Conroe Texas FamilySearch Center

This article describes the services and resources available at a FamilySearch Center, a branch facility of the FamilySearch Library.

The Conroe FamilySearch Center is an extension of the Salt Lake City FamilySearch Library. Our mission is to provide for Family History research, Free of Charge, in the Conroe, Huntsville, Montgomery and Magnolia,Spring, Tomball and Woodlands Texas areas. Our building serves three Stakes. Our goal is to assist as many as desire to find their ancestors in that endeavor.

Center Contacts and Hours

Director: Faye Stallings

Location Map:

• Conroe FamilySearch Center

Address:

• 1516 Wilson Rd Conroe TX 77304 United States
• The entrance to the FamilySearch Center is the second entrance on the east side of the building.
• You will need to ring the bell for the library to open the door.

• Language:
  • English
  • Also Spanish on Tuesday evenings

Phone:

• 1- 936 - 756 - 4004
• 1- 281 - 450 - 6850

E-mail:

• TX_Conroe@familyhistorymail.org

Open Hours (we are open again post-COVID19 shutdown for the following limited hours):

• Tuesday: 12:00 - 3:00pm
• Wednesday: 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Thursday: 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Friday: 3:00pm – 6:00Ppm
• Saturday: 10:00-1:00pm
• Appointments can be made for hours other than those indicated above.

Holiday Schedule:

July Fourth: Thanksgiving week: Christmas: New Years:

Calendar and Events

Upcoming Events

Check our Facebook Page for new events (The Facebook page will be up to date)

Class Schedule

To be announced

Staff Training Meetings

To be announced

Center Resources

Collections

In our library, we have several books on Genealogy guidance.

Atlases

Databases and Software

FamilySearch Center Portal This center has access to the FamilySearch Center Portal page which gives free access in the center only to premium family history websites that generally charge for subscriptions, including:

• Ancestry.com
• 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive
• Access Newspaper Archive -- the largest historical newspaper database online, contains tens of millions of newspaper pages from 1753 to present. Every newspaper in the archive is fully searchable by keyword and date, making it easy for you to quickly explore historical content. All 50 states plus 10 countries.
• Alexander Street Press - The American Civil War: Research Database Letters and Diaries Images, Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera
• ArkivDigital Online -- Swedish genealogy. Launch from the 'ArkivDigital Online' Start Menu or Desktop icon from a computer where the program has been installed.
• Findmypast -- 1.7 billion international family history records from the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and beyond with records going back to 1200. New collections are added every month,
• Fold3.com (Previously known as Footnote.com) -- Fold3 provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.
• Godfrey Memorial Library -- Online access to the Middletown CT historical library's approximately 200,000 books and periodicals in its collection which includes state and local histories, family histories, biographies, church records, funeral records, cemetery records, military records, maps, and more.
• Heritage Quest Online -- a valuable genealogical resource available at this time only through library subscriptions like the FamilySearch Center. U.S. Federal Census records from 1790 through 1930. (No index for 1830, 1840, 1850, nor 1880 census; for the 1930 census, only five states are indexed: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Texas, and Virginia.) The online collection includes new indexes created by HeritageQuest. In addition to the ability to search by name, the census records can be searched by place of birth, age, ethnicity, and other variables. More than 25,000 fully searchable family and local history books. There are numerous other "non-history" books available that also have genealogy value, such as town and city directories, government reports made years ago, biographies, lectures, and much more. Selected Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, again fully searchable with high-quality scanned images of the original applications available online. Signatures of and personal identification data about depositors in 29 branch offices of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-74. PERSI (the PERiodical Source Index - a comprehensive subject index covering more than 6,500 genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French since 1800). Best of all, you can view the original records and book pages as high-quality images and even print individual pages on your local printer.
• Historic Map Works Library Edition -- Historic Map Works™ Library Edition is one of the most extensive digital map collections available, with over 1.5 million high-resolution, full color historic maps.
• Paper Trail -- a guide to overland pioneer names and documents.
• World Vital Records -- Records from United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, China, Cook Islands, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Fiji, Finland, Georgia, Greenland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Türkiye.   

Software Installed on the Center Computers:

• Family History Software Utilities
• PAF Companion 5.2 (Progeny Software). Add-on utility that prints a variety of quality charts and reports in different formats.
• Family Atlas (Roots Magic). Creates and publishes custom maps directly from personal genealogy data.Ancestral Quest 12 (By Incline Software) 
• Roots Magic (Roots Magic) 
• Legacy Family Tree (By Milennia Corporation)
• Ancestral Quest (Incline Software)
• RecordSeek

Hardware and Equipment

• • 7 desktop computers with FamilySearch internet access
  • Lexmark High Speed Laser Scanner/Printer with direct scan to FamilySearch Memories
  • 1 stand alone Microfiche readers
  • 3 overhead microfilm readers
  • 1 Canon microfilm/fiche scanner with imaging software interface and printer connection.

Center Services

Staff Research Specialties

We encourage visitors to bring their own digital cameras for copying images from microfilm or microfiche Then you have your own digital record and can take the images home to clean them up on your imaging program!

Memory sticks/jump drives can be used to download information from the microfilm scanner.

Patrons may bring their own laptops for note-taking or entering information into personal genealogical programs, with the disclaimer that the owner is responsible for the security of the device. Wireless internet is currently available in the building, though there may be days when availability is limited due to updating, etc.

Research Help

• British and British Isle Research
  • A volunteer is British. Her knowledge is great.
• Kentucky and North Carolina
  • Volunteer available to do intensive research in this area.
• United States and Texas
  • Several volunteers available to assist with research into early America and Texas records
• Translation
  • Volunteers available to assist with translations of Danish, British, Italian, Latin, and Spanish records and research in these areas.
• Lineage Society Research
  • Several Volunteers to assist with DAR, Texas First Families, War of 1812, Colonial Dames, etc.
• DNA Research
  • Experienced volunteers to assist with YDNA, Autosomal, and mtDNA research.
• Beginning Genealogy Research Help
  • Many seasoned volunteers to aid with beginners to genealogy and FamilySearch Tree.

• Deed and General Land Office Research
  • Several volunteers with knowledge of utilizing these records in your research.

Links

Resources in the Local Area

• Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society.
• Montgomery County Public Library Genealogy Department
• Montgomery County Historical Commission
• Montgomery County Clerks Office
  • Vital Statics
  • Civil Court Records
  • Probate Records
    

Links

• FamilySearch Wiki Use
• FamilySearch Learn Center
• General List of Lineage Societies
• Obituaries found in Montgomery County Texas Newspapers from 1911-2016.
• East Texas Archive
  • Collects, preserves and provides access to archival material related to eastern Texas life, culture, economy and history. They have both onsite, and digital records.
• FamilySearch Books:
  • The Early History of Montgomery, Texas : published on the 175th anniversary
  • Montgomery County, Texas marriage records, 1838-1894
    • only viewable at the Center
  • Austin colony pioneers : including history of Bastrop, Fayette, Grimes, Montgomery and Washington Counties, Texas
    • only viewable at the Center
  • Texas General Land Office
    • both online and onsite research

Volunteer at the Center

We always are in need of volunteers from the community to serve in the FamilySearch Center.  It's a great way to help others and to learn by doing. You need not be an expert. Ability to use a computer and willingness to become familiar with the FamilySearch website and resources are key. Contact the FSC directors at the telephone or e-mail listed above for more information.