San Jose California FamilySearch Center

The San Jose California History Center serves all of metropolitan San Jose and surrounding communities.

Center Contacts and Hours
Location Map: Location Map

Address: 4977 San Felipe Road, San Jose, CA 95135 United States


 * Use the parking lot closest to the road
 * Walk up the central walkway to the LDS Church and look for the FHC Sign.


 * Language:English

Phone: 1-408-274-8592

E-mail: CA_SanJose@ldsmail.net

Open Hours:

We are closed Sundays, Mondays, Fridays and most holidays.
 * Tuesday: 9:00am-3:00pm
 * Wednesday: 7:00pm-9:00pm
 * Thursday: 9:00am-3:00pm
 * Saturday: 10:00am-1:00pm

Holiday Schedule and Closures for  2018 

Jan 1 to 2 (New Year's Day)

Mar 31 (Easter)

Apr 17 (Carpet Cleaning)

May 26 (Memorial Day)

Jul 3 to 5 (July Fourth)

Aug 14 (Carpet Cleaning)

Sep 1 (Labor Day)

Oct 6 (Church Meeting)

Nov 20 to Nov 4 (Thanksgiving)

Nov 27 (Carpet Cleaning)

Dec 22 to Jan 2 (Christmas)

Family History Classes
Family History Classes – Spring 201  8 

Free Classes taught at the San Jose Family History Center

Wednesdays, 10:00-11:30 a.m. – Individual help available until 1 p.m.

No need to register – just show up!

4977 San Felipe Road – 408-274-8592
 * 1) Feb. 7     Getting Started: Where to Begin, Where to Search, Vital Records
 * 2) Feb. 14   Searching the Internet (FamilySearch, Google & other sites)
 * 3) Feb. 21   Using Ancestry.com
 * 4) Feb. 28   Organizing & Sourcing Your Research, Using Evernote
 * 5) Mar. 7      Using Census Records
 * 6) Mar. 14    Using Church, Military & Probate Records
 * 7) Mar. 21    Using Land, Tax & Court Records
 * 8) Mar. 28    Researching in Eastern Europe
 * 9) Apr. 4      New England Research/Using AmericanAncestors.org
 * 10) Apr. 11    Basics of DNA in Genealogy Research
 * 11) Apr. 18    Breaking Down Brick Walls, Tracing Female Lines


 * Family History Class Handouts (Testing)

Center Resources
Catalog


 * Our catalog is located at FamilySearch.org Click search, then Catalog
 * Under “Search these Family History Centers” select San Jose California Family History Center
 * The catalog allows patrons to:
 * Search by Places, Surnames, Titles, Authors, Subjects or Keywords
 * Broaden a search to other local family history centers or to the holdings of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City
 * Have a direct link to the growing collection of online resources at FamilySearch.org and elsewhere Direct link to the FamilySearch Catalog :FamilySearch Catalog  Link to an Introduction to the FamilySearch Catalog:Introduction to the Catalog 

Databases and Software


 * FHC Portal This center has access to the Family History Center Portal page which gives free access in the center to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.

Websites available are:


 * 19th Century British Library Newspapers Digital Archive
 * Alexander Street Press - The American Civil War: Research Database Letters and Diaries Images, Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera
 * Ancestry.com
 * Access Newspaper Archive - the largest historical newspaper database online, contains tens of millions of newspaper pages from 1753 to present. Every newspaper in the archive is fully searchable by keyword and date, making it easy for you to quickly explore historical content. All 50 states plus 10 countries.
 * Swedish church records
 * Find My Past (UK) - 1.7 billion international family history records from the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and beyond with records going back to 1200. New collections are added every month,
 * Fold 3 - provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.
 * The Genealogist (UK)
 * Godfrey Memorial Library -- Online access to the Middletown CT historical library's approximately 200,000 books and periodicals in its collection which includes state and local histories, family histories, biographies, church records, funeral records, cemetery records, military records, maps, and more.
 * Heritage Quest - a valuable genealogical resource available at this time only through library subscriptions like the Family History Center. U.S. Federal Census records from 1790 through 1930. (No index for 1830, 1840, 1850, nor 1880 census; for the 1930 census, only five states are indexed: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Texas, and Virginia.) The online collection includes new indexes created by HeritageQuest. In addition to the ability to search by name, the census records can be searched by place of birth, age, ethnicity, and other variables.
 * Paper Trail - a guide to overland pioneer names and documents.
 * World Vital Records

Hardware and Equipment


 * The Center has: 12 computers, 8 Microfilm Readers, 2 Microfiche Readers, 1 Microfilm Scanner and 1 Microfilm Printer

Center Services
Staff Research Specialties

(Include sections for any other services your center provides. Add additional sections for those services. See the Bountiful and Chattanooga FHC pages for examples.)

Resources in the Local Area

 * The Santa Clara Genealogical Society is a local public family history organization that works out of the Santa Clara City Public Library. They focus on the history and genealogy of Santa Clara County.


 * The Santa Clara Valley Computer Genealogy Group is a local organization that focuses on the use of computers to aid in genealogical work.

Links

 * Genealogy Classes
 * SJ FHC Class Handouts (Testing)


 * A complete list of online genealogical and research resources for Santa Clara County and the State of California can be found HERE.


 * A complete list of websites to all LDS Family History Centers in California can be found at the link "Category: California Family History Centers" below.