Santa Margarita California Family History Center

We are a locally operated Family History Center, located in the City of Rancho Santa Margarita, California. A branches Library of FamilySearch and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (United States)


 * Our center's services are free and open to the public.
 * We invite all who are interested in family history to visit our center.
 * We have a Lexmark scanner that will scan memories directly to your FamilySearch account.

Family History Center volunteers can show you how to use the center’s resources. To make your visit most effective, collect and organize the information you already have. Bring as much information as you have about the ancestor you wish to research, including available birth, marriage, and death information. FHC staff can help you use that information to begin creating a Family Group Record

High-quality videos are available for the rookie genealogist and the seasoned veteran alike. The Five Minute Genealogy playlist demonstrates how, in just a few minutes, individuals with little or no genealogy experience can make some headway on their family’s history. Getting Started

Center Contacts and Hours
Location Map:


 * Location Map

Address: 30522 Via Con Dios, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 United States


 * For entrance to our center, park on the west side of the building and enter the double doors at the center of the building. After entering the building go left down the short hall. We are adjacent to the stairs for the stage.


 * Language:English

Phone:


 * 1-949-766-7826

E-mail:

Open Hours:
 * CA_SantaMargarita@familyhistorymail.org


 * Tuesday: 6:00pm-9:00pm
 * Thursday: 6:00pm-9:00pm

Holiday Schedule:

Closed:  November 21-23: December 21-January 2, Reopening January 3

Upcoming Events :

 * Resources
 * Roots Tech


 * Empty Tree, Partial Tree & Full Tree Classes & Workshops
 * Empty, Partial & Full Tree Class Resources 
 * App Gallery - (FS-App) One place to find all the apps you need to find, connect, organize, and explore your family(FS)
 * Mobile Devices Apps Class – Apple/Android

Staff Training Meetings : 2nd Thursday of each month, 7:30-8:30 pm
Family History Consultant Meeting, topics
 * 1) RecordSeek
 * 2) The Family History Guide (TFHG) Your free learning, research, and training center for Genealogy
 * 3) Helper Resources

Collections

 * FamilySearch Catalog:

Databases and Software

 * FamilySearch The FamilySearch website records span billions of names across hundreds of collections—including birth, marriage, death, probate, land, military, IGI extracted, and more
 * 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
 * 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archives
 * Alexander Street Press (American Civil War Collections)
 * American Ancestor - Library Rights
 * Ancestry.com (Institution Version) U.S, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom
 * ArkivDigital Online (Swedish Church Records - On the desktop)
 * Findmypast - Institution Version
 * Fold3.com
 * The Genealogist - Gold Level, Subscription
 * Geneanet
 * Godfrey Memorial Library
 * HeritageQuest Online
 * Kinpoint - Premium
 * MyHeritage - Library Edition
 * Newspaper Archive
 * Paper Trail
 * ProQuest Obituary Listings
 * Scottish Church Records (DOS)(On the desktop)

Hardware and Equipment

 * 5 Computers
 * 1 Printer - networked to the computers

Staff Research Specialties

 * FamilySearch Learning Center FamilySearch has produced and continues to provide professional on-line classes for Family History research. These classes include research in the following countries as of 2/23/17
 * 46 Different Nations
 * 3 Skill Levels classes for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced research
 * 19 Subjects
 * 4 Format
 * 14 Subject Language
 * One-On-One Assistance

Links

 * Why Family History is Important
 * California California Family History Resource Page
 * Family History Centers There are over 4,500 family history centers operating in more than 100 countries. Local FamilySearch Centers are staffed by helpful volunteers. These centers are branches of the Family History Library.
 * FamilySearch WIKI Research your Family History, Contribute Your Knowledge to the Wiki, Store great research tips you learn about but may not be ready to use yet and Collaborate in the Wiki

Volunteer at the Center
All who are interested in family history, including all community members, are invited to volunteer at our center. All you need is a willingness to learn and must abide by our center's policies of conduct as outlined by FamilySearch while at our center.

1.'Helper Resources'(FS) 2. FamilySearch - Family Tree
 * Getting Started (FS)
 * FamilySearch Account (FS)
 * Family Tree (FS)
 * Search (FS)
 * Learn to Use FamilySearch.org
 * Quick Start to Family Tree
 * Finding Records of Your Ancestors in FamilySearch.org

3. FamilySearch Resources
 * Records - Search Historical Records(FS)
 * Family Tree, Discover Your Deceased Ancestors(FS)
 * Genealogies - Search Genealogies(FS)
 * '''Catalog - FamilySearch Catalog'"'(FS)'
 * Books - Family History Books(FS)
 * WIKI - (FS-WIKI) - Family History Research WIKI(FS)
 * How to Search the Research Wiki
 * Family History Research Wiki
 * Memories (FS)(FS)
 * Memories (FS)
 * Quick Start to Photos
 * Viewing and Adding Photos
 * Partners (FS)
 * App Gallery - (FS-App) One place to find all the apps you need to find, connect, organize, and explore your family
 * FamilySearch Learning Center
 * Genealogy Assistance (FS)

4. Family History Center Portal, Research Data Bases
 * Family History Center Portal Overview(FS)
 * Browse By Country(FS-WIKI)
 * Online Genealogy Records by Location, Online Genealogy Records Wiki pages contain links to online records for different states, provinces, or countries.(FS-WIKI)
 * List of Extinct States(FS-WIKI)
 * Countries/Ethnic - A world of research at your fingertips(TFHG)
 * Puzzila(FS-App)

5. Indexing (FS)
 * Indexing - FamilySearch(FS)
 * Quick Start to FamilySearch Indexing

6. Other Opportunities
 * Family History Center (FS)
 * Mobile (FS)
 * FamilySearch Community Tools(FS-WIKI)