Start a family history search right around the corner

A genealogical treasure chest of ancestry records is located right in Germantown.

The Seneca Family History Center, operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, provides patrons with access to billions of volumes of data.

Any member of the public can use a computer to identify applicable resources related to their family tree, center volunteer Mike Ripley explained.

"The church has the largest collection of records in the world," Ripley said.

The materials are stored at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Local centers, like the one on Kingsview Road in Germantown, loan records from the library, provide a place for research and assist patrons with using the resources. Thirty-one trained volunteers work at the facility.

"The best part is seeing the delight when people discover something they're looking for," said David Ferrel of Germantown.

He and his wife Laurel are the co-directors of the center.

A person can begin by filling out a pedigree chart listing the information they already know about their family -- parents and grandparents, for instance. Then they identify what information they want to know, and identify resources to help them find that information. Knowing Social Security numbers and dates of birth and death are helpful.

After searching the online database, patrons fill out a slip listing the number for the microfilm they wish to view. A staff member contacts the central records department in Salt Lake City to request the film, then it arrives via mail a few days later. To recoup mailing costs, the center charges $3.25 to request a film. It stays at the local center for about a month.

"We had one man that was so excited he ordered 21 films one evening," she said.

The list of material requests sent to Salt Lake City is lengthy and varied. A log of recent requests included orders for passenger lists from New York, Irish civil registries, and 15th century parish baptism records.

There are 12 family history centers in Maryland, and 3,500 around the world. David Ferrel said the facilities are an example of the church's family-oriented nature.

"Each of us as members of the church try to search our own ancestry," he said. "There is a delight in knowing who our ancestors are."

Tony Whitehead, a professor of anthropology at the University of Maryland, said "ancestor hunting" is a popular activity.

"Once some people start doing this, they begin to see some relationship that their ancestors might have had during very significant historical periods," he explained. "It really becomes exciting."

David Ferrel has first-hand knowledge of that. He discovered he had a great-great-great-grandfather who fought in the Revolutionary War. He recovered letters describing military service, and a pension application from the National Archives.

"It talked about being in Valley Forge over the winter," he said.

The Ferrels had a painting of George Washington's battle at Valley Forge in their home before they learned of the connection.

"You think, 'Hey, I have an ancestor who paid that price,'" she said. "I think it feels more real that way."

The center's volunteers have seen a shift from microfiche and microfilm to Web sites and databases over the years.

"Ten years ago we had one computer with a dialup modem for placing the order," David Ferrel said. "The microfiche machines were much more prominent."

The center now has only one microfiche machine. Many of the records previously stored on microfiche are now available on the Internet. But the miles of microfilm won't be available online anytime soon.

"The church has literally millions and millions and millions of volumes of genealogical records," Ripley said. "There's so much of it, it would boggle the mind to put all the records online."

The number of patrons at the center has grown in recent years, and ancestor hunting continues to grow in popularity, Laurel Ferrel equated the data to parts of a puzzle scattered about, waiting to be pieced together.

"You wonder, why do people do crossword puzzles?," she said. "Why do people do Rubik's cubes? I think genealogy is like a puzzle -- except [the result is] a very personal portrait."