Special Local Genealogy Meetings
Regularly Scheduled Local Meetings
The SCTX Computer Club Genealogy SIG meets from 10 AM until 11:30 AM on the third
Thursday of each month in the Atrium located in the Activities Center. Check the Club
Meeting Calendar link on the
Club home page.
Williamson County Genealogical Society
, meets the 2nd Thursday of each month, 7:30 PM, Round Rock Library, 216 E. Main St.
Visitors are welcome.
Austin Genealogical Society
, meets the 4th Tuesday of each month, 7 PM, Highland Park Baptist Church, 5206
Balcones Dr., Austin. Visitors are welcome.
Educational Opportunities
Computer Club Genealogy Classes
- Sun City residents Sylvia Nimmo and Joan Keith teach basic genealogy courses in
the CyberCenter Classroom. Check the
Training Program page
for details.
RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees
- A free on-line series of lessons covering all aspects of Genealogy. Presented in
an easy-to-follow manner with many links to related sites.
Cyndi's List -
Beginners
,
How-to
,
How-to~Tutorials & Guides
,
Supplies, Charts & Forms
Genealogy Resources - Nearby
Georgetown Public Library
, 808 Martin Luther King, Georgetown, Texas - A small Genealogy/Local History room
with a collection of primarily local interest items
Round Rock Public Library
, 216 E Main Street, Round Rock, TX 78664- The Williamson County Genealogical
Society collection is here. Some good genealogy links on their Web site.
Resources at the Round Rock Library (From May, 2005 presentation.
.pdf format)
Texas State Library & Archives,
1201 Brazos, Austin, Genealogy Collection phone: 512-463-5463. Microfilm copies of
most U.S. Federal Census records are available.
Texas Department of Health Services (Vital Statistics)
, 1100 W. 49th St., Austin, 512-458-7111, open 8-5 M-F. Birth and death certificates
have names of parents, occupations, addresses, ages, etc. Start by finding your ancestors in the
index at the Genealogy Room of the Texas State Library (see link above). Write down the certificate
number for the certificate you want to find. Then go to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, fill out
the application form, pay the fee ($11 for a birth certificate copy, $9 for a death certificate
copy), and tell the clerk the certificate number. They do not allow visitors to browse their
records, so the only way to find out what is on a certificate is to purchase a copy. Copies of
marriage and divorce records also are available (also indexed at the state library). To get to the
BVS, turn west off Lamar Street, just north of 45th Street--maps are available at the Texas State
Library.
Provided by Temple Pouncey
Updated information on obtaining copies of death certificates
The Dallas Public Library has all the Texas death certificates from the 20th century
on microfilm. They have indexes on microfilm and microfiche starting with 1903. The death
certificates are microfilmed in numerical order statewide (not by counties) for each year. For
example, to find death certificate number 11654 in the year 1911, one gets the 1911 microfilm reel
of certificates from 8401 to 12003 from that year, then scroll through to the right number. Finding
the desired certificate on microfilm is free (making a photo copy in Dallas for $.25), while
getting a copy from the Bureau of Vital Certificates costs $9. You can find a great deal of
genealogical data in less than an hour.
Update revised by Betty Jean Steinke, 6/2006
University of Texas at Austin Library,
Includes the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, many available
on-line.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
, 2313 Red River St., Austin, Texas 512-916-5137. It has a major collection of Texas
newspapers. Some are on microfilm, others are original papers.
LDS Family History Center *, 218 Serenada Lane, Georgetown, 863-8221. - Hours are
limited. No facilities available to make copies from microfilm.
LDS Family History Center *, 8140 Racine Trail, Round Rock, 512-388-1160
Hours: Tu-Th 10-1 & 6:30-9 PM, Sat 9-12:30
LDS Family History Center *, 1000 Rutherford Lane, Austin, 512-837-3626. A full
service Family History Center just off of IH 35 in North Austin.
* Note for LDS Family History Centers: Visit the Salt Lake City LDS Library Catalog
at the
FamilySearch Web site
before you go. Make a list of the microfilm rolls and/or the microfiche sheets to
order for local viewing.
