Genealogy Pointers

In part 2 and 3, I introduced you to the FamilySearch Web site Research Guidance tools. Now we are ready to move on to two more online tools, which are great resources for learning more about genealogy. The Research Helps, genealogy research aid is useful when you need to learn more about how to conduct family history research within a specific geographic area and when you need help in determining which records to search.

After you have located the records you would like to request, then it is time for a visit to your local Family History Center.

Here’s the information on what this tool can do for you, how it can help your genealogy research and then visiting your Family History Center.

Research Helps
Research Help is an easy-to-use index collection of research helps on the FamilySearch site. It includes a lot of excellent educational and research materials including:

Research Outlines
This is a collection of over 150 research outlines that describe content; use and availability of records that help you find information about your ancestors that resided in a specific geographic location. Under each heading in the research outline, there will be information about a specific record category, which will include such things as:

Different records which are available
Family History Library’s book, microfilm, and microfiche numbers
Years of availability for each record
Titles of books containing compiled records
Contact information for other repositories of records.

There are how-to guides for each of the U.S. states and Canadian provinces, as well as many other countries and regions including Europe, Latin America, Caribbean, Australia and Scandinavia. These research outlines will help you to understand what records you should be searching for and will save you hours of time. Beginners and experienced researchers should always use this.

Forms
Forms are free downloadable forms include timelines, census worksheets, research logs, to do lists, and pedigree charts.

Guides
Guides which explain step-by-step how to do your research in a variety of topics including census records, indexes and collections, birth/marriage/death records, maps and more. Other research guides include lists of important historical events by area and topics for beginners just getting started in genealogy research.

Maps
Maps are a great research that covers a wide variety of time periods and countries around the world. They are very useful for determining boundary changes.

Word Lists
List that contain words from various countries with their English translations. The words included in these lists are those that you are likely to find in genealogical sources.

Once you are on the familysearch.org site, click on either Search for Ancestors or the Search tab and then select Research Helps from the blue navigation bar near the top of the page.

Now it’s time for a visit. There is a vast network of over 3,400 branches of Family History Centers (FHC). The use of any Family History Center is free, and the public is welcome. Church and community volunteers are on hand to answer questions and lend assistance. These satellite libraries contain a large number of resources to help you with your genealogy research including:

Genealogy records
Genealogy books and maps
Family histories
Family tree databases

The majority of the Family History Centers have a large number of books, microfilms and microfiche in their permanent collections, which can be viewed at any time. However, many of the records, which you will be interested in, will not be immediately available at your local FHC. These records can be requested on loan for you by a volunteer at your FHC from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. There is a small fee that is required to borrow materials from the Family History Library, around $3.00 - $5.00 per film. Once requested, the record will usually take anywhere from two weeks to five weeks to come in to your local center and will remain there for three weeks for your viewing before being returned to the center.

The Family History Center is a friendly, helpful place, which exists solely to help you with your genealogy research.