Tuesday Tips - Family Search

When I first started my genealogical research the IGI (International Genealogical Index) was only available via microfiche. There were the various LDS search rooms including the one in Hyde Park London, which had drawers and drawers of parish records on film. It was a complete treasure trove of data.

With the formation of the internet, the genealogical community has developed and developed. It is easy to see what is available now and be grateful that the information exists, but I believe that sometimes we love the progression and availability and yet we forget the journey the various genealogical information resources have been on.

Family Search, has been on quite a journey and I think on occasions we forget the wonderful resource it provides.

• Search - this facility is essentially the IGI. Whereas in those early days of my research the local studies department had the County in which I lived (Surrey) and part of the neighbouring County (Hampshire) other counties were accessed by visiting the London LDS library. The search facility is where you search for people.
• Wiki - this is the knowledge bank. There are currently over 75,000 articles about a whole host of genealogical material and places. This is where you search for places. You can see an example of a wiki entry HERE. This relates to one of my One-Place Studies
• Source Box - this is a relatively new facility and is one of my favourites. This is a similar facility to the Shoebox that is provided by Ancestry. Here you can create folders and save material you have downloaded from the site so that you can locate the material again or process later, when convenient.
• Photographs  - You can add your photographs to the site
• Documents - You can add your documents to the site
• Trees - You can add your family tree to the site
• Indexes - You can give back to the genealogy community by getting involved in an indexing & transcription program.
• ......and much more

When did you last review the Family Search site? Perhaps you might revisit after reading this post and look at the site with a fresh pair of eyes, as if you were new to researching (or perhaps you are!). Sometimes the most obvious resource is the one we overlook.

The Family Search site is a great site and completely free of change to everyone, regardless of your religion or location. Absolutely free to everyone everywhere!