Resources for a long day trip or more
Houston Public Library, Clayton Library
An outstanding genealogical research location.
Dallas Public Library
- Another outstanding genealogical research resource.
On-line Genealogy Sites
HeritageQuest Online - Provides a unique, continuously expanding collection of
research materials for tracing family lineage and American culture. 25,000 family and local
histories are already online, and the complete US Federal Census from 1790-1930, the American
Revolutionary War Pension Applications & Bounty Land Warrant Applications, the complete
Freedman's Bank Records, and ProQuest obituaries from more than 150 newspapers across America will
all be added soon. New enhanced digital images of every page and new linked indexing provide
comprehensive resources for genealogists and local historians.
Free access to HeritageQuest Online is available from your home computer through the
TexShare program of the Texas State Library. Get access information and password from the
Georgetown Public Library.
Death Indexes and Records
- Online searchable death indexes and records. Click on specific state.
Genealogy sites from Mary Von Gerichten
Joan Keith's List of Genealogy Sites
- A list prepared by Joan Keith as a reference help in her genealogy
classes
Joe Pessara's List of Genealogy Sites
Cyndi's List
- The most complete listing of thousands of Genealogy sites, arranged by
categories.
FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service
- The LDS's main genealogy site. Search the Ancestry file, the IGI, or the LDS
Library Catalog here. Get the film #'s here for microfilm to be ordered at the LDS Family History
Center.
Brigham Young University on-line Collections
- Free. The Family Archives section has a fast growing collection of digitized
genealogy reference books that can be searched for any word, name or phrase. Pages selected are
transferred to Adobe Reader for printing.
Castle Garden - Americas first immigration center
.
CastleGarden.org
offers free access to an extraordinary database of information on 10 million
immigrants from 1830 through 1892, the year Ellis Island opened. Over 73 million Americans can
trace their ancestors to this early immigration period.
Ellis Island Records
- The records of passengers who came to America through Ellis Island between 1892
and 1924 are now searchable on-line. This has been a busy site since it was introduced in early
2001, but it is now becoming easier to access the site. Includes passenger names, ships passenger
lists, and pictures of ships.
Note: Using a
Web site by Stephen P. Morse
is sometimes an easier way to search Ellis Island records.
RootsWeb.com
- RootsWeb is now owned by Ancestry.com. Access is still free.
The USGenWeb Project
- The starting point that will lead to the state and county of interest to you. Some
information is available at the state level, but most is at the county level.
Texas GenWeb site
- For Texas research, the place to find links to Texas counties.
Williamson County GenWeb site
- A good starting point for Williamson County genealogical
research.
RootsWeb's World Connect Project
- Over 420 million names in GEDCOM files are available for searching and the
collection is growing rapidly. All free.
Ancestry.com
- A large commercial genealogy site with both free and subscription based data.
The
Ancestry World Tree
is a free database of contributed files, registration is required.
Family Tree Maker
- Another commercial site from the makers of the Family Tree Maker genealogy
program. Names in data base may be searched free. Check the Genealogy Help
section.
Genforum
- The largest grouping of genealogy lists containing queries organized by surname
and by region.
User Mailing Lists Hosted by Rootsweb
- The place to subscribe to a mailing list that focuses on a surname of interest or
on a specific geographic area.
Genealogy Tips
Sun City's more experienced genealogists share their knowledge.
Computer Club's Genealogy Library
The SCTX Genealogy Library is a part of the Computer Club Library located in the
CyberCenter. The collection includes both books and Compact Disks (CDs).
Genealogy Software
Although
Family Tree Maker appears to be the most popular genealogy program in Sun City andPAF is the least expensive (its free) there are many other choices. For an in
depth review and ratings of available genealogy programs visit
Cyndi's List -- Software & Computers.
Information on The Master Genealogist, one of the more advanced genealogy programs
is
available here
.
Magazine Subscriptions
Here is a list of some popular genealogy magazines: