Valley Forge Pennsylvania Family History Center

Center Contacts and Hours
Location Map:


 * Location of Valley Forge Pennsylvania Family History Center on Map





Address:


 * 721 Paxon Hollow Rd Broomall PA 19008 United States
 * Located in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building
 * Enter in the back door labeled “Family History Center”


 * Language:English



Hours Open - Please wear a Mask our Building

Wednesdays: 9:30am - 3:30pm

2nd & 4th Saturdays: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Closed for Holidays:

Thanksgiving - November 24th

Christmas - December 22nd & 29th

• If you need to view images that are only available in the Center:

Email us for a 2 hour computer time or consultation:

Pa_ValleyForge@familyhistorymail.org

Phone: 1-610-356-8507 only answered when we are open. (There is no message machine)

Online Tutorials
If you want to learn more about using FamilySearch.org and Family Tree we recommend the following topics created by Shelli Nye on FaceBook and YouTube:

Family History in Greater Philadelphia Facebook Group and YouTube

The following are documents and links that are mentioned in the above videos. The documents are all uploaded on the Facebook Group.

=Family History Activity Ideas to Check Out= Focus on Creating a Generation Connection


 * 1) Ancestors = My Family
 * 2) I Belong to My Family
 * 3) Find Similarities/Common Interests
 * 4) Traditions and Heritage
 * 5) Discover your Homeland

Ideas on Ways to Engage Family Members


 * 1) Pedigree and Family Group Sheets
 * 2) Charts, Maps, Timelines
 * 3) Pictures and Stories
 * 4) Flip Pages
 * 5) and Puzzles
 * 6) Games and Cards
 * 7) Crafts and Recipes
 * 8) Music, Art, Dance, etc.

FamilySearch Blog – 11+ Family Activities that Bring you Closer Together

https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/family-activities/?cid=email-MC_TFHC_May_051720_CTA1c

BYU Family History Technology Lab

When you click on an item you will then be prompted to sign in to your FamilySearch account which populates the activity with your family information.

https://fhtl.byu.edu/

The Family History Guide – Activities Index – over 200!

https://www.thefhguide.com/act-index.html

The Family History Guide – Homeschool Resources

https://www.thefhguide.com/home-school.html

Ancestor Cards - A website where you could make your own ancestor cards

https://ourcards.com/

Don’t Eat “Pete” Game Instructions – Use family pictures on the game board grid.

1. Put one M&M on each picture of the game board.

2. Send one participating person out of the room.

3. The remaining players pick a picture from the grid to be “Pete” for that round.

4. Call the person back in the room but don’t tell them which square represents “Pete”.

5. The “it” person picks up one M&M at a time. If the M&M is not “Pete” then the “it” person can eat it

and then move onto the next square. However, if the M&M is “Pete,” everyone yells “DON’T EAT

PETE!” and that person’s turn is over.

6. Now send the next “it” player out of the room. Then choose a new “Pete” square and replace the

M&Ms that were eaten.

=Research Helps=

Websites to Help You Learn about Genealogy Topics and Places
The Family History Guide – training on major websites, specific country research and family activities

https://www.thefhguide.com/

Familysearch.org Wiki – location and topic help

https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Main_Page

Learning Center Home – Click the Help Tab and then Click Learning Center

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/learning-center

Beginning Genealogy by Tom Jones – example of a great class in the learning center

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lesson/227

Cyndi’s lists.org - a genealogy index to internet

http://www.cyndislist.com/

Usgenweb – a free state by state index of records

http://www.usgenweb.org/

Bloggers of Note:

Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, Genealogy’s Star, Olive Tree Genealogy, the Legal Genealogist

Lisa Louise Cooke Gems

https://lisalouisecooke.com/2017/08/ancestry-subscription-expire/

Familysearch.org blog – Find FamilySearch News here first - Great instruction on the basics

https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/

Riverton Family History Center newsletters – weekly short tips

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Riverton_FamilySearch_Library

BYU Ancestors Immigration Project – immigrants not found anywhere else

http://immigrants.byu.edu/search/simple

BYU Family History Labs – Relative Finder, Tree Sweeper, Geneopardy, Wheel of Fortune, etc.

https://fhtl.byu.edu/#/

Free Newspapers

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

https://news.google.com/newspapers

Google Books

https://books.google.com/ use 1750..1850 for example to find the dates (2 dots with no spaces) and

also put a “first and last name” in quotes and add a state to search. You can also put a husband’s “first

name” AROUND(3)”last name” to search for names. This might give you the names of a husband and wife.

Forever.com – photo and video storage - a certified affiliate of FamilySearch

https://www.forever.com/

Findagrave.com – search by surnames for other family members in the cemetery or county etc.

http://www.findagrave.com/

WorldCat.org - world largest library card catalog to help you find copies of books and microfilms

https://www.worldcat.org/

Digital Public Library of America – DPLA – great source to find newspaper articles and pictures

 https://dp.la/ 

Local University library websites - archives and records – sometimes you have to have a library card

http://genealogybybarry.com/genealogy-united-states-library-society-resource-list-50-states/

State websites and state records archives – vitals, land, tax – look up each state in the wiki to find the

links – usually free to search and then you have to pay for a certificate

Library of Congress - Loc.gov and loc.gov/coll/nucmc - National catalog of manuscript collections

https://www.loc.gov/

How to find photos on Loc.gov – this tutorial will point you in the right direction to find photos

https://www.familytreemagazine.com/premium/library-of-congress-photo-search-tutorial/

Archives.gov - National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Washington DC and Philadelphia

'''and other branches. Parts are online. Immigrant and military information.'''

https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy

Access Genealogy – Native American, Southern States, Military

https://www.accessgenealogy.com/

Dead Fred.com – lost photos – add yours or search for your family

http://www.deadfred.com/

Name Translations – find the American version or the old country version of names

http://dvhh.org/genealogy/given-name-cross-ref-lookup.pdf

http://www.behindthename.com/names/translate

http://surnames.behindthename.com/

Stevemorse.org – a website to help you search other websites like Castle Garden and Ellis Island in one

'''step. Census Enumeration Districts, Port Records etc.'''

http://www.stevemorse.org/

DavidRumsey.com – maps

http://www.davidrumsey.com/

Resources in the Local Area
The Mainline Genealogy Club meets at the Easttown Library. They have great presentations each month.

Irish Immigration Center located in Upper Darby at 7 S Cedar Lane. They support Irish families in our area with genealogy help and many other kinds of support.

The Bucks County Genealogy Society has a Comprehensive Calendar of Genealogical Events in the Greater Philadelphia Area

Links

 * Family History in Greater Philadelphia Group
 * Delaware County, Pennsylvania FamilySearch Wiki page
 * Pennsylvania FamilySearch Wiki page