WHAT IS A FHC? Dear Readers, After yesterday's article, I got a bunch of e-mail from new family tree climbers wanting to know more about FHC (Family History Centers.) And in that same e-mail box was this excellent article from GFA Terry, who is a Family history Center Director in Huntsville, Alabama. I have known Terry since the old Q-LINK Online Service days. She is a great person to get to know! And she works hard to keep our AOL Genealogy Forum Message Boards in good order! <THANKS> to Terry for the following advice! Myrtrle :) .............................................................................. .............................. -- What's In a Family History Center --- 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 by volunteers. Nobody will preach to those who attend -- just as nobody would disturb you in a "regular" public library. To find one near you, look in your local phonebook for a church and call. 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, surnames, and 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" and find what books were written about it. 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, Bible, and more would be listed. You do not have to be in that state to see those records since they can be ordered from Salt Lake City's Family History Library as a temporary rental to use in your FHC for a small shipping and handling fee of about $3. They will be kept at your local FHC for about 3 weeks (longer times are available) for you to come view on microfilm or microfiche. Other countries that have let the LDS Church come in and microfilm are accessible just as easily. 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 solely 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 CD-ROM search can be done from the Military Death Index. This government-created file lists people who died either in the Korean or Vietnam Wars. If you find a name here, you can get some more information about them. This index was released into the public domain by the U.S. Government. Other indexes are available 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 copy 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," another public domain file from the U.S. Government. If a person died between 1937 and 1994 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 S.S. 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 charts. 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. 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 when and 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, an FHC Director (V1.0 - Myrtle Mustings)