It is said to be the world’s most popular hobby: genealogy, or investigating family history. For people who have interest in this topic, a local church is providing free access to a wealth of information.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Gilroy Chapel (7499 Miller Ave.) has announced the opening of their Genealogical Research Library to South County residents from 7:30-9pm each Wednesday. This facility is home to hundreds of CDs containing vital records from Western Europe dating from the 1560s to 1908.
Also available are vital records from Latin America, North America and Australia dating from the 1750s to the early 1900s. In addition, there are census records, ship manifests, immigration records and African American slave bank records from the United States, Canada and the British Isles. This database is believed to total more than 305 million individuals.
According to Chuck Wear, who announced this opportunity on behalf of the Gilroy LDS Church, thousands of senior couples spent 10 missions – each 18 months long – micro-filming European churches; baptismal, marriage and burial records; government census records; birth and death records; village and hamlet histories; and cemetery records. This information was then entered into computer databases to make it instantly available.
There is no charge to use the Genealogical Research Library, and staff will assist everyone – even those who are uncomfortable using the computer. Also in the facility are microfilm readers to investigate other records. Volunteer staff members will be on duty each Wednesday evening to offer help.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the world’s leader in the storage of genealogical records. According to www.familysearch.org, a genealogical Web site run by the LDS, Mormons believe that “deceased ancestors can also receive the blessings of being eternally united with their families. Church members make covenants in temples on behalf of their ancestors, who are free to accept these covenants in the spirit world. But in order to make covenants, family members must be able to identify ancestors,” which has resulted in this enormous collection of genealogical records from around the world.
Free registration on www.familysearch.org allows users to do research from home; helps users get started; facilitates searching for birth, marriage and death records as well as census collections; gives users information on people with similar genealogy interests; and provides links to other helpful Web sites. Personal Ancestral File, a free genealogy and family history program, can also be downloaded from www.familysearch.org.
