Aurora Colorado Family History Center

Center Contacts and Hours
Location Map: 


 * Location Map

Address:


 * 950 Laredo St., Aurora CO 80011 United States


 * Language:English

Phone:


 * 1-303-367-0570

E-mail:


 * CO_Aurora@ldsmail.net

FHC Director: Vickie Smejkal

Open Hours:

We strive to staff our center, however, it is best to call ahead, especially during the winter season. We will post closures as soon as possible on this site, Face Book, and on the center's phone line 1-303-367-0570
 * Monday: 9:30 am - 3:00 pm
 * Wednesday: 5 pm - 8:00 pm
 * Thursday: 9:30 am - 1:30 pm
 * Saturday: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Weather related closures:

None at this time

Special Event Closure:  We will be closed for General Conference on the 31th of March 2018 and and again on the 6th of October 2018.

Closed all major holidays as follows: 

We will be closed for the Christmas Holiday 20 December 2017 through the 1st of January 2018. We will return Wednesday the 3rd of January 2018 at 5 pm to 8 pm.

Closures for 2018:

February 14; July 4; September 3; November 10 and again  November 21 through 24; December 19 through 31.

Presentation Schedule for 2018 -- FREE
Classes are at 7 p.m. every 1st Thursday and 2nd Sunday of the month, unless otherwise noted.

April 5 & 8, presented by Vickie Smejkal -- Censuses -- Those whacky, unusual and possibly unheard of types. Not finding what you want in the State & Federal censuses? How about some of those wacky ones we may have never heard of, or perchance did, but don’t know where to find them or understand how they work. We will cover 26 varieties of these unheard of censuses that may be just the ticket for breaking down yet another wall.

May 3 & 20, TBA

Jun 7 & 10, TBA

Jul 5 & 8, TBA

Aug 2 & 12, TBA

Sep 6 & 9, TBA

Oct 4 & 14, TBA

If you would like to be notified of a scheduled presentation and/or class, please see our Facebook page and click on 'subscribe'. Aurora Family History Center

 

Wards and Stakes Temple and Family History Meetings 2017
Held every 1st Sunday of the month at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

These meetings are designed for all those responsible for Family History (Temple & Fam Hist Consultants, Fam Hist Ctr Staff; and of course, High Priest Group Leaders are always invited).

It is our hope to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes and to offer bits and pieces of information that will benefit you and those you assist in your callings.

Next Meeting:

07 January 2018; 04 February 2018; 04 March 2018; no April; 06 May 2018; 03 June 2018; 01 July 2018; 05 August 2018; and September 2018. (No meeting Oct, Nov, & Dec).

Collections

 * FamilySearch Catalog: This center will assist patrons to locate the films and fiche available through the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * The Aurora Family History Center has a collection of microfilms and microfiche on indefinite loan from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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. Our Premium Family History Websites portal provides patrons access to the following:

 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive – Site provides News Articles, Obits, marriage records, death records, military records, etc. by topic, name, and more.

 Alexander Street Press - The Civil War – This site contains information “on over 4 million soilders and thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs.” The following are links within this site: Research Database; Letters and Diaries; Images, Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera; Social and Cultural History (Letters and Diaries Online); Women and Social Moments in the United States, 1600-2000.

 American Ancestors – If you are an LDS member, you have free access to this site from home. “We offer family history researchers the most-used genealogical society website in the world. AmericanAncestors.org provides access to more than 1.4 billion records spanning twenty-two countries covering the United States, the British Isles, continental Europe, and beyond, including one of the most extensive online collections of early American genealogical records, the largest searchable collection of published genealogical research journals and magazines, and the largest collection of U.S Catholic records online.”

 Ancestry.Com – If you are an LDS member, you have free access to this site from home. This site provides lots of records, state and federal censuses, news articles, military records, travel records, marriage records, books, and much more. Much like FamilySearch.org, it too offers hints, memories and photos.

 ArkivDigital – “Find your Swedish ancestors in ArkivDigital image database. Today we have about 75 millions (sic) color images covering various kinds of historical documents such as church records, court records and inventory of estates.” ArkivDigital is the “largest private provider of Swedish Church Records…”.

 FamNet < http://www.nzgdb.co.nz/ > – For those who have New Zealand roots. This site appears to be a genealogy database; and also appears to allow the creation of family trees and share information; such as, stories, pictures, etc.

 Find My Past – As an LDS member, you have free access to this site from home. Per their website: “We have millions of records you won’t find anywhere else, including the largest online collection of Irish records and UK parish records, and the most comprehensive archive of British military records online.” “Our collection of British newspapers is unique. Dating from 1710 to 1955, over 11 million newspaper pages add contemporary colour to your research and reveal fascinating details about the world in which your ancestors lived.”. Find My Past also offers hints.

 Fold 3 – This site now owned by Ancestry.com. This site has Military records; Crews Registers (Ship Registers); Civil War Pension records; and some American Indian records.

