One Question...

How are we doing? Library staff is continually looking for feedback from the community. We would like to know what we can do to improve your library experience. How is our customer service? Our collection and services? What would you like to see in this weekly e-news? Please send me an e-mail or give me a call to let me know. I look forward to hearing from you!
 -Anna

acangialosi@chelseadistrictlibrary.org
(734) 475-8732 x 216

 

The Library offers several useful online genealogy research tools.Many of these tools are available from home using your library card and PIN number.

Below is a list of online tools. We also offer Ancestry Aficionados, a workshop led by expert volunteers who are on hand to answer genealogy and computer questions. This workshop is offered the last Tuesday of each month from 10:00am-12:00pm in the Library's Learning Lab. Registration is required.


Upcoming dates for Ancestry Aficionados are:

February 22 | Register now!
March 29 | Register now!
April 26 | Register now!
May 31 | Register now!

Online Family History Research Tools 

Find these online tools here and then go to the Genealogy & Local History category.

Ancestry Library
Find US and UK census records; passenger lists; birth, marriage and death records; and other genealogy material. 
(In Library Use Only)

Heritage Quest
Find census records, family histories, an index to genealogy periodicals, and Revolutionary War era pension records, and other genealogy material. (Available From Home)

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Find biographical entries from more then 1,000 reference sources, totaling citations that point to nearly 5 million people from all time periods and geographical locations. Made possible by Michigan eLibrary.  (Available From Home)

Making of Modern Michigan
A collaborative project by more than 50 libraries across Michigan with access to historical photographs, family papers, oral histories, and other genealogical material. (Available From Home)


Chelsea Online Family History Research Tools

Family History Index

The Family History Index offers those seeking out family history an extensive and thorough historical collection of all those that died in Chelsea as far back as the early 1800s, including some from Ann Arbor, Jackson, and other surrounding locales.

 

Started in the 1950s by community leader Harold A. Jones, the FamilyHistory Index now holds entries in 50 drawers. Throughout his years, Jones often walked many of the western Washtenaw cemeteries, gathering information from gravestones and transcribing them onto index cards. The bulk of his collection was entrusted to the library upon his death in 1987.

Click here for more information and to access the  

Family History Index. 

 

Stories of Chelsea 

The Chelsea District Library's Stories of Chelsea project involves conducting videotaped interviews with Chelsea-area residents about different topics of Chelsea history.This program serves as a significant step in the library's dedication to preserving a record of American social and family life as experienced in the Chelsea area. (Available From Home) Access Stories of Chelsea here.

  
The Chelsea District Library's Stories of Chelsea project involves conducting videotaped interviews with Chelsea-area residents about different topics of Chelsea history. It will also house Around Town with Linda interviews. Linda Meloche has hosted Around Town With Linda on Chelsea's Channel 18 since 2003. Take a look at a few of the interviews that have been added this month!

  

George Palmer  

Linda Meloche talks with George Palmer, history of Palmer Ford.

Filmed 2005. 

 

Don & Helen Laier  

Linda Meloche talks with Don & Helen Laier, Siblings & Operators of a centennial farm in Lima Township. Filmed 2006.  

 

Burrill Strong 

Linda Meloche talks with Burrill Strong, Local photographer. Filmed 2008. 

 

Jon Falk 

Linda Meloche talks with Jon Falk, Equiment Manager, University of Michigan football team. Filmed 2006. 

 

Rick DeTroyer

Linda Meloche talks with Rick Detroyer metal artist and former teacher. Filmed 2005.  

 

 View more Around Town with Linda interviews here.

Monday, March 14 | 7:00-9:00pm | McKune Room   

Save the date! We are celebrating the opening of our new Low Vision Service Center with a hands-on showcase of the collection. Try out our new magnification equipment, designed to recapture the pleasure of reading for low vision sufferers! The Low Vision Service Center was made possible by the generous contribution of the Chelsea Lions Club.