RESOURCES OF THE MAPLE ROAD LDS FAMILY HISTORY

RESOURCES OF THE MAPLE ROAD
LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
1424 Maple Road, Williamsville, New York 14221
(at the rear of the church)
Phone 716-688-2439
Open: Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays 10 AM - 2 PM
Tuesdays and Thursdays lOAM - 9 PM
(Closed periodically for holidays and/or maintenance, call for information.)
The FHC has four general classes of resources available to the public:
1) PRINT RESOURCES
2) MICROFICHE and MICROFILM RESOURCES
3) COMPUTER and ON-LINE RESOURCES
-~'¢JHUMAN
RESOURCt!S
Angelo F. (Ange) Coniglio 716-832-3790
genealogytips@aol.com
Website: http://www.conigliofamily.com/Conigl ioGeneaI ogyTi ps .htm
PRINT
RESOURCES OF THE MAPLE ROAD LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
The Center's print resources include over 5,000 bound volumes,
as well as numerous binders, individual flats and card files, in the
following categories. The items mentioned below only scratch the
surface of the total resources available:
• Dictionaries translating English to/from various languages,
ineluding Latin, often used in church records.
• Bound, published reference b~oks, including genealogical
records, passenger records, and family histories. Examples include
16 volumes of Italians to America, which lists passenger and ship
names for Italian immigrants from 1880 through 1901, the New England
Genealogical Record, various Handbooks for Genealogists, muster lists
from the Revolutionary War, The Domesday Book, the census of England in
1085 AD, and Nineteenth century atlases of New York State's counties,
including Niagara and Orleans Counties, 1875. Also available are various
New York State and US Censuses, City Directories, including those for
Buffalo and Suburbs, Niagara Falls, and Rochester.
• Indexes and lists in loose-leaf binders, including indices of microfiche or
microfilms available in the Center, Research Guides, genealogy tips, etc.
• Maps and charts of Buffalo and Western New York, showing street
layouts, ward boundaries, etc.
• Forms and pamphlets: Family Group sheets, Pedigree charts, and
pamphlets describing the use of LDS resources for the study of records for
various nationalities.
These and many other print resources are available for study at the
Center. A copy machine is available for making copies at $0.20, and a flat-bed
scanner can be used to make electronic copies to the patron's flash drive.
These print resources are filed generally by region of New York State or the
U.S., and international items are grouped by country.
Planned: A categorized, printed index of all print resources.
MICROFICHE
and MICROFILM
RESOURCES OF THE MAPLE ROAD LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
The Center has two microfiche readers and 9 manual microfilm
readers (including three with medium magnification and three with high
magnification). It has one electric microfilm reader with a built-in scanner to
produce copies of viewed pages at $0.20 each. If the demand for this unit
warrants, its use may have to be scheduled by patrons .
• Microfiche include those with indices and records of numerous types of
records from nations including Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Poland
and many others. Examples are: Scotland census and parochial records;
England and Wales births, marriages and deaths; U. S. and European
surname catalogs; and Buffalo city directories. Most of these records are
now available on-line and will be discussed later. Microfiche may be
ordered for $0.15 apiece, and once on hand, they remain permanently.
• Microfllms include many on permanent loan to the Center, for birth,
baptism and marriage records from Western New York churches. From
many jurisdictions nationwide there are state census records; city
directories; selected indices of naturalization records; and birth, baptism,
marriage and death records from towns representing fifteen or more
European countries. Many are from England or Germany, with a large
number from Sicily and Italy. Microfilms may be ordered at the FHC.
These arrive from Salt Lake City a few weeks after they are ordered, and
may be viewed at the FHC for one month after receipt, by the ordering
patron or any other user of the FHC. After a month they may be renewed
for $5.50 and then are available for two more months, after which they may
be renewed and put on Extended Loan, for another $5.50.
For Sicilian and Italian microfilms, of which there are about 350 on
permanent loan, the FHC has a printed list of film titles and contents, as well
as a Rolodex file that permits easy determination of whether the film is present
at the FHC, and if so, in which drawer it may be found.
Planned: A patron-friendly list of all foreign-record microfilms that are on
Extended Loan.
