Amelia Island Genealogical Society - Amelia Island Genealogy and History

The Amelia Island Genealogical Society has a close relationship with the Fernandina Beach Branch of the Nassau County Public Library. The society maintains a large and growing genealogical library in a dedicated Genealogical Section of the library. Volunteers from the society spend several afternoons a week helping library patrons access the material and begin their family history. Librarian Angie Lee has put together the information on this page. She is available for assistance during the regular library hours and can be reached at (904) 277-7365 or by

The Amelia Island Genealogical Society's collection of books and materials is housed in the Fernandina Beach branch of the Nassau County Public Library. Teen Peterson, under the guidance of Nancy Sturges and Lynn James, has been working to organize these materials and to make them accessible to anyone with interest in them. We have been adding records of the materials to the library catalog. This means you can search for them using subject keywords, authors or titles. As you know, our catalog is on-line. This makes searching very easy-either using the computers in the library or using your own computer with Internet access. To date, 285 books and pamphlets have been added to the catalog.

To use the computer to find what you're looking for, go to the Nassau County Public Library homepage (http://sirsi.nassau.lib.fl.us ). Click on the WebCat icon or the word "Catalog." You will then see a screen with instructions to Search the Library Catalog. You will also see a box containing a blinking cursor. You should enter the words or author or title you are interested in finding. Push the enter button on the keyboard and your results should appear. Use the call number that the computer shows you to find the book on the shelf.
It is easy-it is fun. The only prior knowledge required is spelling. If you have any difficulty at all, please ask anyone on the library staff. They will be happy to help. (We want everyone to know how to use WebCat.)

If you just want to browse the shelves, here is a brief description of how the shelves are organized. (Actually, this is not entirely complete yet.) Most genealogy materials are found with the call number 929. How to research is found in 929.1; family histories are in 929.2; genealogical sources such as birth and cemetery records are found in 929.3. 929.3 is a large section so the books are being color-coded by the state from which the records were taken. In our case, this is mostly Florida (green) and Georgia (peach). All books in 973 to 979 are about the history of the United States, including the individual states.

If you have not already done so, please come explore the holdings of the Amelia Island Genealogical Society in the Fernandina Beach Library. We look forward to seeing you.