FHL in SLC & 13 others to get Ancestry.com

The following bulletin was issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints today. This is good news for the Family History Library and Centers network and hopefully they will expand it to include all FHCs in the near future.

FamilySearch and The Generations Network Agreement Give Patrons Access to More than 24,000 Ancestry.com Databases and Titles

Provo, UT – December 19, 2007 – FamilySearch and The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, today announced an agreement that provides free access of Ancestry.com to patrons of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and the 13 largest regional family history centers effective today.

With this new agreement, full access will be provided to more than 24,000 Ancestry.com databases and titles and 5 billion names in family history records. In addition to the Family History Library, the following 13 regional family history centers have been licensed to receive access to Ancestry.com:

Mesa, Arizona
Los Angeles, California
Oakland, California
Orange, California
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Pocatello, Idaho
Las Vegas, Nevada
Logan, Utah
Ogden, Utah
St. George, Utah
Hyde Park, London, England

“We’re excited for our patrons to receive online access to an expanded collection of family history records on Ancestry.com,” said Don Anderson, director of FamilySearch Support. “Ancestry.com’s indexes and digital images of census, immigration, vital, military and other records, combined with the excellent resources of FamilySearch, will increase the likelihood of success for patrons researching their family history.”

The Generations Network and FamilySearch hope to expand access to other family history centers in the future.

FamilySearch patrons at the designated facilities will have access to Ancestry.com’s completely indexed U.S. Federal Census Collection, 1790-1930, and more than 100 million names in passenger lists from 1820-1960, among other U.S. and international record collections. Throughout the past year, Ancestry.com has added indexes to Scotland censuses from 1841-1901, created the largest online collection of military and African American records, and reached more than 4 million user-submitted family trees.

Free access is also available at Brigham Young University Provo, Idaho, and Hawaii campuses, and LDS Business College patrons through a separate agreement with The Generations Network.

“FamilySearch’s Family History Library in Salt Lake City is one of the most important physical centers for family history research in the world, and we are happy that patrons to the Library and these major regional centers will have access to Ancestry.com,” said Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com. “We’ve enjoyed a ten-year working relationship with FamilySearch, and we look forward to continued collaboration on a number of family history projects.”

About Ancestry.com – Visit us at www.ancestry.comWith 24,000 searchable databases and titles and more than 2.5 million active users, Ancestry.com is the No. 1 online source for family history information. Since its launch in 1997, Ancestry.com has been the premier resource for family history, simplifying genealogical research for millions of people by providing them with many easy-to-use tools and resources to build their own unique family trees. The site is home to the only complete online U.S. Federal Census collection, 1790-1930, as well as the world’s largest online collection of U.S. ship passenger list records featuring more than 100 million names, 1820-1960. Ancestry.com is part of The Generations Network, Inc., a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including www.myfamily.com,www.rootsweb.com, www.genealogy.com and Family Tree Maker. In total, The Generations Network properties receive 8.7 million unique visitors worldwide and more than 416 million page views a month (© comScore Media Metrix, October 2007).

About FamilySearch
FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization that maintains the world’s largest repository of genealogical resources. Patrons may access resources online at FamilySearch.org or through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries. FamilySearch is a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. and is registered in the United States of America and other countries.

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Family Records Center to close

After having a great Summer filled with lots of fun activities with my 2 small kids, I'm back with some sad genealogical news. Apparently the Family Records Center in London is to close next year BUT all of the birth, marriage and death indexes (1837-2007) will be removed on 27 October 2007 prior to next year's closure.

I am not sure why the FRC is closing. Every time I am there it is jam packed (my last visit was in 2004). I can only assume that because indexes are online (albeit for a fee) that they have determined that the center is no long cost effective.

This is the end of an era as the FRC (back then St. Catherine's House) was how I first got into genealogy in 1990-3 when I attended University in London. I used to visit the center regularly to do my family history research and without this center I doubt I would have ever stumbled into this fascinating and enjoyable hobby.

For those of you interested in this amazing resource, most of the records have been transcribed and are available for free on http://freebmd.rootsweb.com or www.ancestry.com.

