If a basic search on FamilySearch.org is the only approach you use to find your ancestors, you might be missing out on a lot of potential discoveries. The records you can find by performing basic searches represent only a small portion of what’s available on FamilySearch.

In fact, 77% of the free historical records on FamilySearch.org can’t be found by searching. That leaves a lot of information about your family just waiting to be discovered! In order to tap into these hard-to-find records, you’ll need to know how to use resources like unindexed image collections and the FamilySearch catalog, as well as some more advanced search features.

A new video presentation on research techniques to assist you find that elusive ancestor is now available.    But there are also other video presentations that will be helpful.   One that I find of particular interest is using spreadsheets to sort, tag and analyze your records.

Check out the entire list of video presentations available at https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/finding-elusive-records/

Enjoy and good luck with your research.

NOTE: Family History Centres are now referred to as FamilySearch Centres

The Legal Genealogist Judy G. Russell in her blog post of December 12th reminds us that, starting today, Wednesday, December 13, we must set up a free FamilySearch account if we want to access anything on FamilySearch..   

This is something we all knew was coming and, as Ms. Russell writes, “For the most part, this is a small inconvenience — a minor price to pay for major-league access to free records.”

However, in her post, there was one section that struck me as very important:

“And this is the part of the process that isn’t without some major inconvenience — and frustration — for users right now. Because records that we used to be able to see, online, at 3 a.m., in our bunny slippers, are now not accessible online from home at all. To view these records, we’re told, we have to go to a Family History Center (FHC) or affiliated library or view them at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Now this isn’t any different in terms of convenience from ordering the microfilm to be delivered to an FHC or affiliated library… But, for some key records, it’s a big difference from online access just a few weeks or months ago.”

The entire blog post may be read here.

We are very fortunate that in our area we have a local Family History Centre for easy access to records that may not yet be digitized.

If you do not have a Family History Centre in your area or want more information on Family History Centers, there is an  Introduction to Family History Centers that  contains very helpful information on the FamilySearch Wiki.

Passenger lists are one of the most important items you will want to search when looking for your ancestors.

FamilySearch continues to add more records to their collection of Canada passenger lists. These lists cover the period from 1881 to 1922 and the latest additions add a further 33,000 records to the collection.

This collection can be searched by first name and last name. Alternatively, you can browse through the 145,000 images in the collection, which are organized by port of arrival and month/year. Access is free.    The link to the entry page for researching passenger lists at Family Search is Historic Canada Passenger Lists

Good luck with your search. 

Beginning December 13, 2017, all users of the FamilySearch website will see a prompt to register for a free FamilySearch account or will need to sign in to their existing account to continue enjoying all the free expanded benefits FamilySearch has to offer. Previously, users could access many of the functions of the website without having to log in.

The change was prompted by some of FamilySearch’s partners, who have insisted on authenticated accounts before providing data to FamilySearch.  Patron sign in will also enable FamilySearch to satisfy the ongoing need for user authentication. This authentication can deliver rich, personalized discovery, collaboration, and help experiences. Simply put, signed-in visitors can access more searchable content and enjoy more personalized services.

FamilySearch’s privacy policy has also not changed. They still do not share any personal information with third parties without the user’s consent. The most important point though is that the website will continue to remain free.

Since its launch in 1999, FamilySearch has added millions of users, billions of various historical records and new features, such as Family Tree, Memories, mobile apps, digital books, and dynamic help. In order to accommodate continued growth of these and future free services, FamilySearch must assure all its partners that its content is offered in a safe and secure online environment. Patrons creating a free account and signing in fulfills that need.

“A large percentage of our current site visitors are not benefiting from much of what FamilySearch has to offer because they don’t realize the need to simply sign in with their free account to do so,” said Steve Rockwood, FamilySearch CEO. “They are basically arriving in the parking lot but not coming inside for the main event,” he said about website visitors who do not sign in.

Without signing in, there are still a number of things you can do on FamilySearch. You can search the catalogue, digitized books, genealogies, the Wiki, and the learning center, and view user-contributed photos and stories.

If you have not already registered for a free account, visit  Registering to use FamilySearch.org for information about creating a free account.

FamilySearch issued a news release on June 25th that was a good news-bad news story. The news was not unexpected, it was only a matter of time.  The end of microfilm has been predicted for years. Microfilm and microfiche has become harder and harder to purchase. Most of the manufacturers have stopped producing microfilm and microfiche so the companies and non-profits that release information on film have been forced to abandon the media.

