FAMILY HISTORY CENTER THANKSGIVING WEEK HOURS

The family history center will be open from 10 - 1 pm today . The 1 - 4 pm shift will be closed. The FHC will also be closed this Thursday, Nov. 15 and all of next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we will be open Nov. 27 to help you with your genealogy.

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER CLOSED APRIL 5

Sorry,  I know that you are excited about the 1940 U.S. Census but our Thursday consultants are out of town.  The Census comes out April 2 so make plans to visit the center either this Tuesday from 10 - 4 pm or this Wednesday 6:30 - 8:30 pm.

400+ MILLION FAMILY TREE RECORDS

Family Tree Records may include:

Name & Alias Death & Burial Dates Military Service Photos

Births & Christenings Marraiges & Divorces Occupation Relatives

And so much more!

Now is the time to use WorldVitalRecords in your
family history search. Find your ancestors in our
new 400+ million Family Tree Records

You can subscribe to this site but you can also use it for free at the Athens Family History Center.  

ATHENS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER ADDS SHIFT

The Athens Family History Center located on West Market has added another shift to help you with your genealogy.  In addition to the Tuesday and Wednesday hours of operation, a Thursday shift will be available from 5 pm - 8 pm.

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER CLOSED

Due to building maintenance, the center will be closed this Wednesday night, Feb. 23.

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER - CHANGE FOR JAN. 31

The Family History Center will be Closed for the second shift 1- 4 pm, Jan. 31.    We will still be open to help you from 10 - 1 pm.

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER IS NOW CLOSED ON SATURDAY

Due to changes in staff, the Athens Family History Center on Market Street is now closed on Saturday.  Its current operating hours are Tuesday 10 am - 4 pm and Wednesday  6:30 - 8 pm

1940 CENSUS RELEASED APRIL 2

Started in 1790 by then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, the census has a goal of counting every resident of the country. The United States had a population of about 132 million in 1940.

"The census is a wonderful tool for tracing your family history or doing any kind of historical research," said Elissa Scalise Powell of Marshall, a director of the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh and one of six certified genealogists in Pennsylvania.

"Nineteen-forty, of course, is a booming time in our country. You've got the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and the war effort coming on."

Questions in the 1940 census "reflect the changes that occurred within people's lives and family structure within that 10-year period," said Luanne Eisler, a genealogist at the Butler Area Public Library.

For example, the government's 140,000 enumerators went door-to-door asking where residents lived in 1935 because so many people moved between 1930 and 1940. They asked how many weeks the head of the household was employed during the previous year because of widespread unemployment.

Those questions were asked in addition to typical census queries about names, dates, places of birth, and whether people owned or rented their homes.

"When the government releases information, it's a big deal," said Susan Boyko, a genealogist in Jeannette. "This is bigger than that. This is once-in-a-decade."

The 1940 census will be the first one the National Archives and Records Administration releases digitally. However, the 3.8 million raw images of census forms won't be indexed upon the release, so researchers will have to look up geographic areas and search addresses, rather than searching by keywords. Most public libraries will make the census available.

Spokesmen for the nation's two largest genealogy resources, www.Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest, said the services plan to index the census by the end of the year.

The Athens Family History Center will have this census available for you to see without charge this April.  Come visit and see what else the center has to offer. 

ATHENS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER WILL BE CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY

The family history center will close for the
Christmas Holidays after the first shift (10-1), Dec. 20.

We wish everyone a fantastic Christmas and 
a joyous New Year.   The family history center will reopen January 10.

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER CLOSED

The family history center is closed so the consultants can enjoy the Thanksgiving week.  We pray that everyone will have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.  Be sure to take the opportunity to ask your older kinfolk to tell you some family stories.

WHAT YOU CAN FIND FROM A WWI REGISTRATION CARD

You can get a wealth of information from a World War 1 registration card. An example is the card of Sam Hamilton Allen. This information has several great clues:

Name he went by - Sam Hamilton Allen

Address              - Boyds Creek, Tennessee

Birthdate             - 8 May 1882

Occupation         - Farmer

Wife name          - Sara Allen

Eyes were          - Blue - just a point of interest

Hair color           - Brown

Board office        - Sevierville, Tennessee

Now with this information you should be able to:

Locate Sam on the 1900 census record, maybe in Sevier County, Tenneess and find out his parents' names

You have Sam's name and his birth month and year to match it up to the census record

Maybe locate a marriage license is Sevier County, Tennessee - you know both the brides' first name and the grooms complete name

Maybe even find Sam and his wife, Sara on "Find A Grave" in Sevier County, Tennessee  which would even open more door with additional clues to possable family members buried near them along with a complete death date

Keep researching it is out there just waiting for you to find it.