If you don't have access to the Internet, many Family History Centers have actual reproductions (not transcriptions) of the index on microfilm and microfiche on site and if your local FHC doesn't have the index you are looking for it can be ordered in from the main library in Salt Lake City which has them all.

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Canada to US Border Crossings 1895-1956

Ancestry.com has added a fantastic resource to their site for North Americans, the Canada to US Border Crossings 1895-1956. Many people arriving to the US came on ships to neighboring Canada and so this is a fabulous resource for anyone whose ancestors either emigrated directly from Canada or came via a Canadian port.

Information given on the record includes name, arrival date, age, estimated birthdate, gender, nationality, ship name, port of arrival, port of departure.

The index and its transcribed entries are available in the Family History Center Edition of Ancestry.com (available at ALL Family History Centers in North America) although you will need to use a paid subscription to view a copy of the original record.

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FHC Ancestry access

For the last few years Family History Centers have been blessed to have free access to Ancestry.com. As of 1 April this arrangement stopped but there has been some confusion as to what exactly is happening.

While it is true that FHCs no longer have free access to Ancestry's complete collection, the Family History Library Edition of Ancestry does allow FHC patrons to access 43 databases (indexes and transcribed records - not originals). The following list details what will still be available.

These records are still essential to researchers with British and US roots. Please continue to visit your FHC to do your research in these areas. You should also realize that many FHC staff are not completely aware of what is still available as these changes are so new, so please print this blog entry and take it with you.

1841 Channel Islands Census
1841 England Census
1841 Isle of Man Census
1841 Wales Census
1851 Channel Islands Census
1851 England Census
1851 Isle of Man Census
1851 Wales Census
1861 Channel Islands Census
1861 England Census
1861 Isle of Man Census
1861 Wales Census
1871 Channel Islands Census
1871 England Census
1871 Isle of Man Census
1871 Wales Census
1880 United States Federal Census
1881 Channel Islands Census
1881 England Census
1881 Isle of Man Census
1881 Wales Census
1891 Channel Islands Census
1891 England Census
1891 Isle of Man Census
1891 Wales Census
1900 United States Federal Census
1920 United States Federal Census
Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959
Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948
Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1943
California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957
Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1957
England & Wales, Birth Index: 1837-1983
England & Wales, Death Index: 1837-1983
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1837-1983
Florida Passenger Lists, 1898-1951
Galveston Passenger Lists, 1896-1948
New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1945
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945
Seattle Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1957
U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918

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New African American records at Ancestry

In celebration of black history month, Ancestry has also released some new records. You can check out African Amercian records here http://landing.ancestry.com/aahistory/default.aspx. These records include slave narratives, US Colored Troops records, Freedmen's Bureau records, Freedman's Bank records, books, WWI draft cards and a large amount of photos.

Records to be added in the near future include Freedmen's Bureau Marriage records and Southern Claims Commission Records.

If you have African American roots you should check out this site as well as www.familyseach.org who also have a large collection of African American records online (as well as their Family History Library Catalog with access to many more records on films through the FamilyHistory Centers).

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New versions of Ancestry.com

Now that Ancestry.com has introduced a variety of German records, they have launched the German or Deutsch version of their site at www.ancestry.de. The site is in German and is designed to assist Germans (and other Eastern Europeans) in their family history research. It should be noted that Germany's borders have moved multiple times, especially in early 1900s, and records may be found relating to places and individuals residing in countries other than modern Germany.

Also new is the Australian version of the site at www.ancestry.com.au. Databases include those specifically Australian, convict records, and UK records.

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Ancestry.com releases Hamburg Passenger Lists 1850-1934

Ancestry.com has just released a database of 2.5 million names from the Hamburg passenger lists 1850-1934. Hamburg was a main port of exit for many immigrants from Eastern Europe and Germany coming to North America. This is the first time that this database has been made publicly available on the Internet. However, it should be noted that only the years 1890-1913 have been indexed so far even though all of the images for 1850-1934 are available. If you do not find your ancestor in a search by name, try browsing the images by year. It should also be noted that these records are in German.

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