FamilySearch
Doing genealogy (family history work) is important to members of the Church of Jesus Christ because its doctrine teaches that life does not end with death. (See Plan of Salvation.) Family units can continue after death when members make and keep special covenants made in the temple. People who have passed away can also make these covenants and be united with their families throughout eternity. This work, however, must be done by proxy, where living persons stand in on behalf of deceased persons. Once the work is done for a specific person, that person can then choose if he would like to accept it or not. Members of the Church feel it is vitally important that all who have passed away at least have the option to choose. In order to do this work, Church members must be able to identify their ancestors, which leads to family history work.
The Church of Jesus Christ has set up many family history centers (now called FamilySearch Centers) through the world and has a large FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. With the development of the internet, Church leaders saw the potential to assist people in doing their family history work and launched the Family Search website. To use FamilySearch, visit www.familysearch.org. You can then register for free with the website. When registering, you will be asked for Church membership information, but this is optional and can be left blank. The website will then provide you with your own place to share records with people and turn records in to the Church that you have found through other sources, so that other people searching for their family history will have access to them. This is also optional.
If you are just starting family research, you can find helpful tips by reading the information titled “How do you want to get started?” by clicking "Get Started" on the home page screen. If you are stuck, and cannot find anything, another option is to locate a FamilySearch Center in your area. This source is located on the FamilySearch home page on the navigation bar in the form of a map bubble icon. Like the website, the services offered at FamilySearch Centers are free. There are volunteers there who can help you locate things you might not find otherwise or explain how to get started.
Contents
Updates
2023 Update
The Family History Library on Temple Square in Salt Lake City is now known as the FamilySearch Library. Also, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 5,700-plus family history centers around the world are now FamilySearch centers. You have access to more records at a FamilySearch center than you can find on the website. Plus, you can also access other premium resources all for free.
The Church announced in September that FamilySearch will open a new center in North Logan, Utah, on Monday, September 25, at 165 East 2200 North in North Logan.
2022 Update
At the beginning of 2022, FamilySearch now offers more than 14.3 billion searchable names and images from historical records from ancestral homelands all over the globe. Enhancements in 2021 that visitors can now enjoy include new discovery pages for ancestors in the family tree. These pages are an easy way to see your relative’s life story at a glance, view photos and stories, and understand the historical events that family members may have lived through. FamilySearch.org had 200 million visits.
2021 Update
FamilySearch.org experienced over 200 million visits in 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ announced on September 21, 2021, that the global effort to digitize FamilySearch's collection of millions of rolls of microfilm is now complete. This milestone took 83 years to complete. The archive containing information on more than 11.5 billion individuals is available to the public on FamilySearch.org. FamilySearch’s database now includes more than 14.3 billion searchable names and images from historical records — such as birth, death, marriage, census, military service and immigration documents — from all over the globe. Over 200 countries and principalities and more than 100 languages are represented in the digitized documents. In addition to preservation professionals in the Church History Department, the effort also involved Church staff and senior missionaries who visited many religious and government archives worldwide over the past eight decades. The microfilm will continue to be stored and preserved in the Church’s physically secured and climate-controlled archives.
FamilySearch is also in the process of digitizing its large microfiche collection, which should be completed in the next several years, according to the news release. Microfiche stores exposures of documents on flat sheets of images rather than reels.
2014 Update
OCLC has partnered with URL FamilySearch International to share data between WorldCat and the FamilySearch Catalog. As a result, more than 1 million FamilySearch genealogical records are now discoverable in WorldCat, the world’s largest database of records representing resources in libraries worldwide. Links to WorldCat are now available on FamilySearch.org.
The partnership between OCLC and FamilySearch is an ongoing effort to improve and enhance the tools available for genealogy researchers throughout the world.
Those who use the FamilySearch Catalog now have access to local histories of counties, cities, and regions; maps, photos, and other images; local biographies and profiles of prominent citizens; and city directories, catalogs, inventories, and original manuscript materials.
Those who begin their research by using WorldCat will have access to collections from FamilySearch that include historic documents of genealogical value, including: civil registration records; church records; probate, census, land and tax records; military records; family histories; clan and lineage genealogies; and oral pedigrees.
Many FamilySearch records added to WorldCat represent large collections of vital information, such as birth and death records from localities all over the world. If digitized, these records link back to FamilySearch.org where they can be viewed online. If on film, these records can be requested from FamilySearch to a satellite or affiliate FamilySearch Family History Center. FamilySearch records with a corresponding WorldCat record will indicate a library or libraries that hold the item.
This means genealogists using the FamilySearch Catalog may now be able to find additional copies of books and other sources at libraries closer to them. Many additional materials related to their research that are not in the FamilySearch collection will also be discoverable in the collections of other libraries that include their holdings in WorldCat.
In 2013 he Church of Jesus Christ announced updates that will enhance the experience for anyone using FamilySearch.org. "Families can now share and preserve for posterity those social heirlooms that help vitalize their family history." [1] New collaborative features mean that "... individuals can collaboratively build their shared family tree, starting with themselves and then expanding to past generations."
- All of the features and services on FamilySearch.org are available in 10 languages. A robust collection of free how-to videos and other online resources are available as well. Just click on the help button on the site for more details.
- 3.2 million indexed records and images from Austria, BillionGraves, Brazil, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and the United States were added in December 2013. Included in these records are images from the Brazil, Sao Paulo, Immigration Cards, 1902–1980; South Africa, Eastern cape, Estate Files, 1962–2004; South Africa, Western Cape, Estate Files, 1966–2004; Austria, Seigniorial Records, 1537–1888; Italy, Catania, Caltagirone, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1861–1941; Russia, Nizhni Novgorod Poll Tax Census (Revision Lists), 1782–1858. Also included are indexed records from the U.S., Minnesota, Naturalization Card Index, 1930–1988 collection; and Spain, Province of Sevilla, Municipal Records, 1293–1966. For more information, go to FamilySearch.org[2].
The new enhancements follow the trends in social networking and collaboration through media. The Church of Jesus Christ is encouraging its youth to become involved in Family History, especially because of their abilities with technology.
Even if an ancestor's information is not available, FamilySearch adds more than a million images of historic records and newly searchable names almost every day. With the amount of records being added, things can change in a family line quickly, so it's important to check back often.
Resources and References
- FamilySearch.org - LDS Church run website for discovering your family tree
- Church, FamilySearch celebrate ‘incredible milestone’ of digitizing 2.4 million rolls of microfilm
- Familypedia.com - Free Wiki format allows for multiple users to share genealogical research on their forefathers. Similar to MormonWiki.
- USGenWeb.org - Free genealogy and family history online made possible by the USGenWeb Project volunteers. ... and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone.
- Cyndi's List - Provides links to thousands of categorized and cross-referenced genealogical resources.
- Genealogy Toolbox - The Genealogy Toolbox is collection of tools to assist those interested in researching their genealogy or family history. Links to hundreds of thousands of Web sites with content relevant to family history resources, as well as linking to content gathered by our TreEZy search engine, and digitized images of original documents.
- FamilySearchIndexing.org - Church website using an army of volunteers to build a giant online indexing system. Volunteers from around the world are able to quickly and easily transcribe the records — all from the convenience of their homes. The indexes are then posted for FREE at familysearch.org. Millions of rolls of microfilm provide census, vital, probate, and church records from over 100 countries for indexing projects. Governments, churches, societies, and commercial companies are also working to make more records available. (See FamilySearch Indexing.)
See also Family History and FamilySearch Library
