Friday, January 20, 2012

Genealogy field trip: Plainview Family History Center

So I've been doing genealogy for about 15 years now and this was the first time I'd ever been to a Family History Center. Three weeks ago I ordered several microfilm rolls from the LDS Family History Library and on Tuesday, I got an e-mail that they had been received at the FHC in Plainview. Not too bad of a lag time between ordering and delivery. The Plainview FHC only has evening hours twice a week so today I took off from work to make my first FHC field trip. The one in Plainview, like many Family History Centers, is adjacent to a Mormon temple, like this one:

















And this is the Family History Center, right next door:

Now, I had done some research on how FHCs work but I didn't know exactly what to expect. The centers are staffed by volunteers, who were immediately friendly and helpful. At Plainview, they ask you to only bring your notepad, pencil, and camera/phone into the library with you. Also, in accordance with Mormon religious views, they ask you not to consume caffeine on the premises, so it was a good thing I had just finished my coffee when I arrived. The FHC is very small - in Plainview there's an office, a reading room, and a microfilm machine room. The films I had ordered were right there in the back, nicely labeled. They let you take out one roll at a time. It had been awhile since I used a microfilm machine so the volunteer helped me load it. First disappointment - there's really no method available to make copies of any records you find. There's apparently a wonky photocopying machine, but that's it. Luckily, I had thought ahead of time to bring a digital camera to take photos of any records I found. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to charge it. Thank God for camera phones...so, important, bring some kind of camera with you if you make the trip, preferably one that's charged. And then I was in it! I was there for two hours today - I had ordered five rolls and only got through two of them. Part of the problem was that the records were in German, making them difficult to read. Another problem was, as always, messy handwriting, also making them difficult to read. But I found my great great great grandfather Friedrich Stutzmann's baptismal record, his parents' marriage record, and his grandfather's death record, all handwritten and old looking, which was awesome. They may be harder to read, but original records are so much better at actually drawing you into the past. I will talk about what I found in my next post(s). For now, I have these 5 rolls until April 8th, and I can extend my borrowing time if I need to. I have about 250 years further back to look through and from I skimmed when I glanced at the third roll, the handwriting gets even messier and closer together. This is going to be some hard work. But this is the kind of work that is so necessary and that, for now anyway, you absolutely can't get done unless you go out into the field. The Internet got me started on this particular search, but any good genealogist will take it to the next level. Looking forward to my next trip back!

8 comments:

  1. So glad to hear that you had a productive visit! The FHC I have been to has a new machine that can print scans from microfilm. It was so new that the volunteers weren't even sure how it worked! So a camera is a very good tip. And a tripod if you are taking photos in semi-darkness can't be a bad thing.

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    1. Absolutely about the tripod - the FHC I went to actually had a tripod for people to use, which is helpful.

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  2. I'm surprised it's your first visit. It sounds like it was very productive and not an uncomfortable experience (except for the the battery problem and now way to make copies). Your FHC is larger than the one I go to which in one 1 small room has 2 microfilm readers, 4 computers, a desk, 2 tall file drawers and 1 short one (and no way to print from a microfilm reader, either). The important thing is that we can read the film and get the information.

    Congratulations on your finds. I hope the other rolls offer you lots of great information, too.

    If you're struggling with reading and translating the German, I wrote a post with sources to help translate old German handwriting.

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    1. Thanks, Nancy - I'll take a look at your post about the German handwriting...I can definitely use the help!

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    2. Nancy, just wanted to let you know that your post on old German handwriting was extremely helpful. I've printed out some of your suggested pages as cheat sheets!

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  3. :) Oh, Microfilm readers and crappy handwriting in foreign languages. LOVE IT! So glad you had a successful research day!!

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    1. April, I was thinking of you as I was trying to use the microfilm reader. We'll have to get over to the surrogate court soon. Besides our Jacob research, I have some other family members that I just know finding probate records for will be helpful!

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  4. Oh, that's good it was helpful to you. It's such a challenge to read and translate old German.

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