is being shown and touted as the best, WAS the current rage in 1931 and 1932. It's a piece of history and I'm thrilled to have found these items.

Find School Yearbooks on E-Bay or you can hunt through old bookstores and flea markets to find your own treasure from the past.