By William (Bill) Veselik
If you are new to genealogy—or even if you’ve been doing it for a while—remember that your family research efforts do not require subscriptions to expensive online databases.
One of the best free online databases is FamilySearch www.familysearch.org. Back in the day, I recall driving to an LDS church with a library to search microfilm and microfiche records for information about my family tree. Today, billions of records are available online from FamilySearch and can be searched from the comfort of your home.
All you need is a free account, and you can safely dive head-first into the deep pool of records. However, as with every online database, you should be wary of the pedigree information users upload. There are often inaccuracies and incorrect entries within the pedigrees. Use that information carefully and evaluate it the way you would any source.
The real beauty of the FamilySearch site is the variety of digital records they have produced—from all over the world—and the fact that practically all original document images can be easily downloaded to your computer. Any documents that cannot be viewed online are normally restricted by the original record keepers, such as a local county court, and may require a visit to a FamilySearch Center (FSC) or an affiliate library. However, do not discount the overall usefulness of the site because of these few exceptions. Often, you can get the basic information and then contact the original record holder for copies of the documents you need. To locate the closest FSC or affiliate library, visit https://www.familysearch.org/en/centers/about.
You can easily conduct global searches for your ancestors or drill down to state and county record sources. In most cases, the search will take you directly to the original images, while in others, you might have to browse the images to locate the records you need. It’s no big deal. Just remember the dates and/or page numbers you referenced, and you can find the original image with little time and effort.
If you have a subscription to Ancestry, you’ll benefit from using FamilySearch because Ancestry does not have all the original documents available. If you find a record on Ancestry with no image, usually, there will be a reference to an “FHL” number, also known as a FamilySearch Library Film Number. You can go to FamilySearch and plug in the FHL number, which will take you to the film on which the original image resides. In many ways, Ancestry and FamilySearch complement each other, with the limitations of one site supplemented by the strengths of the other. To learn more about FamilySearch Library Film Numbers, visit https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/NARA_and_FamilySearch_Library_Film_Numbers.
You can upload your family pedigree to the family tree on FamilySearch and then receive notifications of available records the website believes are pertinent to your ancestors. Additionally, you can find out if you’re related to someone famous. However, take these listings with a grain of salt because if the site links you to a famous person via a submitted pedigree that contains errors, the relationship between you and the famous person may be incorrect. Still, it’s a fun offering from the people at FamilySearch. Learn more about building your family tree on FamilySearch at https://www.familysearch.org/en/family-tree/ or discover your famous relatives at https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/famous-relatives.
By participating in indexing projects, you can also get involved in the site’s efforts to bring more records into its searchable database. You can also do name, family, and place reviews to improve the accuracy of searchers whenever you have time. There’s no pressure. Just do what you can when you can; all genealogists will benefit from your efforts. Read about opportunities to get involved at https://www.familysearch.org/getinvolved/.
If you need assistance, FamilySearch offers free online classes, consultations, and research guidance. For a list of available Learning Center classes, visit https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Classes_in_the_Learning_Center. Schedule a free twenty-minute consultation online with a genealogy expert at https://www.familysearch.org/en/family-history-library/family-history-library-research-consultations. If you are interested in a DNA consultation, the sessions are forty minutes in length. The FamilySearch Research Wiki is an excellent source for research guidance for genealogists at all levels. It lists websites, explains records, provides research strategies, and suggests other resources to aid you in finding your ancestors in countries worldwide. Find it here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Main_Page.
FamilySearch is an essential, everyday tool that all genealogists should use. Check it out today, and remember, the account and services won’t cost you a dime.