The bad news is FamilySearch will discontinue its microfilm distribution services September 1, 2017.  The last day to order microfilm will be on August 31. The change is the result of significant progress made in FamilySearch’s microfilm digitization efforts and the obsolescence of microfilm technology.

• Online access to digital images of records allows FamilySearch to reach many more people, faster and more efficiently.
• FamilySearch is a global leader in historic records preservation and access, with billions of the world’s genealogical records in its collections.
• Over 1.5 million microfilms (ca. 1.5 billion images) have been digitized by FamilySearch, including the most requested collections based on microfilm loan records worldwide.
• The remaining microfilms should be digitized by the end of 2020, and all new records from its ongoing global efforts are already using digital camera equipment.
• Family history centers will continue to provide access to relevant technology, premium subscription services, and digital records, including restricted content not available at home.

The good news is FamilySearch plans to digitize all of its microfilms by the end of 2020. But that requires patience, and genealogists are not the most patient.

To date, more than 1.5 million microfilms have been digitized by FamilySearch. The remaining microfilms should be digitized by the end of 2020, and all new records from its ongoing global efforts are already using digital camera equipment.

Family history centres will continue to provide access to relevant technology, premium subscription services, and digital records, including restricted content not available at home.

According to FamilySearch’s news release: “When approved by priesthood leaders, centers may continue to maintain microfilm collections already on loan from FamilySearch after microfilm ordering ends. Centers have the option to return microfilm that is available online or otherwise not needed. As more images are published online, centers may reevaluate whether to retain microfilm holdings.”

Source:  FamilySearch.org

How often do you find a word in another language that you aren’t sure of?   The obvious solution is to use Google Translate.

But there is another resource that will provide a more specific translation.   FamilySearch has put together numerous lists of non-English words that we are likely to encounter when doing genealogical research.

While Google Translate can usually help us with a quick translation, the FamilySearch word lists are more specific. A simple comparison is the German word “Freibauer”.

Google Translate: “Yeoman”

FamilySearch:       “Farmer who owns his own land”

The FamilySearch word lists also include language characteristics and information to put some of the words in context.  

Finding the Word Lists

The FamilySearch word lists are available on the FamilySearch Wiki Word List.

This Word List category is for articles that were once Family History Library publications called Genealogical Word Lists which gave English meanings of about nine hundred key terms for different languages. Word lists also discuss spelling and alphabetical order, calendar terms, numbers, as well as the vocabulary from genealogical documents. This category is not for articles about abbreviations, dictionaries, glossaries, handwriting, language and languages, letter-writing guides, or personal names.

Even if most of your research is in English-speaking countries, you should also check out the Latin word list when viewing church, legal or other records written in Latin.

The following announcement was written by the Guild of One-Name Studies  (London, UK and Salt Lake City, Utah -September 6, 2016):

The online resource helps people trace the possible origins and variations of their last name.

The Guild of One-Name Studies, a charitable organization that promotes facts about given surnames, and FamilySearch International, a nonprofit and the largest genealogy organization in the world, announced today that the guild’s collections will now be searchable at FamilySearch.org.

The partnership gives guild members another source for preserving their great work while also allowing more researchers across the globe to benefit from exploring the variant spellings of their personal surnames and possibly connect with others throughout the world who have the same last name.

The study of one’s last name (or surname) involves researching all known occurrences of that particular surname in all identifiable resources worldwide, as opposed to researching only the ancestors or descendants of a person. These rich compiled studies can assist a family history researcher to see the geographical distribution of surnames in their tree over centuries, which can help in reconstructing family lines bearing variants of those names. A common hope of customers who use surname studies is to identify the actual geographic locale of origin of a family surname. This outcome could very well happen for unique surnames, but common surnames that reflect an occupation (such as “Farmer” or “Fisher”) or patronymic-type surnames (such as “Johnson” or “Williamson”) may not have a single place of origin.

For more information on this historic collaboration, please read Dick Eastman’s blog post.

A wiki is a website with content written by users. The most famous wiki in existence today is wikipedia.org. Wikipedia is the largest encyclopedia in the world and written entirely by volunteers.

In 2008, FamilySearch launched a wiki to provide guidance about how to do genealogical research.  The FamilySearch Wiki is about finding records that may have been generated about your ancestors and the places in which the records might be found.

The staff of the Family History Library, and the genealogical community at large, use the Research Wiki to offer free advice about how to find, use, and analyze records of genealogical value.

Continue reading on how to use the FamilySearch Wiki …