Success at the Family History Center
I have had a life long interest in my ancestors. Even as a child, I was always asking
questions about the family. I can still
see the amusement in the eyes of my aunts and uncles from the continual barrage
of questions. It never occurred to me
to put it all down on paper. Within the
last couple of years, I did start to write down what my family members
patiently repeated time after time. I
ended up with so many pieces of loose paper that I put it all in a box. It was a bit disheartening to search in that
mess for something I needed!
Then I started to use the Internet to learn about tracing my
family. I learned about genealogy
computer programs and purchased one. I
found a site that was created specifically for those searching for their Cuban
roots, www.cubagen.org. I spent several weeks absorbing what was on
this wonderful site. I am still amazed
that whenever I visit it, I find something new and helpful that has been added. The site has an electronic email list called
Cuba-L. This is an absolute must for
anyone interested in Cuban genealogy.
Luckily for me, a group of members of the list who live in Miami decided
to meet and share information. The
Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami, Florida was created and within a short time, a
conference on Cuban genealogy was offered to the public.
At that very first meeting, I was given one of the best
pieces of advice for someone starting in genealogy. I was told to become familiar with the Mormon’s vast collection
of genealogical data. The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has one of the largest collections in the world. The library is located in Salt Lake City,
Utah. They have branches throughout the
world called Family History Centers where you can order materials from the main
library. A suggestion was made to log
onto their website, www.familysearch.com
and review the guides they had available.
They are quite extensive. After
reviewing the offerings, I placed an order right online. Most of the materials were free, but a few
had a nominal charge. I ordered what
sounded helpful. Within a few weeks, my
materials arrived. I read through them
all. It gave me an idea of how the
system of borrowing materials from the library worked. Most of these items are on microfilm. At the centers they have viewing machines
for the film. They also have
copiers. If you do not have access to
the Internet, you can use their computers to view the FamilySearch program on
disks.
I also taught myself
how to use their site, www.familysearch.com. I did not have much success using the
“Search” button for individuals. This
is the section where you put in the name of your ancestor and ask to see the
results. You usually get hundreds of
names. By asking for a particular
country or time frame you can limit the number of responses to a manageable
number. Where I did have success was
using the “Library” tab that leads to the Family History Library Catalog. Under that heading, you can search by
“Place”, “Surname”, “Author”, “Subject”, “Call Number” or “Film/Fiche Number”.
I used the “Place” search button. Before I started, though, I did have an extremely important lead. I had a copy of my grandparents’ marriage
certificate that stated where each of them had been born in Spain. (If you do not have this information, the
Mormon’s materials will help you to search for it.). I started with my grandfather and easily found his hometown. I printed out the list of microfilms covering
the documents for that particular town.
I ordered all the microfilms at the local Family History Center at 9900
Flagler Street. (The phone number for
the center is 305-485-8174. You must
always call and check the time the center will be open before going. The hours
change constantly.)
I started with five rolls of microfilm. I searched the roll that had baptisms for
the year I believed my grandfather had been born. To my utter amazement, I found his baptism certification within a
few minutes. It had taken from August
of 2001 to January of 2002 to receive that first order of microfilms, but it
was certainly worth the wait. Within a
month I had more than 100 relatives plotted out on my new genealogy computer
program. (The box is long gone having
been replaced by binders full of categorized copies of documents obtained at
the center.) From those first rolls, I
found leads to many other areas of Spain and Portugal where my relatives lived
and died. In just five short months, I
have completed seven full generations on this paternal grandfather’s side. I am currently working on the eight
generation. And, I only have a few
names missing!
If you have not used the local Family History Center, I urge
you to so. You’ll find over 600 million
individual records on file. Your
elusive ancestors may be among them, just waiting to be discovered by you!
