HOW TO GET STARTED VOLUNTEER STAFF MEMBERS CAN HELP YOU BEGIN
Family History Centers are located throughout the world to help members of The Church of jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others search the records of their ancestors.
This center has a staff of dedicated volunteers who can help you begin to investigate your family's history. Ask a staff member for a copy of where Do I Start?, a guide that introduces five simple steps to help you identify your ancestors.
The Where Do I Start? guide also contains information about searching family history records. There are two main types of family history records: (1) original records, such as birth, marriage, and death records, and (2) compilations of information found in original records, such as biographies. Staff member ' s and reference materials in the center can give you information about which records to search and how to search them.
COMPUTER FILES HASTEN YOUR SUCCESS
Several large files of family history information are available It the computers in the center This collection of files is called Family search. One of the files, "Ancestral File", is a compilation of genealogies contributed by thousands of people, including patrons of our Family History Centers. The information is mostly about deceased people. The file contains millions of names, linked into family pedigrees.
Another Family Search file, called International Genealogical Index' (IGI), lists dates and places of births, christenings, and marriages of millions of deceased people who lived in the period from the early 1500s to the early 1900s. These data have been extracted from thousands of original records.
The Family History Library Catalog"' is also available on Family Search. It lists the holdings of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. A staff member can help you find family histories, biographies, genealogies, and other compilations in the catalog. Many of these materials are on microfilm and can be loaned to local Family History Centers for a small fee.
THIS CENTER IS A DOOR TO A VAST STOREHOUSE OF ORIGINAL RECORDS
I centers coordinate their efforts with the Family History Library ,in Salt Lake City, Utah, which has over two million rolls of microfilm containing copies of original records from more than a hundred countries, They include vital, census, church, land, and probate records and Other records of genealogical value.
This vast collection of microfilm has been acquired through the cooperation of governments, churches, and individual record custodians throughout the world. The master negative of each film is stored in the Granite Mountain Records Vault, which is located just outside of Salt Lake City.
Copies of these films are available for your use through Church Family History Centers located throughout the world.
ANCESTRAL FILE IS A WINDOW TO YOUR
Extended Family
You are invited to submit the information you compile about your
ancestors so that it can be included in the Ancestral File.
This will enable you to:
- Coordinate your family history research with others working on the same family lines.
- Reduce time-consuming and expensive duplication of effort.
- Make your family information available to relatives and researchers at over 2,800 Family Search sites in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Pacific.
- Help build the resources that have been made available to you.
There is no fee for contributing your family information to the
Ancestral File. Ask a staff member for more information.
