Lansing Michigan Family History Center

We are here to serve the Lansing and surrounding area. We are open to the general public for 34 hours each week. Our staff is made up of volunteers interested in genealogy and in assisting patrons in their reasearch process. While we are glad to assist you in your research, we are unable to perform your research for your.

Center Contacts and Hours
Location &amp; Map:

Address: 431 East Saginaw St., East Lansing, MI 48823 (P. O. Box 1610, East Lansing, MI 48826)
 * The Family History Center is located approximately 1 1/2 blocks east of Abbott Road on the north side of the road. The Family History Center is in the church building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Entrance is at the back of the building.  There is plenty of free parking.
 * Lansing Michigan Family History Center

Phone: 517-332-2932 (We have an answering machine so you can leave a message and we will return your call.)

Open Hours:
 * Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
 * Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Closed: If weather conditions are questionable (snow, ice, etc.) call during regular hours to see if we are open.

Holiday Schedule:

The Family History Center is closed on the following holidays:


 * New Years Day and possibly the days following. Please call to confirm dates.
 * Church General Conference - usually the first Saturday in April. Please call to confirm date.
 * Memorial Day Weekend
 * July 4th and possibly the days following. Please call to confirm dates.
 * Labor Day weekend
 * Church General Conference - usually the first Saturday in October. Please call to confirm date.
 * Thansgiving and the following Saturday
 * Christmas - Closed for two weeks. Please call to confirm dates.

Upcoming Events

 * Family History Seminar, Saturday, May 5, 2012. "Watch" this Wiki page for details on registration.

Staff Training Meetings

 * Staff training is offered on the second Saturday of each odd numbered month at 8:30 a.m.

Collections

 * 11,000 Microfiche
 * 3,700 Microfilm
 * Family History Library Catalog: This center has the ability to order most (some are restricted) of the films and fiche available through the Family History Library Catalog.
 * All ordering of Microfilm and Microfiche must now be done online. Please go to https://film.familysearch.org.  Also, you must make payment online.  You will need to create either an LDS account (for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) or a FamilySearch account (for those who are not a member of the Church) before you can begin ordering online.  You will also need an e-mail account to create your LDS or FamilySearch account.  Please remember to write down you username and password.
 * The next Family History Seminar is scheduled for May 5, 2012. Watch for online registration beginning after January 1, 2012

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. These premium subscriptions are:
 * 19th Centruy British Library Newspaper Digital Archive
 * 48 national and regional Victorian British newspapers for the 19th century.
 * Access Newspaper Archive
 * Features billions of historical newspaper articles from the U.S and world.
 * Alexander Street Press - The American Civil War
 * Indexed, searchable information on over 4 million soldiers, thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs.
 * Ancestry.com
 * Thousands of collections of records from around the world. Ancestry.com is the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world.
 * Find My Past
 * Research UK census, birth, marriage and death records. Includes the 1911 British Census.
 * Fold3.com (previously known as Footnote.com)
 * Search millions of historical documents and photos. Fold3.com has refocused its efforts on gathering the best online collection of military records and stories.
 * The Genealogist
 * English Parish records, directories, census, civil registration, surname mapping and selected Army and Navy lists.
 * Genline Family Finder (launcher)
 * Access to images of the original Swedish Church records from the 1600s to 1897. Also includes civil registration between 1860 and 1897 for births, marriages and deaths. They will also be adding newer records up to the 1930s.
 * Godfrey Memorial Library
 * Contains U.S. and international resources, the Genealogical biographical index (AGBI) containing statistics, sources for research etc. Contains an extensive collection of city and business directories; vital records; state, county and local histories as well as many other records.
 * Heritage Quest Online
 * Searches include Census records, Books, PERSI Periodical Source Index, Revolutionary War records, Freedman's Bank and U.S. Serial Set.
 * Historical Map Works Library Edition
 * One of the most extensive digital map collections available with over 470,000 high-resolution, full color, historic and antique maps.
 * Paper Trail
 * 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

 * 10 Computers
 * 12 Microfilm readers
 * 4 Microfiche readers
 * 1 Microfilm / Microfiche printer
 * 1 photocopier (librarians do the copying)

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

Resources in the Local Area
(This section is to highlight other resources in your area that will be helpful for individuals doing research there in your location, if there are any, such as government offices, historical societies, etc.)

Links
(Include links to other websites of interest to those who visit your center such as links to the city, county and state wiki pages where your center is located.)