Laramie Wyoming Family History Center

The Laramie Family History Center serves the city of Laramie and Albany County. Anyone interested in learning about their family is welcome. We encourage you to come see us. Please call or email with any questions not answered on this page.

Center Contacts and Hours
Location and Map:


 * 3311 Hayford Ave, Laramie, Wyoming, 82072 United States
 * Family history entrance - south side of the building, west door. (This is the side closest to the parking lot entrance with the steps to the building.) Handicapped entrance north side of building. Please call in advance if you need handicapped access.
 * Location on Map

Phone: 1 307-755- 5567


 * Leave a message if calling at a time other than the center's open hours.

E-mail: [mailto:WY-Laramie@ldsmail.net WY-Laramie@ldsmail.net]

Open Hours:


 * Tues: 6pm - 9pm
 * Wed: 6pm - 9pm
 * Thurs: 1pm - 4pm
 * Other hours by appointment

Holiday Schedule:


 * Closed Nov 24-27
 * Closed Dec 24 - Jan 4

Class Schedule
Classes scheduled as requested. Call for more information.

Staff Training Meetings:
Second Sunday of each month in most months. Please contact us if you'd like to be on the email list to receive reminders.

Collections

 * Family History Library Catalog: This center can show you how to order any of the films and fiche available through the Family History Library Catalog.
 * Wyoming Books: Various city and county histories; indexes; some Laramie city directories.
 * Books on various families; several states in the US; and a few countries such as Canada.
 * (Need to develop this a little more. What microfilms and microfiche do we have? Be a little more specific about books.)

Databases and Software


Free access to subscription based Internet web sites including:


 * 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive : This fully searchable database of the British Library's newspaper holdings provides a complete run of 48 national and regional Victorian British newspapers for the 19th century from 1800 to 1900. These support the study of colonial history, genealogical research, politics, urban studies, and media courses.
 * Access Newspaper Archive : "NewspaperArchive.com is the world's largest online newspaper archive. Featuring billions of articles from historical newspapers around the U.S. and the world, NewspaperARCHIVE makes exploring history and genealogy easy and fun. Discover fascinating news in archived newspapers hundreds of years old—including obituaries, birth announcements, sports articles, comics, and more—to fill in the life stories you are interested in. And share those stories with others through our community at Our NewspaperARCHIVE. All of our historical newspapers are full-page and fully searchable. Try exploring above, and discover your history today!"
 * Alexander Street Press - The American Civil War : research database, letters &amp; diaries, images
 * Ancestry.com : Ancestry gives you access to thousands of collections of records from around the world, including immigration, census, voter, vital, and military records; newspapers and periodicals; family trees; photos and images; directories, maps, court, land, wills and financial records, stories, memories, and histories; and detailed records about births, marriages, deaths, land ownership, and much more.
 * ArkivDigital Online : ArkivDigital is the largest private provider of Swedish Church Records and other historical records online! All images are newly photographed color images of the original documents.
 * Find My Past : FindMyPast makes it easy to research your UK ancestry and create your family tree. Search census records and trace births, marriages, and deaths to bring your family history to life. Please note that not all of the content from Find My Past is available in family history centers.
 * Fold3 (previously known as Footnote) : Search or browse millions of historical documents and photos. Fold3 has refocused their efforts on gathering the best online collection of military records and stories. The Fold3 name reflects military history and honor, since traditionally, the third fold in a flag-folding ceremony honors and remembers veterans for their sacrifice in defending their country and promoting peace in the world.
 * Godfrey Memorial Library : Access to Godfrey Scholar, which searches genealogical databases and the library's digitized content.
 * HeritageQuest : Heritage Quest Online database is a collection of material for both genealogical and historical researchers, with coverage dating back to the late 1700s. Researchers can use HeritageQuest Online to find their ancestors, trace their paths across America, and learn what life was like in the areas where they settled. Searches include census, books, PERSI Peridoical Source Index, Revolutionary War, Freedman's Bank, U.S. Serial Set.
 * Historic Map Works Library Edition : Historic Map Works™ Library Edition is one of the most extensive digital map collections available, with over 470,000 high-resolution, full color historic and antique maps. The core of the collection consists of cadastral (property and land ownership) maps illustrating the geographic and development history of the United States and also includes illustrations, city directories, and more. This unique content allows genealogists, historians, and academic researchers to track the "residential genealogy" of families and locations.
 * LegacyStories : Put the leaves on your family tree by giving voice to your ancestors. LegacyStories.Org is a social network for all things heritage. Provides a secure platform to upload stories and photos and add recorded narration. The resulting pictures, stories, and narration can be linked as source records on FamilySearch Family Tree.
 * Paper Trail : Provides access to 19th-century westward American migration documents.
 * World Vital Records : Access to birth, marriage, and death records; Social Security Death Index; family trees; census records; immigration records; court, land, and probate records; military records directory lists; newspapers, family histories, reference materials, biographies, wills, gravestone photos, ship manifests, map collections, and yearbook collections.

