Salem Utah Family History Center

The Salem Utah Family History center serves the Salem Stake and Salem West Stake.

Center Contacts and Hours
Location Map:


 * 695 S 300 W, Salem, UT 84653 United States
 * Use the Northwest entrance of the Salem West Stake center building
 * Link to Google Map

Phone: 801-423-0130

E-mail: [mailto:utah_salem@ldsmail.net ut_salem@ldsmail.net]

Family HIstory Center Director: Ralph and Susan Hughes hughesrsfamily@gmail.com Ralph cell ph: 801-319-6121 Susan cell ph: 801-362-9492

Assistant Director: Barbara Petersen ph. 801-423-3696

Open Hours: 


 * Tuesday: 10am-3pm   Tuesday evening by appointment only
 * Wednesday: 10am-3pm   7pm-9pm
 * Thursday: 10am-3pm   7pm-9pm
 * Friday: 10am-3pm

Holiday Schedule 2016: 

Closed:


 * Good Friday--March 25, 2016
 * Spring Break, April 5-8, 2016 Reopen April 12
 * Independence Day--July 1, 2016
 * Pioneer Day-- July 22, 2016
 * Summer Break--August 9-19, 2016 Reopen August 23
 * Veteran's Day--November 11, 2016 
 * Thanksgiving--November 22-25, 2016 Reopen November 29, 2016
 * Christmas--December 20, 2016-December 30, 2016 Reopen January 3, 2017

Events
Family Day of Discovery - October 15, 2016

CLASSES - Sunday Evening Family History Classes at the Family History Center
 * May 29 - Building a Treehouse - How to use FamilySearch faster and more effectively.
 * Handout LESSON 7 BUILDING A TREEHOUSE

How to use FamilySearch faster and more effectively. Stop wasting your time looking for a record that doesn’t exist. How to search records that haven’t been indexed yet.

1. FILTER SEARCHES

a. Default Search – focuses on name and birth data

b. Name - Name includes variations on that name. This can be good as names usually have several spellings. This search will also include many nicknames. However too many variations can also be a problem if it returns too many hits. Clicking this box will make it an exact search. Exact searches aren’t always good as they leave out variations. Females search only maiden names. You may need to change the last name to a married name.

c. Birth - Birthplace will only search what you have in the Vital Records Box. Make sure places are standardized before searching. Be careful clicking the exact box for places that include towns. Records may only be on a county or even a state level. Birth Year comes in as a range. It starts 2 years before the date and ends 2 years after the date. This gives a 5 year range.

d. Marriage, residence, or death - If you are looking for a Marriage, residence, or death open the box and fill in the blanks. Most of the time in these searches less is more. Putting in just the state will bring back a better search. Residence searches are especially helpful when looking for a census.

e. Search with a Relationship - Searching with a relationship can help bring focus to a search. For example adding a spouse’s name can help find a marriage record. Adding Parents can help sort out records when there are many people in an area with the same last name. Sometimes I remove the child’s first name and add parents. This can help find un-named infants.

f. Restrict Records by Location – I hate when I am searching in Massachusetts and get records from New York. Restricting records by location can stop this.

g. Restrict Records by Type - Restricting records by Type can also bring focus to the exact record that you are looking for.

h. Lock Filters - Locking the filters can help when you are using the same search over and over so you don’t have to keep typing the same information in.

i. Filtering your results by collections, birthplace, birth year, marriage, etc. - These filters usually have to be clicked multiple times to work well. Filters will only appear if there is a result in that category

2. SEARCHING COLLECTIONS – Remove the Haystack and find the Needle.

a. Change from Records Tab to Collections Tab - Use this search when looking for a specific record such as the 1900 Census.

b. Search an EXACT Collection – Use this search when looking for missing children or their records.

c. Search Record Collections from SEARCH

i. Indexed Historical Records – Only about 30% of record collections found in FamilySearch are indexed.

ii. Image Only Historical Records – These images can be browsed. The search engines do NOT search them.

1. Research by Location – Map search. This search separates the indexed records from the unindexed.

2. Browse all Published Collections – Use filters to narrow search. This search mixes indexed and unindexed records together. Numbers mean it is an indexed record and Browse Images means it is unindexed.

3. GENEALOGIES

a. What is included in Genealogies: Guild of One-name studies, Ancestral File, Pedigree Resource File, IGI, Community Trees, and Oral Genealogies.

b. Easiest place to access Genealogies is at the bottom of a record search. If there is a match in genealogies then it will appear here. A word of Caution. Accuracy of the data in these genealogies varies from tree to tree. Validate all data.

4. CATALOG – This is the Catalog for the Salt Lake Family History Library

a. The Catalog is a guide to birth, marriage, and death records; census records; church registers; books; periodicals; family histories and many other records that contain genealogical information. These records may be searchable online, on microfiche or microfilm, in a book or in a computer file.

b. Most microfilm and microfiche records can be sent to your nearest FamilySearch Center.

5. BOOKS - Family History Books is a collection of more than 200,000 digitized genealogy and family history publications from the archives of some of the most important family history libraries in the world. The collection includes family histories, county and local histories, genealogy magazines and how-to books, gazetteers, and medieval histories and pedigrees. The valuable resources included in Family History Books come from the following partner institutions:

a. Allen County Public Library

b. Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library

c. Brigham Young University Idaho David O. McKay Library

d. Brigham Young University Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library

e. Church History Library

f. Family History Library

g. Houston Public Library - Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research

h. Mid-Continent Public Library - Midwest Genealogy Center

i. Historical Society of Pennsylvania

j. Onondaga County Public Library

k. University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries

l. Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records

6. FAMILYSEARCH WIKI - When you search in the Wiki you can search for places your ancestors lived, but also for subjects and research methods to help you understand and learn about the history of your families.

a. The Wiki has information from the United States, as well as from 244 countries. Here you will be able to find information about records available in these countries as well as links to documents, such as census records, marriage records, birth records and death records, and much more. Probate documents are often very informative and may help you in your search. There is an extensive list of links to United States military records on the Wiki.

b. With research and reading, combined with some information gathering to lay the groundwork, you can begin to construct your family tree and fill in the blanks that may have eluded you. The FamilySearch Wiki is a wonderful place to start to learn about the places your ancestors resided in order to be better able to discover further information and records!

c. Search by location – Find out what records are available in that location including what years.

d. Search by subject – Learn about specific events your ancestor was involved in.

e. Research Methods – learn how to research in other countries.


 * June 5 - Build a Bigger Treehouse - How to use Ancestry.com to find hidden treasures for your Family Tree.
 * June 12 - Growing Trees - Using Google to find more information about your ancestors

Staff Training Meetings
First Wednesday evening of each month at 7:00 pm at the Family History Center

Collections

 * FamilySearch Catalog: This center has the ability to order any of the films and fiche available through the FamilySearch Catalog.

Databases and Software

 * FHC Portal This center has access to the Family History Center Portal page which gives free access in the center to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.

Hardware and Equipment

 * 14- Windows 7 computers, laser printers, 1 fiche reader and 3 film readers, 2 deck scanners

Links
City of Salem: Website

Salem City Library: Website