Springfield Illinois Family History Center

The Springfield Family History Center is located in the Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It serves Sangamon, Logan and Menard Counties. There are numerous Family History Centers within central Illinois so it is best to check for the location nearest you. The hours, services and collections of the Centers do vary. You are welcome to attend any Center whose services best meet your needs.

Center Contacts and Hours
Location &amp; Map:


 * 1) 3601 Buckeye Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62712
 * 2) Enter the grounds from either drive. The Center is located in back of the building on the West side.
 * 3) Map to the Springfield Illinois Family History Center 

Phone: Center:  217-529-7930  Director:  217-525-9910

E-mail: [mailto:Mary_Kirgan@sbcglobal.net Mary_Kirgan@sbcglobal.net]

Open Hours: Tuesday 6 - 9 pm, Wednesday 10 am - 2 pm &amp; 6 - 9 pm, Saturday 10 am - 2 pm

Holiday Schedule: The Center is closed the Saturday closest to major holidays, the first Saturday in April and the first Saturday in October. Rare closings occur due to severe weather or special events being held in the building. These will be announced in the phone message so it is wise to call ahead to check for non-routine closings.

Upcoming Events
A Family History film featuring family historians in the Springfield Stake area, including Litchfield, Jacksonville, Pittsfield and Decatur, will Premiere on September 11. It will be shown at 6 pm in the Ward Chapel. The public is invited to attend this exciting opening.

Staff Training Meetings
September 6 from 6 - 9 pm, Special training meeting for all staff. Steve Brey, an executive with Family Search, will be visting from Salt Lake City.

Collections
Family History Library Catalog: This center has the ability to order any of the films and fiche available through the Family History Library Catalog.

Extended Loan Microfilm 


 * Kentucky Vital Records, including records for afro-American and white residents, from 1851 - 1859 for most counties.

Microfiche collection:


 * 100 most frequently used books in the Salt Lake Family History Library
 * Family Histories
 * Vital Records indexes
 * Records from Europe &amp; South America

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 including:


 * Ancestry
 * Footnote
 * Heritage Quest
 * 19th Century British Newspapers

Physical Equipment

 * Two microfilm readers
 * One microfiche reader
 * Four computers with internet connection and access to premium websites.
 * Printer for use with computers (charge per sheet of fifteen cents).
 * Digital camera for images of microfilm or microfiche records



Center Services
Although we do not have a printer for microfilm or microfiche, we encourage visitors to bring their digital cameras for copying images. If you choose to use the Center's digital camera, you can have the images printed for a slight charge or have the images loaded to your own memory stick or CD.

Staff Research Specialties

Resources in the Local Area
Illinois State Archives Margaret Cross Norton Building Capitol Complex Springfield, IL 62756 Telephone: (217) 782-4682 Fax: (217) 524-3930 Hours: Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Central Time Zone) 1st Saturday of month 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (except on holiday weekends)

Sangamon Valley Collection Lincoln Library 326 South Seventh Street Springfield, IL 217-753-4900 The Sangamon Valley Collection closes at 1 p.m. on Fridays. Regular library hours are observed all other days. The Sangamon Valley Collection (SVC) provides in-depth resources for the study of Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon County and the eleven adjacent counties. Illinois State Library Gwendolyn Brooks Building 300 South 2nd Street Springfield, IL 62701-1796 Phone: (217) 785-5600 Within IL only: (800) 665-5576 TDD: (888) 261-2709 Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Closed on official State of Illinois holidays

The Illinois State Library has well over 500 different Illinois counties histories and over 300 historical county atlases, with an additional 800 plat books representative of the 102 counties

Lincoln Presidential Library 112 N. Sixth Street, Springfield, IL 62701 Public and Research Hours Monday -- Friday -- 9:00 AM -- 5:00 PM Saturday, Sunday – Closed Appointments Appointments are necessary for research in the Manuscripts, Audiovisual, and Lincoln collections. Please make arrangements by telephone or mail.

Manuscripts: (217) 558-8855 Audiovisual: (217) 785-7955 Lincoln: (217) 785-7954 A significant feature of the collection is the large number of Illinois newspapers available on microfilm.

Links
Illinois State Archives On-line Database Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre–1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index (1916–1950), http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases

Missouri Digital History Archives http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates Utah Vital Records, [Http://archives.utah.gov/research/index http://archives.utah.gov/research/index]

Family History Center Staff
Staff is needed for customer service during the hours the Center is open. Volunteers should be comfortable with basic computer use and enjoy working with people. A knowledge of basic family history research principles is helpful but training will be provided. A minimum of 2 shifts per month in the Center is required and more is cheerfully allowed.

Indexing
Family Searching is making records available on-line as quickly as possible. One of hte keys to making these records useful is the Indexing program. Without an index, you have to browse through the images, sometimes one at a time, to find a specific record. Indexing can be done at home and is an exceleltn activity for Family History Center Staff when the Center is not busy. To find out more about indexing and take a test drive go to www.familysearch.org/volunteer/indexing