----------- What's In a Family History Center -------------
                               by Terry Morgan
                               Fri Aug 21 1992
   
     Family History Centers (or FHCs) are branches of the Salt Lake City, 
Utah, Family History Library. They can be found all over the world and are 
located near or inside buildings of the "Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-day Saints". FHCs are open free to the public and run on a nonprofit 
basis and are staffed by volunteer workers.
     To find one near you, look in your local phonebook for a church and 
call. Let the phone ring a long time. Size and hours of each FHC vary. 
Since they are branches of Salt Lake's Family History (Genealogy) Library, 
they have the index to all genealogical items there. That index is called 
the "FHLC" or Family History Library Catalog. It contains 2 main sections. 

     The first section consists of authors, titles, surnames, & subjects of 
genealogy books. You could look up an ancestor's last name and see if a 
book had been written about his family and donated to the library. You 
could also look up a subject such as "Mayflower Descendants". 
     The second section of the FHLC is the Locality Catalog. All kinds of 
records with genealogical value have been microfilmed. For instance, in any 
FHC you could look up Virginia in the Locality Catalog and see what kinds 
of records have been microfilmed from there. Records such as birth, 
marriage, church, probate, land, military and more would be listed. 
     You do not have to be in that state to see those records since they 
can be ordered (rented) from Salt Lake to view for a small shipping and 
handling fee of about $3. They will be kept at the local FHC for about 3 
weeks (longer times are available) for you to come view on microfilm. 
     Other countries that have let the LDS Church come in and microfilm are 
accessable just as easily. We have *something* from nearly every country on 
earth. You could look up German, English, Canadian, etc., records. The FHLC 
is on microfiche and also CD-ROMs for FHCs equipped with computers. 
     Another useful file is the IGI (International Genealogical Index). 
This consists soley of names. You could look up an ancestor's name and see 
if it had been previously researched and submitted to us. If you find the 
name listed, you could save hours of research. Along with the name will be 
birth or marriage information and a place that event took place. This file 
is also available on microfiche or CD-ROMs.
     A new CD-ROM search can be done from the Military Death Index. This 
government file lists people who died either in the Korean or Vietnam Wars. 
If you find a name here, you can get a little more information about them.

     Depending on size, other indexes can also be used as you look for your 
ancestors. The "Family Registry" can be very helpful. This fiche file, 
consists of names people are working on and a registry of family 
organizations or of people wanting to start one. 
     For example, if you wish to have contact with all the people named 
"Smith", you could start a family organization and advertise it for free 
here. If you are looking for a specific person such as John Smith, born in 
Australia in 1875, you could also register him. Contributions to this file 
are free. (I found 4 relatives myself here!!!) Other people will then see 
the name you are working on and have your address. 
     Another microfiche file found in many FHCs is the AIS (Accelerated 
Indexing Systems). This is a census index for the United States. If you 
have an ancestor who lived in the U.S., but you have no idea what state, 
looking in this microfiche file could help. If you find his name, you will 
get a census place, year and even page number. The census film could then 
be ordered from the FHC, if desired. The AIS is particularly useful for 
finding people who lived in the mid-1800s, but census years from 1906 (and 
some mortality schedules) and earlier are listed.
     If the FHC is equipped with a CD-ROM computer, more files can be 
searched. (Some indexes discussed here are available only on microfiche and 
some only on CD-ROMs and some on both). 
     One CD-ROM-only file is the "Social Security Death Index", a public 
domain file from the U.S. Government. If a person died between 1937 and 
1988 and had a Social Security number (and his death was reported to the 
S.S. office), you could look him up here. You DON'T need to know the SS 
number, only a name or part of a name. 
     Another large CD-ROM file is the "Ancestral File on CD". This is a 
good place to start or check on your first visit to an FHC. It consists of 
pedigree charts and group sheets on millions of names. If your ancestor is 
here, you can get descendants' addresses and their pedigree chart. Keep in 
mind that this is only an "opinion" file. These charts were donated by 
others - they are only as accurate as the submitters wrote them. A new 
feature has been added where you can submit corrections to this index which 
then appear on a future update. Updates appear once a year - in the late 
fall.
     Don't forget to check the FHC reference books. Of special use are the 
"Research Guides". If, for example, you are researching names in Kentucky, 
you could read the Research Guide for Kentucky. It will tell you about what 
kind of records were kept there, names and addresses of genealogical 
societies and MORE! Don't overlook these valuable booklets. Other books may 
be on hand such as the "Handybook for Genealogists" or "The Source". 
  
                        --Terry Ann in Alabama, FHC Director

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