Beloit Wisconsin Family History Center

Center Contacts and Hours
Location Map:


 * Location on Map

Address:  2535 Austin Place Beloit, WI 53511


 * The entrance to the FHC is on the west side of the building. Please knock to be let in. Or you may enter through the main doors and go through the gym to the FHC doors on left of gym.


 * Language: English

Phone:  608-365-3205 (Director) or 608-362-4646 (Beloit Family History Center) for appointments.

Email:  [mailto:WI_Beloit@familyhistorymail.org WI_Beloit@familyhistorymail.org]

Open Hours: BY APPOINTMENT.

'''Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Holidays. We will not be open Dec 24 or Dec 31.'''

Calendar and Events
As events are planned, dates will be posted here.

Collections

 * Please be aware that limited access collections and partner websites accessible through the Family History Center Portal, may be temporarily unavailable until September due to needed system-wide maintenance and updates. All other collections and services will be available.
 * We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding. We will let you know when limited access collections and partner websites are available.  Please not the Family History Library staff in Salt Lake City, Utah, will have the ability to search limited access collections during this period and are prepared to offer patron assistance online.  To consider this option, patrons should explore the free virtual consultations and free records look-up services.
 * FamilySearch Catalog:
 * Book Collection

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 websites include:
 * The 19th Century British Library Newspapers 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 Archives - "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, American Civil War - Research Data: Contains indexed, searchable information on over 4 million soldiers and thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs. Letters and Diaries: Contains approximately 100,000 indexed pages of diaries, letters, and memoirs, including 4,000 pages of previously unpublished manuscripts, such as the letters of Amos Wood and his wife and the diary of Maryland planter William Claytor. Images, Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera: Provides a vivid history of the American Civil War with over 1,400 images.
 * Ancestry Family History Library Edition - 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. It is the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world.
 * 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. 1911 British Census: The 1911 UK Census is a record of everyone who lived in England and Wales in 1911. It provides a unique snapshot of the lives of those who lived at that time.
 * Fold3.com(formerly 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.
 * The Genealogist - English parish records, directories, census, civil registration, surname mapping, and selected army and navy lists.
 * Heritage Quest Online 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: Find ancestors in the complete set of U.S. federal census images from 1790 to 1930, including name indexes for many years. Books: Find information on people and places described in over 24,000 family and local histories. PERSI Periodical Source Index™: Find information about people and places from this index of over 2 million genealogy and local history articles, updated annually. Revolutionary War: Search selected records from the Revolutionary War Era Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files. Freedman’s Bank: Search for individuals in Freedman’s Bank (1865-1874), which was founded to serve African Americans. Includes a name index and images for bank depositors and their dependents and heirs.U.S. Serial Set: Search the Memorials, Petitions, and Private Relief Actions of the U.S. Congress in the LexisNexis® U.S. Serial Set.
 * Legacy Stories - 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. The site offers a full suite of exciting features including: Record oral photo narratives directly from your computer microphone, Multi-media story publisher, Social network for feedback and collaboration, Public archives to view and share stories, Five levels of privacy, and The Legacy Shop for heritage replayed books, DVDs equipment, software, etc.
 * 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
3 computers

Staff Research Specialties
Our staff can offer extensive internet research, including searching census and vital records, as well as historical newspapers.

Training on FamilySearch Family Tree:
We focus especially on the new features: adding photos and stories.

Training on Indexing

 * Download the FamilySearch Indexing Software


 * User's Guide to FamilySearch Indexing


 * Basic Guidelines for Indexing


 * FamilySearch Indexing Test Drive - try it out before downloading to see how easy it is!

Resources in the Local Area

 * Wisconsin Historical Society
 * Rock County Genealogical Society
 * Illinois State Genealogical Society
 * Winnebago County Genealogy
 * Winnebago and Boone Counties Genealogy

Links
Using the FamilySearch Research Wiki: A comprehensive video presentation explaining the Wiki, navigating it, and some especially useful pages. Case studies demonstrate using the Wiki for genealogical research. Editing and adding articles to the Wiki are covered.] Online Genealogy Records by Location

Wisconsin Research Wiki

Illinois Research Wiki

1940 United States Federal Census - How to Use this Collection

- How to Use this Collection

- How to Use this Collection