Tucson Arizona Family History Center

The Tucson Family History Center serves the Tucson area. Established in the 1980's, it houses a large collection of family histories and genealogy books which were donated by the Arizona State Genealogical Society.

Center Contacts and Hours
Location &amp; Map:


 * 500 S. Langley, Tucson, AZ 85710
 * The free standing building is located on the north east side of the Tucson East Stake Center parking lot, south of Palo Verde Park. There is ample parking and handicap accessibility.
 * Map:Tucson Arizona Family History Center' 

Phone: 520-298-0905

E-mail: [mailto:az_tucson@ldsmail.net az_tucson@ldsmail.net]

Open Hours:


 * Tuesday 10 am - 9 pm
 * Wednesday 10 am - 2 pm
 * Thursday 10 am - 9 pm
 * Friday 10 am - 5 pm
 * Saturday 10 am - 5 pm
 * Closed: April 6, October 5, August 20-24, November 28, 29, 30, December 20 - January 2

Upcoming events:
Family History Fair 2014 will be held on January 25th from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM, with classes for all levels of genealogists. A full schedule will be posted at a later date.

Past events:
"Optimizing Google as a Genealogical Research Tool" by Amy Urman was taught April 17.Handout

Family History in the 21st Century - This Family History Fair was presented January 26, 2013 at the Tucson East Stake Center. Links to the class handouts are below.


 * Priesthood Leader Session (Handout)


 * Making the Most of Ancestry.com: With more than 11 billion records and 31,000 searchable databases, Ancestry.com is the most popular website for genealogy research. However, the sheer amount of data can make searching for your ancestors seem daunting. This class will help you navigate the records more efficiently and provide an overview of the other resources available to users of Ancestry.com. (Handout)
 * British Research for Beginners
 * British Isles Research - Beyond Parish Records
 * Genealogy subscription websites available at no charge through the FHC: Many of the major websites useful for genealogy research charge a fee. Several of these can be accessed at LDS Family History Centers without charge. This class is an overview of these websites. (Handout)
 * Civil War Records and Research: From the time of their draft or enlistment through their death from old age, veterans of both sides of the Civil War left behind a legacy of records. This program will cover the types of records generated at the beginning of service, during service, and post-service. We'll also cover eligibility and pension acts, as well as the pension records. What to look for and how to locate it. (Handout)
 * Family History for Those Who Think It's Done and Fleshing Out Your Pioneer History: Many members of the LDS Church whose families have been members for several generations believe that their family history is complete. This class suggests several family history projects which can be considered by these individuals. Also, we will briefly consider resources one can investigate if they would like to know more about their Pioneer ancestors. (Handout)
 * German Research Tips (Handout)
 * Finding the Living: Tips to get you started to find lost family and friends from Private Investigator Amy Urman. (Handout)
 * Finding the Dead - Sources to Research: Paper Trail of Death - Sources to locate death and burial information other than a standard death certificates. (Handout)
 * OK, I'm Sitting in Front of the Computer - Now What Do I Do?: Getting organized and places to go to find your ancestors.
 * Immigration - Finding the Details of Your Ancestor's Arrival in America: This class will focus on where to search for information that will lead you to your ancestor's immigrant ship. Sources for ships' lists - both on line and in libraries - will also be discussed. (Handout)
 * Scots-Irish Research: "The Scots-Irish" a brief history of the origins of these unique people. The emphasis of this class will be finding appropriate records on individuals ranging from the 1800s in America back to the 1500s in Great Britain. On line source handouts will be provided.(Handout)
 * "Will" You or Won't You? - Wills and Probates: This wills and probates 101 class will take you through the probate process from wills to death to probate to settlement. We will discuss terminology, genealogical tidbits found in probate documents, and where and how to look for probate documents. (Handout)
 * On-Line Resources and Tools - Not Limited to the Family History Center Portal: Emphasis on Google Earth, Google Maps, and related resources. (Handout)
 * Family History Basics - Setting Up Space, Gathering and Entering Information, Scanning, and Preserving: This course will focus on how to organize your paper research and get them digitized. It will teach tips on creating an electronic filing system, naming files, scanning photographs and documents, and photo/document preservation. (Handout access)
 * FamilySearch Indexing - Serving in Family History from Home or Anywhere: Over 2 billion genealogical records are searchable online for free through the efforts of volunteers. But the work is not done, and the need for indexers worldwide is growing. Anyone can index, anywhere, for just minutes a day. This class will show you how easy it is to participate in this global project by taking you through a live demonstration of the Indexing program. (Handout)
 * Maps, the Best Kept Family History Research Secret (Handout)
 * Audio Digitizing: Use Free Software to record tapes, or real time audio and then clean up background noise. Share files as MP3's or CD's and more. (Handout)
 * Document Digitizing: Emphasis is on scanning hand written and typed documents - photo albums, etc. with brief coverage of movie and video digitization.(Handout)
 * Oral Histories: Capture Living Legends. Good questions and strategies for starting dialog and conversation that can be recorded for posterity.(Handout)
 * Gathering and Publishing Your Family History
 * Clues to Conclusions: If you’ve been researching for a while, you probably have piles (or files) of paper – documents, notes, photocopies, etc. And you’re still missing the ONE document that proves the parents of your great-grandmother. This presentation will give you several ideas on how to take all those “clues” you’ve found and put them all together to form a conclusion and perhaps solve your problem. (Handout)
 * Becoming Familiar with the FamilySearch.org Website Including New FamilyTree: FamilySearch has undergone significant changes in the last year. There are many new resources to help people interested in family history.(Handout)
 * Family Search Family Tree: Introduction and trimming and sourcing your family tree {for LDS Church Members}. (Handout)

