Family history center to open in Machias

MACHIAS – Washington County residents seeking out their family history won’t have to drive anymore to Bangor or even Saint John, New Brunswick, for that purpose.

Starting Wednesday, they can tap into the Machias Family History Center, housing the genealogical service maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Machias Family History Center is located within the Mormon church, itself a relative newcomer to Machias. The church is located at 100 Court St., a site known best as the former Department of Human Services building that stands across from Machias Memorial High School.

The church, which had rented various buildings for more than 30 years in Jonesport, acquired the Machias building in 2001. After renovations, the building opened last August for worship by its congregation of 75 members, representing 42 families.

Now the public is welcome to make use of the church’s genealogical resources, drawing from the Mormon headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“You don’t have to be a Mormon to know your roots,” said church member Peter Marshall, who was on hand to introduce the new family history center Saturday evening at an open house. “This is an outreach to the community.”

The Mormons’ centers in Bangor and Saint John have been the closest for Washington County historians the last several years. They are among more than 3,700 family history centers in 88 countries. Besides Bangor and now Machias, the other centers in Maine are in Farmingdale, Caribou, Farmington, Oxford, Cape Elizabeth, Glen Cove, Topsham and Waterville.

The next center in Maine likely to be opened is in Ellsworth. Jerry Booth, a member of the Ellsworth church, said he hopes that center will be operational by fall.

Within another week or so, the Machias center will be receiving a wealth of material out of Salt Lake City pertaining to families and town histories in Machias, East Machias, Jonesboro, Jonesport, Trescott and Whiting. Those microfilms will contain census records and records of births, deaths and marriages.

That’s just a start toward filling the file cabinets. As the public comes in and asks for more, the center’s volunteers will send for more. Family history centers are considered branches of the Family History Library, the five-floor building in Salt Lake City that opened in October 1985.

Fees to have microfiche and microfilm mailed from Salt Lake City are minimal – $3.25 to use for 60 days. They are renewable twice and, after the second renewal, the material stays at the Machias center. Delivery from Salt Lake City takes one to two weeks.

John and Sheila Look, members of the church from Jonesport, are the co-directors of the Machias center. They encourage anyone with an interest in researching their families to come to the center.

“Many people in the area know far more about genealogy than me,” Sheila Look said. “But it’s very fascinating, and I’ve enjoyed doing all this so far.”

The hours of the Machias Family History Center are 5-9 p.m. Wednesdays and 1-5 p.m. Saturdays. The center will expand its hours as use increases. The phone number is 255-6329. The phone number for the center that will open in Ellsworth this fall is 667-6389.