Church rents reels of records

Are you a genealogist who has moved to Charleston and found that your research has come to a grinding halt? Are there so many holes in your research that you've put off tracing your ancestors until you make that yet-to-be-scheduled trip back home?

Well, it doesn't have to be that way.

Even if the records you want can't be found on an Internet Web site, you don't have to be at home to gather information on the folks back home.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a monumental collection that can help to solve your problem.

Want the birth, marriage and death records from the county court in Kentucky or Ohio? Need the official dentist's register for California from 1885 to 1919? Can't wait to read the immigration records for mid-1855 to 1960 for Alabama?

There's a very good chance that the church's Family History Library in Utah has microfilmed the records you want and can lend them to you through its local family history center.

The church's Utah Genealogical Society began collecting and microfilming records in 1938 and has more than 2.5 million reels of microfilm.

Think of its lending program as an interlibrary loan for family historians.

The quickest way to find out if the society has what you need is to visit its Web site, www.FamilySearch.org. Click Library, then Family History Catalog, and type the name of your state and county or town in the search boxes.

You also can find and rent their film of records from more foreign countries than you can count.

When you see one you need, copy the catalog number and visit the Family History Center at 1519 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. and order it. You don't have to be a member of the church or have a subscription to a service, just a desire to do genealogy.

You can order the records on microfilm through the Family History Center. It is open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

The rental fee is $5.75 per reel for a film, which arrives in two to three weeks and can be used at the center for 30 days. Rentals also can be extended for 30 days twice at a cost of $5.50 per extension. After two extensions, a film remains at the center for as long as it is needed.

In addition, if the film you want already is on indefinite loan at the center, you won't have to rent it, but can use it at no cost.

For more information, call the Family History Center at 766-6017.

Reach Wevonneda Minis at 937-5705 or wminis@postandcourier.com.