Raising Bakersfield

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Bakersfield locals seeking to research their family history don’t have to be Mormon or travel to Salt Lake City to take advantage of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ extensive genealogical data resources.

For Clareen Hays, director of public affairs for the LDS Church in greater Bakersfield, successful genealogical research is nothing short of a spiritual experience.

“We believe this is the Lord’s work,” she said about her church’s mission to collect birth, marriage, death and other records from people all over the world and throughout the centuries, and make them available for anyone, Mormon or not, who wants to view them.

“If we’re having difficulty finding a record of someone who has passed on,” she said, “the Lord will allow that person to help us find that record.”

From the Mormon perspective, according to Hays, it might be in an unredeemed ancestor’s best interest to lend a helping hand: As long as there are believers willing to perform baptisms or other forms of “temple work” for those who died without hearing the Mormon message, the dead will be given another chance in the next life to hear it and accept it. Their free will stays intact, however, Hays explained, as they can still choose to reject the message.

Mormons using their family history records can thus try to ensure that multiple generations of their families are “sealed” forever together throughout eternity.

Sandy Hand, assistant director of the Bakersfield Stake Family History Center on A Street, said she has been able to research her own family history back to her fourth great-grandmother, who was born in Rosenfeld, Germany, and migrated to the United States in 1857.

“What’s exciting to me is that you know they (one’s ancestors) existed because we’re here, but when you see a name on the record, this is real time. These people were real,” she said.

Non-Mormons can still have plenty of nonspiritually inspired fun filled with jaw-dropping discovery moments by learning about their roots.

An example Hays gave involves African-Americans, who often have a hard time finding out where they came from because of the legacy of slavery.

Each Family History Center in Bakersfield has a CD copy of the Freedman’s Bank Records. The Freedman’s Savings Bank was created by the U.S. government immediately following the Civil War to help emancipated (“freedmen”) or veteran slaves and their families build their savings. Although the institution endured for only about a decade, from 1865 to 1874, the Freedman’s Bank Records database can be an invaluable tool for African-American families on a genealogical quest. Free copies of the CD-Rom are available at local Family History Centers while supplies last.

Go & Search

Research your family tree at a Family History Center open to the public at three metro Bakersfield chapels of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Use of the facilities is free but you may have to pay a nominal fee to photocopy documents or to order the shipment of microfilm not available locally.

Bakersfield Stake Family History Center, 316 A St.

Hours:

• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday

• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

Information: 322-1976

Bakersfield East Stake Family History Center, 5600 Panorama Drive

Hours: • 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

Information: 872-5683

Bakersfield South Stake Family History Center, 2801 Real Road

Hours: • 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday • Also, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday

Information: 831-2036

Other sources available through the LDS Church:

• www.familysearch.org

• www.lds.org — Free family history software downloadable from the “Family History and Temples” link.

• Freedman’s Bank Records CD-Rom (suitable for PC computers only) for researching African-American ancestry: Free while supplies last from any of the above Family History Centers.

• General Information: Contact Clareen Hays, director of public affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in greater Bakersfield, 833-9297.

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Source: The Bakersfield Californian, Friday, Feb 15 2008