Harrogate England FamilySearch Centre

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



The Harrogate FamilySearch Centre serves the area of North Yorkshire containing the towns of Knaresborough, Harrogate, Wetherby, Ripon & Thirsk. It is a relatively small Centre with limited resources, so it is important to make an appointment to reserve equipment for your use.
We have a small team of enthusiastic volunteers to assist you in your research endeavours.

Harrogate Town Centre.JPG

Centre Contacts and Hours

Location Map:

Address:

  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 10 Wetherby Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England HG2 7SA United Kingdom
  • This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, FamilySearch Centres are unable to respond to mail inquiries.
  • Entrance is via green gates to the back-porch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chapel. Car parking is available on the Church grounds. You may need to ring the bell for entrance to the FamilySearch Centre.

Phone:

  • +44 (0)1423-886537
Harrogate Chapel from the Road.JPG

E-mail:

  • UK_Harrogate@familyhistorymail.org

Open Hours:

  • By Appointment only: Wednesday/ Thursday 7:00pm - 9:00pm and other days and times dependent on availability of volunteers.
  • Please telephone and leave a message on the answerphone/ or email your contact information. One of our volunteers will call you back to make an appointment.


COVID-19 Precautions:

  1. Mask Wearing is currently discretionary (Please bring your own mask or face-covering with you)
  2. Sanitising of Hands on entry is requested (solution supplied)
  3. Staff will sanitise surfaces, in addition to ventilating the room.
  4. If before or after an appointment at the Centre you test positive for Covid-19, we would kindly ask if you could let the Centre know.
  5. Thank you for your understanding!

Holiday Schedule:

  • Closed during the Great Yorkshire Show week (Week beginning Monday 8th July 2024)
  • Closed Saturday 23 December 2023 to Tuesday 9 January 2024 (inclusive).

Calendar and Events

  • 2nd Thursday of the month at 2pm. The Family History Group of the University of the Third Age has a regular appointment at the Centre for its members to use the facilities. See Harrogate U3A website for contact details Website
    .
  • Class Schedule: see Church bulletin or notice board for details of classes for Church membership.

Staff Meetings

  • As arranged.

Centre Resources

Collections

  • FamilySearch Catalog: This centre has access to digital images of various films and fiche previously available through the FamilySearch Catalog ordering system, including those unavailable on home computers.
  • Reference Books: including; The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers; Ancestral Trails - Hebber; Tracing Your Irish Ancestors - Grenham; A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland - Mitchell; Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry - National Archives Publication; as well as maps, gazetteers and other texts.

Databases and Software

This centre has access to the FamilySearch Centre Portal page which gives free access in the centre to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions. Databases available are listed below:

  • Ancestry Institution
  • Findmypast.co.uk
  • 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive
  • MyHeritage Library Edition
  • Alexander Street Press (American Civil War)
  • Geneanet (Genealogy in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden and Germany)
  • Newspapers.com
  • Fold3.com (Military Records)
  • FamNet (New Zealand Family History network)
  • ArkivDigital Online (Swedish Church Records & others)
  • American Ancestor
  • Paper Trail (Oregon-California Trails Association)
  • Puzzila

Hardware and Equipment

  • 2 x high speed internet connected computers with networked printer/ scanner

Centre Services

On-line Film Ordering

Microfilm can no longer be ordered.

Resources in the Local Area

Harrogate & District Family History Society Website

North Yorkshire Libraries Website


Links

  • Using the FamilySearch Research Wiki: A comprehensive video presentation explaining the Wiki, navigating it, and some especially useful pages. Case studies demonstrate using the Wiki for genealogical research. Editing and adding articles to the Wiki are covered.


Harrogate Advertiser (Local Newspaper) Website

Borthwick Institute for Archives Website

North Yorkshire County Council Website

West Yorkshire Archive Services Website

North Yorkshire County Record Office Website

East Riding of Yorkshire Archives & Local Studies Service (The Treasure House) Archives, family and local history

FreeBMD Civil Registration Index for England & Wales Website

General Register Office; online certificate ordering for England & Wales Website