Genealogy Buffs Be Aware! Family History Centers

The Sarnia Family History Center, located at 1400 Murphy Road in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) building, is part of a global network that helps people explore their family histories. Rooted in Mormon belief that religious ordinances can be performed for deceased ancestors, the LDS Church has developed one of the world’s largest genealogical resources.

Despite its religious foundation, all services are free and open to everyone, regardless of faith. The centers serve as local access points for the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, the largest of its kind, housing millions of records, books, and electronic resources. Materials from this library can be accessed at any Family History Center via inter-library loan (a small shipping fee may apply).

In addition to preserving records, the LDS Church actively indexes and digitizes new records, with help from a vast volunteer network worldwide. A rigorous quality control system ensures accuracy.

While the Lambton County Archives offers strong local resources, the Sarnia Family History Center excels in international family history research. Their Family History Center Portal links users to online databases, tools, courses, and more at FamilySearch.org.

Lambton County Library is also a Family Search affiliate library, allowing library patrons to have expanded access to 400 million exclusive digital images and records not available to standard FamilySearch users.

To access these exclusive resources, patrons must connect through Lambton County Library networks by either:
• Using a public computer at any of the 24 Lambton County Library locations.
• Connecting to the library’s public wi-fi with a personal device.