Godfrey Library

I’ve spent the week preparing an FHC Staff Training class on using the Godfrey Library resources that are available for free in Family History Centers. I’ve been a member/subscriber for the past few years myself, and hate to admit that I have never taken the time, before this, to sit down and figure out what all was available on their website.
Boy am I glad I have — there’s some really great stuff there! When you first go to the site, at http://www.godfrey.org, you can look under the Search tab for a few options, before you even have to sign in. For one thing, there are three great history/biographies from Middlesex County, Connecticut that are searchable and PDF’d – books I haven’t seen online previously, so that’s always a good thing.
Also under the “Search” tab, you can request that a Godfrey volunteer search the AGBI (American Genealogical Biographical Index) for the name of your ancestor ($6 per name), and they will also send you the copies of the pages from the books referenced.
The “Quick Search” isn’t what you might think. For $10, a Godfrey volunteer will do a quick 30 minute search, and copy indexed Godfrey resources for your ancestor. Not a bad deal at all. Follow the instructions for filling out and submitting the forms for each type of search, which take 2-4 weeks. I haven’t tried one myself, but thinking it may be a great use of $10.
And all that is before you even sign in! So, after you actually log onto the site, you get a cajillion little yellow folders full of information all neatly labeled and ready to choose from, topped with a yellow “Search” box at the top of the page. Now be aware, that I have it on the best authority that you’re not going to get the best results by using that yellow search box at the top of the page. It will only search the resources whose “boxes” you have checked, and there are only a few of those even available to choose from. So if you do choose to perform a search that way, don’t by any means think you have exhausted the website’s possibilities!

I’m going to take a break for now, and I’ll follow up with some more great Godfrey info on my next post shortly.