Hardware and Equipment

 * Seven computers, three laptops; microfilm and microfiche readers, a projector and a printer.

Staff Research Specialties

 * British &amp; American research - [mailto:bmdarrington@gmail.com Brenda Darrington] - Wednesday evenings
 * FamilySearch Features
 * FamilySearch Family Tree
 * Ancestry.com
 * How to do volunteer indexing for FamilySearch 

Resources in the Local Area

 * Albany County Public Library:

310 S 8th St.   Laramie, WY 82070    (307) 721-2580    http://www.albanycountylibrary.org/

The Albany County Public Library is home to the Wyoming Room with books about the history and past residents of Wyoming.


 * Albany County Genealogical Society

P.O. Box 6163   Laramie, WY 82073


 * American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming

Dept. 3924   1000 East University Avenue    Laramie, WY 82071    Telephone: (307) 766-4114    http://www.uwyo.edu/ahc/

The American Heritage Center includes a manuscript collection about Wyoming and the American West, mining and more. They have a digital collection among which are many photos and documents as well as video and audio recordings.


 * Coe Library, University of Wyoming

Dept. 3334   1000 E. University Ave.    Laramie, WY 82071    Telephone: (307) 766-3190 or (800) 442-6757    http://www-lib.uwyo.edu/

Among Coe Library's collections include microfilms of many Wyoming newspapers, books on genealogy and history, and a vast amount of Western-related publishings in the Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections.

Links
Wiki Pages


 * Training for Family Tree
 * How to Write an Effective "Reason" Statement in the FamilySearch Family Tree
 * How to Create Source Citations for the FamilySearch Family Tree
 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Wyoming Family History Centers
 * Albany County, Wyoming
 * Wyoming

Training Resources


 * American Ancestors - Online Seminars
 * Ancestral Quest - Tutorials
 * Ancestry.com - Learning Center
 * BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy
 * FamilySearch - Learning Center
 * FamilySearch - Wiki
 * Granite Genealogy - Training
 * LDS Church Family History Callings - Starting place for Ward Consultants and Priesthood Leaders.
 * LDS Church - Youth and Family History Training
 * Legacy Family Tree - Training
 * Ohana Software - Family History Lessons
 * RootsMagic Learning Center

Other Resources


 * Greenhill Cemetery Listings
 * Albany County GenWeb
 * Wyoming GenWeb

Volunteer at the Center
Types of volunteers needed:


 * A volunteer willing to be a Wiki Trainer
 * Volunteers already familiar with some aspect of genealogical research, or willing to learn while researching their own families. Also, willing to volunteer periodically at the FamilySearch Center during open hours.
 * Volunteers to assist with keeping the computers updated.
 * Volunteers to index historical records (in your own home).
 * Any volunteer with a skill he/she thinks would be helpful to the FamilySearch Center.