COMPUTER and ON-LINE
RESOURCES OF THE MAPLE ROAD LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
The Center has six PCs available for use by patrons or staff.
Each has access to the internet, and can produce hard copies in black
and white on one of three printers, at $0.20 per copy.
Patrons who wish to make electronic copies (that is, create
electronic files or folders) should bring their own discs or "flash
drives", as the Center's PCs are "wiped" each night of any files
created by patrons.
• Computer (off-line) resources include cds ofLDS family records,
tutorials, etc., including disc sets with records of the LDS'
International Genealogical Index (IGD, Pedigree Resource Files,
Vital Resource Indices from several nations, etc. Most of
information on these cds is now also available on-line.
• The LDS computers are also loaded with software to develop
Personal Ancestry Files (PAl), which may then be uploaded to
the LDS main site at the Salt Lake Family History Library.
• On-line resources include any normally accessible free website
selected by the patron.
• The LDS page at www.familysearch.org is the horrie page on
the Center's computers. It includes links for finding location
and operating hours of Family History Centers, lists of
microfiche and microfilms of domestic and foreign church and
civil records: birth; marriage; naturalization; directories; and
numerous others. The lists show if the material may be ordered,
or if it is viewable at the main LDS Family History Library at
Salt Lake City. There is some access to images of records, and a
variety of links to LDS educational material, including video
presentations on genealogy for several nations. Searches can be
made for surnames or family member information that may be
contained in the church database. (A free site, available at home.)
COMPUTER and ON-LINE
RESOURCES OF THE MAPLE ROAD LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
• On-line resources (continued) From the FRe computers, an LDS
Portal may be accessed which gives free access to a number of
paid sites to resources like the Godfrey Memorial Library., and
World Vital Records. Also available are:
• www.ellisisland.org, a free site, permits search by name and
surname for immigrants to Ellis Island (1892-1924) images of
original ship passenger manifests can be viewed, but not
downloaded. Later manifests include many important items,
such as the name of the person the immigrant left behind, as
well as that of the person at the final destination.
• www.castlegarden.org
is a free site which may be searched for
pre-Ellis Island immigrants to New York State's immigration
center at Castle Garden at the foot of Manhattan, from 1820
through 1892.
• http://stevemorse.org/ellis/boat.htmiis
a free site that helps to
find passenger manifests that are missing or mis-labeled on other
sites. If the ship name is known, every voyage of the ship is
listed, and every page of the manifest may be viewed. Images of
the manifests may be saved to the local computer
'
• www.ancestry.com. a paid site, has an institutional version
available for free at the FHC for patrons. Those with
subscriptions to Ancestry.com may also log on from FHC
computers. It permits searches passenger manifests from Ellis
Island, but also manifests from other ports, and U. S. - Canada
border crossings, U.S. (and some foreign) Censuses, Social
Security Death indices, military records, newspaper obituaries,
and a host of other records, including some images of original
birth records.
Planned: A wi-fi connection for patrons' laptops.
.HUMAN RESOURCES
OF THE MAPLE ROAD LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
The Maple Road Family History Center S most important
resource my very well be its staff of dedicated volunteer librarians,
including both LDS Church members and non-members.
On various days, volunteers are available who include experts in
Polish, German, English, and U.S. genealogical searches; a linguist
who can interpret German, French or Latin records; volunteers with
extensive experience in finding, reading and interpreting Polish,
Sicilian or Italian records; and staff who have experience and
knowledge gleaned from visits to the Family History Library in Salt
Lake, or from having viewed collections of original civil records in
Europe.
In addition to staff, the FHC is frequented by a number of novice
and experienced patrons, all enthusiastic, and most willing to share
their knowledge of a particular language or ethnic custom, or a hint
or clue as to how they found that particularly esoteric record about
one of their ancestors.
In all, the Maple Road LDS FHC is a treasure trove for the
amateur and experienced genealogist, with a wealth of genealogical
information condensed in one friendly, convenient place. Again, the
number is 716-688-2439, and hours are: Mondays, Wednesdays and
Saturdays lOAM - 2 PM; Tuesdays and Thursdays lOAM - 9 PM.
And remember to ask for me there.