Charting Genealogy in the Plantation FHC

Sitting at his desk, Elder Richard Robertson can sometimes hear sounds of surprise and delight from people typing on computer keyboards or browsing through spools of film on microfiche machines.

The sounds are not so unusual, considering the people are coming across long-lost relatives and finding bits of information that are opening new windows to their past while doing research at the Plantation Family History Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

'Every so often, someone will be busily working away and you'll hear them shout, `I've found my great-grandfather!' '' said Robertson, public affairs director for the Florida-Fort Lauderdale Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The centers, staffed by trained volunteers from the church, are open to the public and draw people of all cultures and faiths. The 800-member chapel in Plantation was founded 20 years ago. Its Family History Center has been welcoming visitors since 1996.

Some days, the room is filled with more people from outside the denomination. They come to use the eight computers, five microfiche machines and a film-reading device, and to look through numerous books on genealogy, Robertson said.

Walt Sammis, a regular visitor, has been coming to the center for the past five years to gather information on his ancestors from England and Ireland. Raised as a Methodist, Sammis said he was initially reluctant about entering the Plantation chapel.


He has been able to trace his history back to the 1400s. ''If you want to see the actual records from churches around the world, the easiest way is to go to the Family History Center,'' Sammis said.

There is no charge to use the facility. The only costs are shipping fees for copies of records stored on microfilm and microfiche at the church's main library in Salt Lake City, Robertson said. One person requested information on marriage records dating from 1880 to 1951 at a Catholic church in Colorado. On site boxes contain data on marriage licenses, birth records and death certificates from the Bahamas, Ecuador and Germany.

Stephanie Black, director of the center at the Plantation chapel, said she enjoys watching people's eyes light up as they research their roots. They get excited because they had no idea the information was out there.''

She advises the best way is to start with collecting data on yourself, then your parents and your grandparents. ''Then you continue to go back,'' Black said.

Church member Yvonne Bourjolly said she has gone back four generations of her family through records from her native Haiti. Newcomers sometimes arrive very confused about where to start, but there is always help from the trained staff, said Bourjolly, who is one of 22 volunteers who staff the center.

Victor Silva, another volunteer, said he's been able to travel back in time to the 1700s. Silva has been able to use the facilities to find information on his mother's side of the family, who immigrated from Italy to Brazil. ''You find fascinating stories when you look at the records,'' said Silva of Weston. ``I discovered my great-grandfather was 22 years old when my grandfather was born.''

Fredenberg, a construction company manager, said ''They have archives for everyone,'' she said. ``What they've done is wonderful.''

(Excerpts from article by Beth Feinstein-Bartl.)