Main Facility in Utah
I have done extensive searching on my Slovak family and located many records, but there are many that don't seem to be available in the online collection. I would love to visit the main facility and access films that aren't searchable on the internet, but I'm wondering if there is a way to know before making the trip which collections of records will be available there.
As one example, I have relatives from what is now Forbasy, Slovakia (formerly Forbasz, Hungary and later Poprádfalu, Hungary). It seems all of the events in this town were recorded in nearby Gňazda (currently Hniezdne, Slovakia and formerly Gnézda, Hungary). There is a good collection of records from Gňazda (https://www.familysearch.org/en/records/images/search-results?place=2155282), but the images of the baptism records for 1880–1904 actually seem to end in 1888. Could I expect to find the 1889-1904 ones there? Many of them seem to be indexed but not viewable (example: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KH8L-RPY?lang=en).
Marriages and deaths seems to end in 1879, but I'm interested in later marriages and deaths. If there is no searchable collection listed, is it possible the facility would have those films?
Similarly, there are baptism registers for Nižné Ružbachy up through early 1896, but I believe my great-grandmother was born there some time between later 1896-1898: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RQ1-7P5. Is there a way to know if the facility would have those records?
Answers
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@Dave2425 The Main Facility in Utah is the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. The is a specific catalog for this library where you can search to see what is available in this library.
https://libcat.familysearch.org/en/
Webpages for this Library https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/
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@MaureenE123 Thank you. So for an item like this (https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog/600314), it's titled "Cirkevná matrika, 1624-1952" and says it contains "Roman Catholic parish registers of baptisms, marriages and deaths for Gňazdá". Does that mean it would definitely contain all three kinds of life events through 1952, or might it differ by life event (for example, perhaps it contains deaths through 1952, but baptisms only through 1903)? If so, is there a way to determine that before physically making the journey to Utah?
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@Dave2425 I am not connected with FamilySearch so the following is only an opinion, not an established fact.
It seems the records are from a regional Records Office in Slovakia, so the records will be gathered in from surrounding churches. I think it most unlikely there will be records for the complete range of years. Some registers will have become lost, some damaged by water or insects. When it came to the filming, some registers may have just been too fragile to film. I think the information you want could only be got by someone physically looking through the relevant films. You could try directly asking the FamilySearch Library, but I suspect it might be considered it would take up too much time.
If some of the records are available as images online on FamilySearch I suspect that all the available records would be included, subject to privacy provisions (100 years for baptisms, 75-80 years for marriages), but this is something you would need to ask the FamilySearch Library.
Perhaps you could consider hiring a researcher to visit the FamilySearch Library. Cyndi's List is often quoted as a source. https://www.cyndislist.com/professionals
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