Chattanooga Tennessee Family History Center

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Whether you are just beginning to trace your roots or need additional resources to complete your search, the Chattanooga Family History Center offers access to the extensive resources available through FamilySearch International and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The center is open to the public and admission is free of charge. Everyone is welcome! We can arrange for group visits by confirmed reservation only.'''

Center Contacts and Hours
Location Map: Location map

Address: 3067 Ooltwah Ringgold Rd Ooltwah TN 37363-8037


 * Language: English

Phone: 423-503-3456

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

Open Hours:


 * Open by appointment only. please email tn_chattanooga@ldsmail.net for request.

Address: 3067 Ooltewah Ringgold Road, Ooltewah, TN

 * Pictured at right
 * Street view, front of building


 * Location Map: Location on Map
 * Ample parking is available
 * Pictured below: Rear of building from parking lot
 * FHC is inside rear entrance of building

 

Planning a Visit
Our FHC is staffed by local volunteers who can help get you started with family history research. They can guide you in using FHC resources and equipment. If you're planning a visit to our center to begin your genealogy, write down what you know about the family you wish to research -- names, dates, and places -- and choose a research goal. This will help our volunteers to best assist you. Please call to calendar and confirm group visits in advance.

Microfilm ordering is no longer available.

Collections

 * FamilySearch Catalog: This center has the ability to order any of the films and fiche available through the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * Leonardo Andrea Collection -- We have 90 microfilm comprising folders of genealogical work on about 900 families collected by the late Leonardo Andrea, a famous South Carolinian genealogist. We also have other films containing all of his other books and works.
 * McCubbins' Collection -- 76 microfilm of original and typescript holdings on the Rowan County, NC Public Library @ Salisbury. The first three films index the rest of the collection.
 * Patrons' Microfiche Collection -- a collection of fiche ordered by our patrons, assorted titles. Contain family histories, vital records, and other types of information. These are indexed in the blue binders in the bookcase.
 * Indefinite Film Collection -- a collection of films on a variety of subjects, to include vital records, county records, court records, etc. They are indexed by state and then by county in the "state binders" in the bookcase.

Databases and Software
FHC Portal This center has access to the Family History Center Portal page which gives free access in the center only to premium family history websites that generally charge for subscriptions, including:


 * Ancestry.com
 * 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive
 * Access Newspaper Archive -- the largest historical newspaper database online, contains tens of millions of newspaper pages from 1753 to present. Every newspaper in the archive is fully searchable by keyword and date, making it easy for you to quickly explore historical content. All 50 states plus 10 countries.
 * Alexander Street Press - The American Civil War: Research Database Letters and Diaries Images, Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera
 * ArkivDigital Online -- Swedish genealogy. Launch from the 'ArkivDigital Online' Start Menu or Desktop icon from a computer where the program has been installed.
 * Find My Past -- 1.7 billion international family history records from the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and beyond with records going back to 1200. New collections are added every month,
 * Fold3.com (Previously known as Footnote.com) -- Fold3 provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.
 * Godfrey Memorial Library -- Online access to the Middletown CT historical library's approximately 200,000 books and periodicals in its collection which includes state and local histories, family histories, biographies, church records, funeral records, cemetery records, military records, maps, and more.
 * Heritage Quest Online -- a valuable genealogical resource available at this time only through library subscriptions like the Family History Center. U.S. Federal Census records from 1790 through 1930. (No index for 1830, 1840, 1850, nor 1880 census; for the 1930 census, only five states are indexed: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Texas, and Virginia.) The online collection includes new indexes created by HeritageQuest. In addition to the ability to search by name, the census records can be searched by place of birth, age, ethnicity, and other variables. More than 25,000 fully searchable family and local history books. There are numerous other "non-history" books available that also have genealogy value, such as town and city directories, government reports made years ago, biographies, lectures, and much more. Selected Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, again fully searchable with high-quality scanned images of the original applications available online. Signatures of and personal identification data about depositors in 29 branch offices of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-74. PERSI (the PERiodical Source Index - a comprehensive subject index covering more than 6,500 genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French since 1800). Best of all, you can view the original records and book pages as high-quality images and even print individual pages on your local printer.
 * Historic Map Works Library Edition -- Historic Map Works™ Library Edition is one of the most extensive digital map collections available, with over 1.5 million high-resolution, full color historic maps.
 * Paper Trail -- a guide to overland pioneer names and documents.


 * World Vital Records -- Records from United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, China, Cook Islands, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Fiji, Finland, Georgia, Greenland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey.

Software Installed at the FHC:

Family History Software Utilities
 * Personal Historian (Milennia Corporation). Writes and preserves personal life stories.
 * PAF Companion 5.2 (Progeny Software). Add-on utility that prints a variety of quality charts and reports in different formats.
 * Family Atlas (Roots Magic). Creates and publishes custom maps directly from personal genealogy data.
 * Pedigree Analysis (Generation Maps). Patrons can submit any genealogy computer file for a free pedigree analysis.
 * Genelines (Progeny Software). Depicts an ancestor's life in the context of time by bringing together elements of time, history, and family relationships on visual time line charts.
 * Map My Family Tree (Progeny Software). Automatically “geocodes” a family tree from any popular genealogy file format and illustrates where ancestors were born, were married, and died on a navigable geographic map. It also prints customized maps.


 * Ancestral Quest 12 (By Incline Software)
 * Roots Magic (formerly Family Origins)
 * Legacy Family Tree (By Milennia Corporation)

Hardware and Equipment

 * 4 desktop computers with FamilySearch internet access
 * Printers, Scanner, Copier
 * Several microfiche readers
 * 5 overhead microfilm readers
 * 1 Canon microfilm/fiche scanner with imaging software interface and printer connection.

Services
We encourage visitors to bring own their digital cameras for copying images from microfilm or microfiche Then you have your own digital record and can take the images home to clean them up on your imaging program! If the FHC camera is used, copies may be printed or files may be transferred to a jump drive using the XnView program found on the computer in the main office.

Memory sticks/jump drives can be used to download information from the microfilm scanner.

Patrons may bring their own laptops for note-taking or entering information into personal genealogical programs, with the disclaimer that the owner is responsible for the security of the device. Wireless internet is currently available in the building, though there may be days when availability is limited due to updating, etc.

With the advent of online microfilm ordering, we have done away with transactions in the FHC.

Links
http://chattlibrary.org/local-history

Hamilton County Genealogical Society

Chattanooga Area Historical Association

Tennessee Vital Records Office

Tennessee Electronic Library

Volunteer at the Center
We welcome volunteers from the community to serve in the Family History Center. It's a great way to help others and to learn by doing. You need not be an expert. Ability to use a computer and willingness to become familiar with the FamilySearch website and resources are key. Contact the FHC directors at the telephone or e-mail listed above for more information.