This week I will be going out to Utah for business and I have scheduled a little time for some research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. In today's article, I am going to share with you some of the steps I am taking to prepare for this rare opportunity.

Prepare My Data for the Trip
A light-weight three-ring binder, divided into sections for each branch of my family, is all that I'm bringing with me. I've printed pedigree charts for each of my four grandparents, on which each person is numbered. The pedigree charts are in plastic sleeves that begin each section. Behind the pedigree charts are family group sheets for each family on that chart, also numbered and in order. The family group sheets include all the vital information I have, as well as source information, and any notes I have added. I have also printed a blank research log from Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/save/charts/researchcal.htm). Family group sheets are not in plastic sleeves so that I can make note of any findings on them as I go along. This will hopefully make inputting any findings in my genealogical software easy when I get home. As I update the pages, I will print out new ones right away so that my binder will stay current.

Using Family History Library Catalog
The Family History Library with its large collection presents unique opportunities for research and I want to take advantage of records that are available there, but may be harder to find elsewhere. Once my notebook was organized, I surveyed the online FHL catalog at FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org) to see what actual records available on microfilm or in book form at the library. I don't want to waste precious library time using the catalog there. Since the catalog is set up by country, by state within the country, then by county, I wanted to make sure I was looking in the right places. Printouts of my findings in the online catalog will also accompany me in my binder so that I can go right to the films or records of interest.

While many of my ancestors lived in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, I have found several of them lived or worked in Manhattan so I will have to check records for New York County as well. The Ohio families were also in two counties so I will have to set some specific goals and priorities carefully to make the best of my time.

Setting My Goals
In reviewing my research, I immediately realize that I have very little information on my great-grandfather Jacques MEULLER and would really like to learn more about him. Family records show his name as James Miller, yet a recent marriage record I found has him listed with the former spelling. Spelling alternatives will have to be considered. I checked the census indexes at Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/main.htm) and although I did not get any matches for Jacques, I did find a Jacob MEULLER in the 17th Ward in New York City that I would like to check out.

We also recently found baptismal information for the children of William HUGGINS and his wife Anne (DWYER) and I would like to follow up on some of the siblings of my great-grandmother Catherine HUGGINS. Records show that Catherine was born in Ireland, but there were 7 more children that we found in the baptismal records of St. Paul's R.C. Church in Brooklyn, NY ("St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, Brooklyn, New York: Baptism & Marriage Registers," by James Reilly. Salt Lake City: Redmond Press, ----). These children were born in New York. I am hoping that by finding U.S. vital records for some of the siblings I will discover the town or county of origin in Ireland for their parents.

I have discovered through the online catalog that marriage records for Jefferson County, Ohio are available for the time period that I am searching. I will check these for my great-grandparents marriage records and this will be the last goal that I set.

Once I have accomplished my goals, I am hopeful that I will still have time to explore a bit, but by meeting my goals first, I will have accomplished something. With my goals set in place, I am sure that when I arrive in the Library, I will feel like a kid set loose in a candy store!