REXBURG—The FamilySearch Center in Idaho Falls will celebrates America250 on July 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. FamilySearch volunteers will help the public trace their heritage, print fan charts, read local family history stories, make buttons and more.
FamilySearch is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Volunteers at the centers offer free services for people to find their ancestors. The Idaho Falls center is a regional FamilySearch Center.
Don Sparhawk is a volunteer at the FamilySearch Center in Idaho Falls and a chairman for the family history event.
“We wanted to have an event to invite the community to the center to see what we do and then hopefully help them discover their own family history,” Sparhawk said.
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, volunteers can even help people trace their family to the 1700s and see if they have family involved in the American Revolution.
The event will start with an outdoor patriotic program. Volunteers will help individuals with FamilySearch and even print off family fan charts. Locals have stories written about their patriotic ancestors that the public can read.
The event even has activities for children to enjoy like coloring buttons, log cabin building, butter making and making old fashioned Jonny cakes.
A group of Blackfoot musicians will play fiddle music at noon. Inside the church will be old historic photographs of Idaho Falls.
Sparhawk, in preparing for the event, traced back his family tree to a couple of ancestors whose stories he did not know.
“[Family history] really means a lot to me and helps me understand the sacrifices that people have given,” Sparhawk said.
If a person wants to find their ancestors on their family tree, it is helpful to bring family names, ask parents and grandparents for names and dates of birth of ancestors. This makes it so the volunteers can help individuals find more information. Sparhawk said sometimes it is hard to find family records, but modern technology has made it possible to access more with digitized records.
Another resource FamilySearch offers are equipment to digitize photographs, slides, movies, videos, audio tapes, etc.
The FamilySearch Center in Idaho Falls is located at 750 West Elva St., just north of the Idaho Falls Temple. It is open every day except Sundays. On Mondays, Friday and Saturdays it is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday it is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.