The Athens Family History Center can provide you with free access to the 3 Fold subscription (military database).
Visit soon and see what else they can offer to help you in your search. 

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER NOVEMBER SCHEDULE

CLOSED:  NOV. 8, 22, 23, 26

TUESDAY:

10 - 1  PM    FAMILY HISTORY DIRECTOR
  1 - 4  PM   SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY RESEARCH EXPERT

WEDNESDAY:
6:30 - 8:30 PM      TENNESSEE RESEARCH EXPERT

SATURDAY:
9 - NOON   FIRST SATURDAY OF MONTH CLOSED

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER OPEN HOUSE

The open house was a success and well attended.  Thank you to everyone that came.
The family history center is now officially open to help you with your genealogy questions and research.

FamilySearch Adds Free Records for 10 Countries

U.S. collections added for Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin

Twenty-two collections for 10 countries were updated recently at FamilySearch.org. The Germany and Mexico church records were the two largest collections added. Collections were also added for Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. See the list below for more details. See the records online now at FamilySearch.org.

Collection	Records	Images	Comments
Brazil, Catholic Church Records, 1835–1966	0	135,859	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Canada, Ontario, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826–1935	14,864	7,234	New index collection.
Canada, Quebec Notarial Records, 1800–1900	0	12,313	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Canada, Saskatchewan Provincial Records	0	70,184	New browsable image collection. Homestead files for 1908.
Germany, Brandenburg and Posen, Church Book Duplicates, 1794–1874	1,503,247	0	Added index records to existing collection.
Guatemala Civil Registration, 1877–1934	0	252,037	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Italy, Civil Registration, 1806–1940	0	682,186	Added browsable images to existing collection for Bologna, Catania, Genova, Padova, and Teramo.
Mexico, Michoacán, Catholic Church Records (1649–1909)	0	2,290,550	New browsable image collection.
Norway Census, 1875	80,729	0	Added index records to existing collection.
Sweden, Örebro Church Records, 1641–1860	12,977	679	Added index records to existing collection. Images available on external website.
Sweden, Södermanland Church Records, 1640–1860	47,948	3,574	Added index records to existing collection. Images available on external website.
Sweden, Uppsala Church Records, 1613–1860	46,251	2,639	Added index records to existing collection. Images available on external website.
U.S. Social Security Death Index	456,064	0	Added records to existing collection. Current to 30 April 2011.
U.S., Iowa, County Marriages, 1838–1934	131,790	0	New index collection.
U.S., Indiana, Marriages, 1811–1959	37,751	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
U.S., Louisiana, First Registration Draft Cards, compiled 1940–1945	87,522	0	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Ohio Tax Records, 1800–1850	640,167	170	New index collection.
U.S., Vermont, Vital Records, 1760–1954	259,950	393,556	Added index records and images to existing collection.
U.S., Vermont, Windham County, Westminster District, Probate Records, 1781–1921	0	21,168	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907–1933	0	1,478	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files, 1848–1933	0	58,375	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Wales, Probate Abstracts, 1773–1780	0	15,135	Added browsable images to existing collection.

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

ATHENS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER (GENEALOGY LIBRARY) OPEN HOUSE

The family history center is having an open house after a year of being moth-balled for remodeling.
It is now housed in its own wing with 4 computer with dual monitors.  The center is free with access to
many premium subscription websites such as Ancestry.com.   Free consultant help is also available.

The open house is June 25 from 4 - 7:30 pm.  It is located at 1716 West Market Street in Athens.  The center is housed in the Athens Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The Athens family history center will open for genealogy research on June 28.

Hours of Operation:

Time:                                   Staff:
Tuesday
10 - 1 pm                              Family History Director
   1- 4 pm                              Southeast Kentucky Research Expert

Wednesday      
   5 - 8 pm                              Tennessee Research Expert      

Saturday                  
   9 - noon                               First Saturday of Month Closed

Phone:  256-771-9968
Questions:  256-777-9152
E-mail:  order4@charter.net