Collections

 * The Cox Collection: This microfilm collection contains copies of US country histories published in newspapers in the 1875-1900 period, as well as city directories for major cities of the time.
 * Tucson FHC catalog Several thousand donated books, film and fiche as well as webinars are part of our holdings.This User guide explains how to search it. New acquisitions and "staff favorites" are updated quarterly.
 * 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. Websites available are:
 * 19th Century British Newspapers
 * Alexander Street Press (Civil War)
 * Ancestry.com
 * Access Newspaper Archive
 * Swedish church records
 * Find My Past (UK)
 * Fold 3 (specializing in military records)
 * The Genealogist (UK)
 * Godfrey Memorial Library
 * Heritage Quest
 * Paper Trail
 * World Vital Records

Periodicals and magazines:

 * Internet Genealogy
 * NGS quarterly
 * American Ancestors (NEHGS online magazine)

We also have deluxe versions of the following genealogy mangement software for you to "test drive."


 * Ancestral Quest
 * Family Insight
 * Legacy
 * Roots Magic (software programs that interact with newFamilySearch.)

Additional computer resources include:


 * Animap
 * Centennia
 * Archives.com
 * Genealogy Bank
 * American Ancestors (New England Genealogical Society)
 * Family Tree Maker disks ( some--check catalog)
 * Some Pedigree Resource File disks
 * Spanish version of PAF (PAF 4)

Hardware and Equipment

 * 10 patron use computers
 * microfilm/fiche digital copier
 * flatbed scanner

Staff Research Specialties

 * British Isles: Saturday 10-2
 * Germany: Tuesday 2-5
 * Scot-Irish: Friday 2-5
 * Southern States: Tuesday 10-2
 * US: Thursday 6-9 pm

Classes
Software User groups meet the second week of the month- please call FHC to confirm.


 * Family Insight - This group no longer has formal meetings-You can contact the FHC Director for contact information of the group leader who will provide personal help by appointment.
 * Legacy - Saturday 10:30 am Topic schedule
 * Family Tree Maker - Tuesdays 2-5 pm. November-April. One on one help. Please call to schedule an appointment with Charles Hofmann.

Volunteer at the Center
Community volunteers with an interest in family history, and a desire to serve others, who are willing to commit to a weekly shift for at least one-two years are invited to join our staff. Training will be provided. Contact the Director for further information.