The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints announces the re-opening of the Family History Center located in their chapel at 2002 Drakestone Blvd., in Lawton, with new hours.
The Center is now open Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 6:30-9:30 p.m. and Thursday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Enter the building by ringing the bell at the west door. For further information contact: Faye Winkler, Director, 585-7071; Myron McChurin, Assistant, 695-2665; or Terry Ernest 678-2188.
The Center is open to the public and there is no fee for use. Volunteers are welcome to assist during hours the Center is open and church membership is not required.
Genealogy has always been encouraged by the Church and researching your ancestors may be done at no charge at the church's genealogy website familysearch.org.
The Lawton Family History Center is one of over 4,500 centers worldwide. All are branches of the famous Family History Library located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Family History Library maintains the world's largest collection of microfilmed genealogical records in the world.  Over 2.5 million rolls of film are available for loan. The vast majority of records contain information on people born before 1930.  The scope is international.
To learn what records have been filmed consult the library catalog available on their website. Most microfilmed records are available for loan and may be ordered online. Once ordered, the film will be sent to the Family History Center where it may be viewed.
Familysearch offers two loan types  short term and extended. Short term (microfilm only) is for 90 days and costs $7.50. Extended loan is for both microfilm and microfiche and has no defined return date. The microfilm price is $18.75 and fiche is $4.75. Payment must be done online using paypal or credit card.  Family History Centers no longer order film.
Familysearch is currently digitizing its microfilm collection. Before ordering films, check the catalog to see if the record has been digitized and available online. Besides digitizing the existing microfilm collection, over 200 operators are digitizing new records in 45 countries.
Records are being indexed continually by volunteers all over the world and are added daily for online research. Learn about the indexing project and how you may become involved by clicking the "Indexing" tab on the Familysearch.org homepage and find a list of current worldwide indexing projects. Indexing may be done at home using your own computer. Home indexing is also taught at the Center.
Genealogy 101 held tonight
This session is for those looking for a few good ancestors, or even a couple of "black sheep." Genealogy 101 will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at the Lawton Public Library Family History Room. At this meeting of the Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society, SWOGS members will be available to guide "freshmen" through the research process. All interested in taking their first few steps up their family tree are invited.
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