Chattanooga Tennessee FamilySearch Center

Whether you are just beginning to trace your roots or need additional resources to complete your search, the Chattanooga Family History Center offers access to the extensive resources available through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The center is open to the public and admission is free of charge. Everyone is welcome!

How to Find Us
Our center is housed in a brick church building -- the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chattanooga Stake Center -- on Ooltewah Ringgold Road. The FHC is inside the rear entrance to the building, first room on the left.  Address: 3067 Ooltewah Ringgold Road, Oltewah, TN


 * Building front from street[[Image:Stk-Ctr-Front.jpg|thumb|right|244x183px]]
 * Location on Map

Phone: 423.892.7632

Please contact FHC directors if needed, leave message:


 * Debra Liening (C) 423.505.4427
 * Ron Adams (C) 423.240.7946

E-mail: [mailto:Tn tn_chattanooga@ldsmail.net]

Hours of Operation
Open Hours:


 * Tues./Thurs./Sat: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
 * Wed: 7 - 9 p.m.


 * Planned Closures: January 1; Easter week (Monday prior to Monday after); First Saturday in April (GC); Week of Independence Day (Monday prior to Monday after); First Saturday in October (GC); Thanksgiving week (Monday prior to Monday after); Christmas/New Year (16 Dec 2012 through 4 Jan 2013).   We plan to be open on most other Saturdays of Monday federal holiday weekends.


 * The Center follows the Hamilton County Schools Inclement Weather closing schedule. Please call during business hours or leave a message if you have questions about the schedule. If unable to reach anyone at the FHC, please call one of the FHC Directors at the numbers listed above.

Planning a Visit
Our FHC is staffed by local volunteers who understand the basic principles of family history research. They can guide you in using FHC resources and equipment. If you're planning a visit to our center to begin your genealogy, write down what you know about the family you wish to research -- names, dates, and places -- and choose a research goal. This will help our volunteers to best assist you. Please call to calendar group visits in advance.

Online film/fiche ordering is currently available in our area! You are now able to search the Family History Library Catalog found at FamilySearch.org AND place your order online from home at:

www.familysearch.org/films

You will receive an e-mail or phone call from us when the film has arrived on loan in our FHC for your use.

Collections

 * Family History Library Catalog: This center has the ability to order any of the films and fiche available through the Family History Library Catalog.
 * Leonardo Andrea Collection -- We have 90 microfilm comprising folders of genealogical work on about 900 families collected by the late Leonardo Andrea, a famous South Carolinian genealogist. We also have other films containing all of his other books and works.
 * McCubbins' Collection -- 76 microfilm of original and typescript holdings on the Rowan County, NC Public Library @ Salisbury. The first three films index the rest of the collection.
 * Guion Miller Records -- This is a rather unique collection for our center -- relating to the enrollment of Eastern Cherokee, 1908 to 1910. This collection contains almost 400 rolls of microfilm. We have most of these films and continue to add to the collection.
 * Patrons' Microfiche Collection -- a collection of fiche ordered by our patrons, assorted titles. Contain family histories, vital records, and other types of information. These are indexed in the blue binders in the bookcase.
 * Indefinite Film Collection -- a collection of films on a variety of subjects, to include vital records, county records, court records, etc. They are indexed by state and then by county in the "state binders" in the bookcase.

Databases and Software
FHC Portal: This center has access to the Family History Center Portal page which gives free access in the center only to premium family history websites that generally charge for subscriptions, including:

Ancestry.com (Family History Library edition)


 * 19th Century British Newspapers
 * Alexander Street Press (American Civil War Collections)
 * FindMyPast
 * Footnote.com
 * Genline FamilyFinder (Swedish)
 * Godfrey Memorial Library
 * Heritage Quest

Software installed on our desktops includes:
Ancestral Quest -- Offers all of the basic features of other top genealogy programs -- multiple views, source documentation, a wide variety of reports and charts, web page creation, multimedia scrapbook features, merge capabilities and organization tools.

Generation Maps -- A program that will take the info from your family tree program (PAF, GED, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Rootsmagic, New.FamilySearch.com, etc) and put everyone on a big chart, where you can see them and begin to fit all the families together.

Get My Ancestors -- Download multiple generations your family tree from the FamilySearch family tree. This file will include basic events such as birth, Christening, Death, Burial and Marriage. Find a specific person and download his or her family tree and sync with your current file. Save a file as a Personal Ancestral File (PAF) database. Files created work with Personal Ancestral File 5 and FamilyInsight. Works with both Mac and Windows machines. This is a free utility courtesy of Ohana. Map My Family Tree -- A Genealogy mapping product that presents your ancestors' lives on a map. Reads your genealogy file and automatically plots all ancestral life events on customizable color maps. Allows you to see where your ancestors were born, married, and died. Track family migrations using the world and country maps. Zoom into any part of the world to see detailed events in that particular location. Choose from 15 different map styles. Print your maps.

Family Insight by Ohana Software PAF or other database "clean-up" tool; Replaces and includes the product called PAF Insight; Family Insight searches New.FamilySearch.org; Synchronizes your PAF data with New Family Search

Hardware and Equipment

 * 4 desktop computers with FamilySearch internet access
 * Dedicated printers
 * Several microfiche readers
 * 5 overhead microfilm readers
 * 1 Canon microfilm/fiche scanner with printer connection
 * 1 copy/scan/fax machine.
 * We are in the process of obtaining a digital camera and camera clamp to be able to photograph microfilm images.

Services
We encourage visitors to bring own their digital cameras for copying images from microfilm or microfiche. Then you have your own digital record and can take the images home to clean them up on your imaging program! If the FHC camera is used, copies may be printed or files may be transferred to a jump drive using the XnView program found on the computer in the main office.

Memory sticks/jump drives can be used to download information from the microfilm scanner.

Patrons may bring their own laptops for note-taking or entering information into personal genealogical programs, with the disclaimer that the owner is responsible for the security of the device. Wireless internet is currently available in the building, though there may be days when availability is limited due to updating, etc.

With the advent of online microfilm ordering, we have done away with other transactions in the FHC for now.

Links
Hamilton County Bicentennial Library

Hamilton County Genealogical Society

Chattanooga Area Historical Association

Tennessee Vital Records Office

Tennessee Electronic Library

Volunteer at the Center
To volunteer, contact the FHC directors at the telephone or e-mail listed above.