Rochester Minnesota FamilySearch Center

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

Rochester Minnesota Family History Center
We serve the southeast Minnesota area. Help available to all researchers.

IMPORTANT: Due to Precautions Being Taken to Limit the Spread and Minimize Risk posed by the Coronavirus:

All face-to-face meetings are canceled at the Rochester Family History Center until further notice.

Please call 801 263-1637 with questions about Family Search or for help with your Family History / Genealogy.

Calendar and Events

Center Contacts and Hours

Location Map: Location Map

Address: 2300 Viola Heights Dr, Rochester, MN 55901

Enter through NORTHEAST doors and ring bell on wall if inner doors are locked.

Phone: 507-281-6641 - You may also leave a message at 801 263-1637

E-mail: MN_Rochester@familyhistorymail.org

Open Hours :

Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Other: By appointment -- call and leave message with your number on phone listed above or reply to the E-mail above.

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE - 2020 We are closed for the following:

Thanksgiving and Nativity Event: Closed the Week of Nov 23 and the Week of Dec 1

Christmas and New Years: Closed the Week of Dec 21 and the Week of Dec 28

Inclement Weather: Closed with Rochester Public Schools--If they are closed, we are closed, if they are delayed 2 hours, so are we.

Center Resources

To View a List of Local Resources at the Center:

1. Logon to www.familysearch.org with your Sign On User Name and Password.

2. Click on the Search Menu at the top of the Home page.

3. Click on the Catalog Menu Option.

4. Select Family History Center located in the Availability section of the page; the Family History Library drop-down data input field will display.

5. Enter Rochester into the data field and select the Rochester Minnesota Family History Center entry.

6. Click the Search icon.

7. Search Results for Family Search Catalog will display.

Databases and Software

FHC Portal The Family History Center Portal page gives free access while in the Center to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.
These are subject to change.
Current Portal Websites
- 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive
  - Alexander Street Press
  - The American Civil War: Research Database / Letters and Diaries / Images, Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera / Social and Cultural History / Women and Social Movements in the United States
- American Ancestors - Library Rights
- Ancestry - Institution Versions --- U.S. / Austrailia / Canada / Germany / Sweden / United Kingdom
- Arkivdigital - English display available
- FamNet
- Findmypast - Institution Version
- Fold3
- Geneanet
- Kinpoint - Premium
- MyHeritage - Library Edition
- Newspaper Archive
- Paper Trail
- Puzzila - Premium Services