Heritage Album

What records do Family History Centers have?

I'm going to one on Monday. Their website doesn't give much info so I thought I'd ask people who'd been there. I'd like to know who were the god-parents and witnesses of my earliest know ancestors to see if I can link to related families, do Family History Centers have Catholic records for Pennsylvania and Massachusetts? I know not all centers have the same things but I would rent the microfilm from the head-office if they had the record there. Also do they have civil death records?

Public Comments

1. FHC's sometimes keep copies of records that others have asked for from FHC Central in Salt Lake City. So, what the one you go to has will depend on who has gone there before you. They will also have volunteers with years of experience who can help; a catalog of CFHC Central's vast holdings; microfilm/microfiche readers; and PC's with fast connections. Chances are reasonable someone there will be an Ancestry subscriber and willing to look things up for you.
2. They will have most of the basic records for the area.....and then some others that people have asked to see and they have got in for them, which you can look at. Once you are there you ca see what they do have and then ask for them to order exactly what you would like to see and they will get them for you, which means that they will then be there for you and other to see them in the future.....you hope is that someone is also tracing in the same area/records that you are hoping to see in which case the records are very likely to already be there....it is also nice that you have people there you can ask about your family history and may give you some ideas where to look for information that you haven't though of yourself
3. You can check the Family History Library catalog online from your home computer and see exactly what they have at the big library in Salt Lake. Whatever they have on microfilm, you'll be able to order for $5.00 per roll. To check the catalog... 1. Go to http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp 2. Click on Place Search 3. In the box for "Place", enter the county; in the "Part of" box, enter the state 4. Click on the link that comes up. You'll get a list of catagories of records they have for that location (Biographies, Cemeteries, Court Records, etc). Click on a catagory and you'll get a list of the records they have. Click on a record and it will give you details - if it's a film or a book, what it covers, etc. You can also click on the box at the top right that says "View related places." For instance, if you're searching Suffolk County, Massachusetts, you'll pull up records that cover the entire county; by clicking related places, you'll find other records that cover specific towns, like Boston. The folks at the Family History Center will help you find and order the films you want. It usually takes a couple weeks for the microfilm to arrive, and it stays at your local FHC for about 4 weeks. If you renew it twice, it will stay there indefinitely - which is nice if you have a film you might refer to again in the future. Family History Centers are awesome! There are soooo many records, and they come right to you! You're going to love it!
4. They have access to almost anything you might want. East center has a collection of books that usually relate to the area, as well as many rolls of file that contain census records, birth and death records, news papers articles and many other things. The "head office" is the LDS Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City. The centers can order copies of microfilm from Utah, however they are not released from the centers. Your best chance of actually being able to obtain a copy of the records that you are talking about is to contact the parish where the baptism took place.