We spent most of yesterday afternoon at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, while I attempted to find some information on my grandparents.
Operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the library is a vast storehouse of information on people from all over the world. Here you can find birth, death, and marriage records, census records, military and cemetery records, and so much more that I could never list it all here. If you are into genealogy, you have to make a trip here someday. You don’t have to be a Mormon to use the facilities, and there is no charge, except for any copies of records you make.
Actually, you can go to any LDS Family History Center to do genealogy research, and they can be found all over the country. They can also order information and records for you from Salt Lake City if you need them. But here, it’s all right there waiting for you.
The only problem was that a lot of the volunteers on duty to assist researchers, while very nice people, really didn’t seem all that well trained. I got a lot of “Well, I’m not sure” and “I’m new here, but maybe…” when I asked about where to look for the data I need.
Since this was my first trip to the library, it was like having this massive vault, full of information, but nobody knew the combination to get inside. I’ll be going back to do some more research, because I know there is a lot of information about my ancestors there, if I can just find it!
We were hungry by the time left the library, late in the afternoon, so we went to what Terry and I agree is the very best buffet of any kind we have ever found in the country, Chuck-A-Rama. There are several of them here in Salt Lake City, and we will definitely go back. The selection was fantastic, everything was fresh and tasty, and nothing sits around getting stale or cold. This place is a winner!
As we were leaving the restaurant, we spotted this huge bird house in a small park nearby. Talk about a critter condo!
Back at Pony Express RV Resort, we found our old friend Dick Reed’s beautiful classic Eagle bus conversion parked next to us! Dick is in town for a couple of days, and when he checked in, he told the folks in the office that the wanted to be as close to us as he could get! Any closer, and Dick’s snoring would keep me awake!
We haven’t seen Dick in quite a while, so we had a lot of catching up to do, and we visited until after 11 p.m. Here is a picture that Miss Terry took of Dick and me. No, I didn’t get taller, I’m standing on the step of Dick’s bus in this picture!
We had another beautiful sunset, and Terry managed to catch this neat picture of a jet coming in for a landing at the airport, which is just a couple of miles away. Cool, huh?
Today I plan to go back to the Family History Library. Maybe they have a list of horse thieves and shady ladies where I can find some of my long lost relatives!
Thought For The Day – Too much of one thing is good for nothing.
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Nick Russell
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Looks like the “No Vacancy” sign is out at that bird condo!
Not sure if you will find this resource helpful and certainly do not know if you already have it but just in case you don’t – http://www.cyndislist.com/ It is a pretty comprehensive list of genealogy resouces.
Nick,
I’ve found the same thing about the lack of knowledge of the volunteers on the floor. It’s hit-and-miss. Some are good; others not so much. Ask at the round desks as you enter each floor. They should be able to help you. I’m so glad you have finally made it to the Family History Library. Bet this won’t be your last trip!
Happy Hunting!
Judy
My husband and I have been using Ancestry.com (also an LDS supported data base) to research our family history. The issue I had with the data base was the number of errors I found in recorded dates for my relatives. However, discovering the manifest for the ship my mother sailed on to reach America’s shores and researching census records was exciting. Good Luck with your researh!
There is(was) a fellow in the basement level of the Mall just south and across the street from Temple Square that knows how to get the information you want. If you hire him for an hour or so it will make the search easier.
Don Hankins
When you get to Elkhart you’ll only be about an hour from the big genealogy center in Fort Wayne.
http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/index.html
You probably know that almost all the staff at the FHL are missionaries. Most of them have very little knowledge of genealogy and only have the limited training they receive when they show up to begin their 2 years of service. On every floor, there is one “professional” genealogist. They are at the desk and wear a gold name tag as opposed to the black and white name tags you see most of the missionaries wearing. They are the knowledgable people on the floor, but usually they are so busy it’s difficult to find help. Wish I could have been there to help you out. I have been researching my own family history for about 35 years. I’ve been a FHC director for 5 years and have taught many classes in research, as well as taught the missionaries we had in our local FHC.
Continued good luck in your search.