Have you ever wished you could access some of those paid genealogy websites for free? You can! It is time for you to visit your local Family History Library.
Through the Family History Center "Portal" offered at most LDS Family History Libraries, including the Phoenix Family History Library, you can access all of these sites for free:
Find My Past -- this was my all-time favorite find through the Portal. I do a lot of UK research, and this website can be pretty costly. And, it is the only site who is offering access to the UK 1911 census. I was very happy when I found that I could access Find My Past for free via the Portal. I was able to find several ancestors in the 1911 census, which filled quite a few gaps in my husband's family tree.
Footnote - great for historic documents. I have also uploaded historic photos to share with others via my free access login, but it is nice to be able to access their content for free through this Portal.
I know the Portal used to offer access to Heritage Quest, but a couple of weeks ago it was not available. Never fear - with my Phoenix Public Library card, I was able to get to Heritage Quest via their website - again for free.
These are my favorites, but I know there are more access points via the Portal. I'll explore those other access points and report on them next Saturday - my day to work at the Phoenix Family History library!
Phoenix Family History Center
3102 North 18th Avenue (Map it! North of Thomas, East of 19th Avenue)
Phoenix, AZ 85015-5811
(602) 264-2825.
Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 9pm, and on Saturdays from 12-5pm.
Enjoy!
Through the Family History Center "Portal" offered at most LDS Family History Libraries, including the Phoenix Family History Library, you can access all of these sites for free:
Find My Past -- this was my all-time favorite find through the Portal. I do a lot of UK research, and this website can be pretty costly. And, it is the only site who is offering access to the UK 1911 census. I was very happy when I found that I could access Find My Past for free via the Portal. I was able to find several ancestors in the 1911 census, which filled quite a few gaps in my husband's family tree.
WorldVitalRecords - I had a start-up membership to this website a few years ago, but it didn't seem to grow as fast as I wanted it to, so I let my membership lapse. I did miss getting the chance to check this site every now and then, though. Now I can - through the Portal. It now seems to have a lot more content too, and I have always appreciated the fact that the content was first-source type of records. (I even found a recent newspaper article that mentioned my husband's name!)
I know the Portal used to offer access to Heritage Quest, but a couple of weeks ago it was not available. Never fear - with my Phoenix Public Library card, I was able to get to Heritage Quest via their website - again for free.
These are my favorites, but I know there are more access points via the Portal. I'll explore those other access points and report on them next Saturday - my day to work at the Phoenix Family History library!
Phoenix Family History Center
3102 North 18th Avenue (Map it! North of Thomas, East of 19th Avenue)
Phoenix, AZ 85015-5811
Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 9pm, and on Saturdays from 12-5pm.
Enjoy!
