By CRAIG HIGGINS
The Progress
In the next few months, people in the local community will have a chance to make a connection with their ancestors. Family History Centers (FHC) in both Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley are gearing up with events that are open to the general public and which are sure to provide knowledge and inspiration for those interested in their family trees.
The Logandale FHC, located at the Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will be host a Family History Fair on Saturday, February 26 from 9 am – 12 pm, at the Stake Center which is at 2555 N St Joseph St. in Logandale.
Stake consultants Marvin and Patricia Leavitt promise an abundance of productive and informative classes, snacks and food, and good times for all attendees.
“We have something for almost everybody,” Patricia Leavitt said.
The event will include three class periods, “with seven to eight classes going on at the same time,” according to Leavitt.
Classes will a variety of subject matter geared to the novice and the expert alike. They include everything from organizing family history documents and photos to using major genealogy websites such as FamilySearch and Ancestry.com. Other topics include use of Google or Wiki to uncover links to family members, accessing military records, and adjusting or restoring old family pictures with Photoshop.
Each class will be taught by teachers who are prominent in their field. “All of them are experts in some part of family history,” Leavitt said. “(These are) professional genealogists and experts in their field.”
Leavitt promises there will also be a luncheon served for everyone that comes to the fair.
For those who want to get started on their family history right away, the Stake FHC is open now. The Logandale center is open on Wednesdays from 9am – 7:30 pm, and on Thursdays from 9am – 4pm. This mid-week coverage provides scheduling flexibility for the community. All are welcome. Help and instruction are available at the center.
“I think everyone has an interest in finding out where they came from,” Leavitt said. “We get a lot of characteristics from our ancestors, and from this you can find out things about yourself.”
The Virgin Valley Stake FHC, located at 100 N. Arrowhead Lane in Mesquite, is hosting a Family Discovery Day on Saturday, March 19. Times of this event are yet to be determined but watch The Progress for more details.
Multiple classes and demonstrations will help participants at this event find their ancestors.
Mesquite Family History consultant Candy Kammerman suggested that doing this work benefits kids as well as adults.
“There have been a lot of studies done on the impact of knowing who your ancestors were,” Kammerman said. “They show that children were able to cope with problems with added resilience and self-confidence because they knew they had those roots to help ground them.”
The Mesquite FHC is also open during the week. The Center’s regular hours are Mondays, 10 AM – 5 PM; and Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9 AM – 8 PM.
Appointments are available and Kammerman suggests that first-time family researchers, “have some idea of what or who they are looking for.”
Still, in spite of the work involved in researching one’s ancestors, the benefits are great, Kammerman said. “People can put flesh on the bones of those people that lived so long ago,” she said.
Both FHCs are available to all as a community resource for researching family history.