 Geneanet – If you are an LDS member, you have free access to this site from home. “Geneanet offers every kind of genealogy record published by researchers, genealogy societies, commercial companies, etc.” “Geneanet is one of the largest family history websites in the world, with a focus on French and European records and research.”.

 Kinpoint – Per the site: “Family History, Simplified.”. “Do family history in just a few minutes. Quickly see what to work on and get help finding new information.”. “Less searching, More Finding – with Premium, our kinpoint guide shows problems in your

family tree and finds records for missing information.”. “Love To Grow Things? – So did your ancestors. Discover your ancestors occupation with the Explore Summary.”. “Love Mountains? – Maybe it’s in your blood. See where your ancestors came from with the Explore Summary.”. “Go Back in Time – See photos, stories and the events from a person's life with Memories and Timelines.” Kinpoint also “makes it easy to see ordinances that are ready or need more information to complete.”

 MyHeritage – As an LDS member, you have free access to this site from home. A Family History Research site, easy to use – enter name of person for whom you are searching, location, and even 'keyword' if you like. I hear MyHeritage is the European equivalent of Ancestry.com. MyHeritage will also send you e-mails of 'matches' it may have found.

 Newspaper Archive – This site provides largest online collection of Newspapers. Includes obits, birth announcements, marriage records, death records, news articles, sports activities, and more. Browse by state, maps, newspaper, location, and so on.

 Paper Trail – “Provides access to 19th century westward American migration documents.” This site lists classes; historical information (stories, data, etc.). Mostly information of the Oregon Trail – Info on things such as: How many people, by ox cart or Calistoga, diseases along the way, etc. More of an informational site than a genealogical site.

 ProQuest Obituary Listings – Per the site: “The Proquest Obituaries collection is a premier resource for genealogical and historical research.”. “You can use the collection to search obituaries and death notices from prominent newspapers, such as The New York Times (dating back to 1851). The collection includes both famous and lesser-known individuals and can be searched by name or by keywords appearing in the body of the article.”. I noticed in the side bar of ProQuest the following newspapers listed: Atlanta Constitution (1868-1922); Boston Globe (1872-1922); Chicago Defender (1921-1975); Chicago Tribune (1852-1984); Los Angeles Times (1851-1994); and Washington Post (1877-1950). I also noticed (I did a test search) that even though an ancestor may have died in one state, such as New Jersey, a listing for them could show up in another state's newspaper, such as New York.

 Puzzilla.Org –  “Find new research opportunities on descendent lines in Family Tree.”. The youth may get a kick out of this one. This site offers both “Free and Premium Service” subscription. The site does have a tutorial, which lasts about 15 minutes. I highly advise taking the tutorial. Puzzilla lets you see your line and cousin lines too. The colors found at the tips of the lines indicate if there is a possible duplicate; if a person died before reaching age 16; if a hint exists; and much more. Note: If you use this site from the Family History Center, you will have full use of ALL the color codes, otherwise from home, you will be very limited in the colors; mostly the blue, red, and yellow. (Male, female, died before age 16). To use the free version from home, you'll need to use your FamilySearch Account password.
 * Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aged 13 and over can join five subscription websites for free: Ancestry.com, Find My Past, My Heritage, Geneanet, & American Ancestors.  Follow this link and sign in with your FamilySearch/LDS Account for access to these excellent resources!   Partners  Be sure to open "Partners" and select one or all of the five sites listed.

Hardware and Equipment

 * There are personal computers, printer, microfilm and microfiche readers available in this Center for patron use on a first come, first served basis.
 * Wireless connections are available for personal laptops and tablets.

Staff Research Specialties
(Include sections for any other services your center provides. Add additional sections for those services. See the Bountiful and Chattanooga FHC pages for examples.)

Resources in the Local Area
Denver Public Library, 10 West Fourteenth Ave. Pkwy, Denver, Colorado 80204 -- Western History &amp; Genealogy Dept located on the 5th floor.

National Archives Records Administration, 17101 Huron Street, Broomfield, CO 80023

Links
Denver Public Library

Denver Public Library, Genealogy tools A-Z

Rocky Mountain Regional NARA, 17101 Huron Street, Broomfield, CO 80023

National Archives Records Administration (NARA)

NARA Resources for Genealogists

Colorado Genealogical Society

Foothills Genealogical Society

African American Genealogy

The Freedman's Bureau Project -- Be sure to scroll down to see the whole page

German Research

Germany Genealogy

Native American Research

Mexico Genealogy

Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England (W.I.S.E.)

Volunteer at the Center
''Yes, we are in need of 4-6 volunteers to assist at the Family History Center. If you are familiar with doing family history and/or genealogical research, we would love to have you join us. Not familiar with the FamilySearch Program, not to worry -- we will be happy to introduce you. Who knows, perhaps in the process you will see your own family tree grow.''