Groton Connecticut FamilySearch Center

The Groton Connecticut Family History Center serves New London County and surrounding areas. There are additional centers located in Hartford, New Haven, Newton, Madison, Manchester, Southington and New Canaan; also in Providence Rhode Island. Whether you are just beginning to trace your roots or need additional resources to complete your search, we offer access to the extensive resources available through FamilySearch International and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The center is open to the public and admission is free of charge. Everyone is welcome! Group visits can be arranged by calling or emailing us.

Center Contacts and Hours
Location Map:


 * Location Map

Address:


 * 1230 Flander Rd Mystic CT 06355-1006 United States
 * Park in the uphill parking lot. Sign on door gives hours of operation.
 * Ring Doorbell for entry.


 * Language:English

Phone:


 * 1-860-536-5102

E-mail: CT_Groton@ldsmail.net

Center Hours:


 * Monday:  closed
 * Tuesday:10:00am-1:00pm and 6:30-8:30pm
 * Wednesday: closed
 * Thursday:10:00am-1:00pm and 6:30-8:30pm
 * Friday:6:30-8:30pm
 * Saturday:10:00am-1:00pm

CLOSURES:


 * Closed 19 Dec 2015 - 4 Jan 2016 for Christmas holiday but will open by request
 * There will be special summer hours for 2016 (TBA) as our staff arranges their vacations

Collections

 * FamilySearch Catalog: This center has the ability to order any of the films and fiche available through the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * You are now able to search the FamilySearch Catalog found at FamilySearch.org AND place your order online from home at:  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.


 * Other Resources: New England Historical and Genealogical register - 1988-2011 Connecticut Nutmegger - 1968-2014 Mayflower Quarterly - Miscellaneous volumns 1980-1997 Barbour Collection Connectict Towns Vital Records Rhode Island Vital records- Washington and Newport Counties Rhode Island Genealogical Register - 1978-1996 Family Histories donated by various families Research aides for foreign countries


 * 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: including Ancestry.com, Find My Past, My Heritage, 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive, Alexander Street Press - The American Civil War, Fold3, Historic Map Works, Newspaper Archives, Paper Trail, ProQuest Obituary Listings, World Vital Records

Hardware and Equipment

 * 5 film readers, 2 fische readers, 1 film/fische reader connected to computer to allow printing of records and/or saving them to a flash drive, 4 computers for online research.

Staff Research Specialties
- We offer access to and assistance in the use of many internet research sites. We can also assist you with the use of The FamilySearch Catalog, the online catalog describing the holdings of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

- Our staff members on Thursday morning and Thursday evening can assist in DAR research and qualifications.

- All our staff members are dedicated to researching their own family lines and are excited to share that enthusiasm with others.

- Alternative times can be arranged if our open hours do not fit your schedule.

 

Resources in the Local Area
National Archives at Boston 380 Trapelo Road, Waltham, MA 02452-6399 Phone: (781) 663-0130 Collects Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont documents, photos, and maps of 80 federal agencies, War of 1812, fortifications, coastal facilities, World War II research at Harvard and MIT, federal bankruptcy courts, First Circuit Court of Appeals, Navy, Coast Guard, westward expansion, ethnology, genealogy, Revolutionary War, Civil War, captured German records, territorial papers, censuses, passenger arrival records for Boston and New England, and Canadian border crossings

Connecticut Historical Society 1 Elizabeth Street Hartford, Connecticut 06105 Telephone: 860-236-5621 Town records, biographies, manuscripts, families, early settlers, church records, photos, and maps

Connecticut State Library 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06106 Telephone: 860-757-6500866-886-4478 Barbour Collection, Bibles, census, church, Hale Collection newspaper marriages and deaths, manuscripts, books, cemeteries, probates, vital records, directories, land, local histories, maps, military, naturalization, and passenger arrivals.

Connecticut Society of Genealogists Library 175 Maple Street, East Hartford, Connecticut 06118-2634 Mailing address: P.O. Box 435, Glastonbury, CT 06033-0435 USA ; Telephone: 860-569-0002 The library's holdings are not limited to Connecticut and include census records, tax lists, family histories, church records, local histories, and much more.

Godfrey_Memorial_Library 134 Newfield St. Middletown, Connecticut 06457 Telephone: 860-346-4375 This library is an excellent genealogical facility including many New England town records, guidebooks, indexes, biographies, and genealogies

Mystic Seaport Museum Collections Research Center 75 Greenmanville Ave. Mystic, CT 06355 Telephone:860-572-5367 E-mail: collections@mysticseaport.org Best first-stop for ships' logs and images, journals, ledgers, diaries, and documents from the whaling, fishing, and shipping industries. Preserves the maritime history of Connecticut and New England. 1,300 logbooks, 390 collections, and 800 related volumes from 1720-present.[4]

New Haven Museum Whitney Research Library 114 Whitney Avenue, New Haven CT 06510 Telephone: 203-562-4183 E-mail: library@newhavenmuseum.org Internet: The Whitney Library collection description, catalog of manuscripts, research guides, and services.

This is the best collection of the earliest southern Connecticut town records.[2] They also have passenger arrival lists, Federal censuses, and a complete set of New Haven city directories since 1840.[5] Formerly known as the New Haven Colony Historical Society.

UConn Libraries Homer Babbidge Library 369 Fairfield Way, Storrs, CT 06269 Telephone: 860-486-2518 They have an outstanding Connecticut genealogy collection.

Western Connecticut State University Haas Library 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810 Telephone: 203-837-9100 Their collection includes histories, biographies, genealogies, and local histories

Yale University Sterling Memorial Library 120 High Street, New Haven, CT 06511-1918 Telephone: 203-432-1775 E-mail: askyale@gmail.com Internet: Sterling Memorial Library

Their genealogical strength is their religious collection and Puritain and Congregational Church records. They are also strong on Connecticut, New Haven, and New England history, manuscripts, diaries, and journals

American Antiquarian Society 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01609-1634 Telephone: 508-755-5221 E-mail: Library@americanantiquarian.org Internet: http://www.americanantiquarian.org/

They have many Connecticut vital records, newspapers, and town histories. The AAS is best known for their U.S. newspaper collection of over 18,000 bound volumes 1704-1820, history, genealogy, Bibles, maps, biography, directories, Native Americans, women, canals, railroads, photos, and manuscripts

Links
By going to the familysearch.org/learn/wiki site you will find many links that can help in your research. A few examples:

https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Connecticut_Online_Genealogy_Records

https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Connecticut_in_the_Civil_War

https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Connecticut_Church_Records