FAMILYSEARCH AIDS TO RESEARCH
©2010 by Donald R. Snow
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This page was last updated 2010-03-03.
Return to the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page , or Don's
Class Listings Page .
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO CLASS
USING GOOGLE TO FIND HELPS ON FAMILYSEARCH
- Searching on Google with "site:www.familysearch.org"
and [topic], e.g. "helps" (no quotes), tells Google to search only the FamilySearch website for the term
- Example -- to find helps and instructions about using
FamilySearch enter Google
search on FamilySearch for "helps"
- Can use this to find topics on FamilySearch or any other website
GETTING STARTED
-
See buttons to click on right side of home screen of http://www.familysearch.org under "Start Your Family History"
- Click on the picture "Get Started..." to go to a "How Do I Start?" screen
- Has links to LDS Church's free brochure "How Do I Start My Family History?" and blank family tree charts
- Can download any of these as pdf's
- Links to Forms, Maps, Guides, and Free Online Resources
RESEARCH HELPS
- Research Helps button at top of home page of http://www.familysearch.org -- Research Helps
-
Research Helps > Articles
- Takes you to pdf's of all the Research Guides and
Research Outlines
- Research guides and outlines for many topics,
e.g. each state of the U.S., foreign countries, types of records
(military, Jewish, immigration, etc.)
- Can read these pdf's online or download and keep copies or print any parts you want
- Easy to use in pdf format since you can search for any word and you don't need an index since every word is indexed
- LDS Church has NOT published most of these in hard copy -- If in hard copy, there is an order number to the right.
- Can be sorted by location, title, subject, etc.
- Research Helps > Guidance
- Takes you to a screen where you can click on Location which then shows time periods for various types of records for that location
- Clicking on Event and Year Range tells you what records to look for
- Has suggestions for estimating dates (left side of screen)
- Also has Historical Information about the location, Beginners Info, and Search Strategies
- Has been compiled by professional genealogists,
so is like having your own professional genealogy consultant
ONLINE LESSONS ON FAMILYSEARCH
- Library button at top of home page of http://www.familysearch.org -- Library > Education
- Has online lessons and video-lectures on many family
history topics, including U.S., British, German, Mexican (in Spanish), FH
Research Principles and Tools, Descendancy Research
- Also shows classes given at Family History Library,
genealogy conferences, university home-study FH classes, genealogical
presentations online
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY CATALOG (FHLC)
- Library button at top of home page of http://www.familysearch.org -- Library >
Library Catalog -- or go to it directly at http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp
- FHLC is a major tool regardless of where or what you are researching in family history
- Gives information on FH topics, locations, surnames,
books,
- Online version of FHLC on http://www.familysearch.org is updated almost daily - a great resource and very useful
- Categories of organization of the FHLC
- All entries in the FHLC are organized into categories, e.g. Civil Registration, Church Records,
Church Record - Indexes, History, Military, Vital Records, etc.
- See the category list (table of contents) in any Research Outline, e.g. United
States Research Outline --
all research outlines follow same format and categories
- See complete list of categories on pages 26-28
in "Help with Using FamilySearch" booklet (not online
anywhere that I can find -
DRS)
- 15-minute online video "FHLC Overview" about how
to use the FHLC -- click on the link at bottom of FHLC main
search page or go to it directly at --
https://fch.ldschurch.org/WWSupport/Courses/LibraryCatalogOverview/Catalog%20Overview/player.html
- Instructions and helps for using the FHLC -- http://www.familysearch.org/eng/helps/help_frameset.asp?tab=index&topic=usehelp2.htm --
and click on F for FHL Catalog
- Updated instructions on FamilySearch Wiki at https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Introduction_to_the_Family_History_Library_Catalog
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY FAVORITES -- https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Family_History_Library_Internet_Favorites
- Consists of 4000-5000 genealogy links organized by
country and topic -- current online version is 12 Jan 2009
- Can download it and use it in your own Internet
browser (e.g. Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer) or save it as a file on
your own computer with the links
- To use it online go to http://www.fhlfavorites.info/ (version dated Jul
2008)
- To download it go to http://www.fhlfavorites.com/ (version
dated 12 Jan 2009) -- see the instructions to install it in your
browser on the FamilySearch Wiki link above
- Links from http://www.fhlfavorites.info/FamilySearch/Browse_by_country/browse_by_country.htm
to the country page in FamilySearch Wiki
-
FamilySearch Wiki will eventually include all the important
links in the FHL Favorites, but now it just has some
of them
- May be able to get an updated version of the FHL Favorites through a FHC by using the
FHC Portal on their computers
THE FAMILYSEARCH WIKI --https://wiki.familysearch.org -- (note the "s" on
https://... )
- Family history research information for everyone
-
The word "wiki" means everyone can view it and anyone who is willing to register can makes changes
on it
- Has information about geography, family history
research, archives, records, maps, notes, websites
- Includes all the printed Research Outlines, helps, guides, and leaflets
that the FH Library published -- all are updated on the Wiki and
include websites
- FH Library staff and people around the world
add to it everyday
- Already very helpful for many places in the world,
e.g. the U.S. and the British Isles
- Will eventually be linked on http://www.familysearch.org , but isn't yet
ASSIGNMENT
- Do a Google search for some term, e.g. "surnames", on
FamilySearch by searching for "site:www.familysearch.org surnames"
(without the quotes).
- Browse through the online Research Outline for
some U.S. state of interest in your ancestry.
- Watch the 15-minute online video "Family History
Library Catalog Overview".
- Do a surname search on the Family History Library
Catalog for your own surname.
- See what links the FHL Favorites has for some
country or topic of interest in your ancestry.
- Go to https://wiki.familysearch.org
and look at the information on some state or country of interest to you, e.g.
Illlinois.
Return to the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page , or Don's
Class Listings Page .