Category: FamilySearch

Introducing FamilySearch Labs

At RootsTech 2024, FamilySearch spread the word about an exciting new venture on its website: the FamilySearch Labs. At the current time, there are five experiments you can try, after signing in to FamilySearch: Expand Your Search with Full Text – There are a few collections that can now be searched with full-text capabilities and keyword searches. A video is...

The Family History Guide at the New England FamilySearch Fair

On Saturday, March 23 I (Bob Taylor) will be joining Manuel Sanhueza from FamilySearch at the New England FamilySearch Fair, held in South Royalton, Vermont. Representatives from a number of historical and genealogical societies in the New England area will also be there with booths to share information about their activities. There are general sessions, workshops, and special meetings for...

Introducing the FamilySearch Profile Quality Score

Note: This article was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site. RootsTech 2024 was the forum for announcing a valuable feature that helps with the FamilySearch.org Family Tree accuracy. FamilySearch announced the Profile Quality Score which is featured in the FamilySearch.org/Labs website. When this feature is activated by turning it on, it appears on Profile Page of entries in the Family Tree...

Your Story is Worth Remembering: a RootsTech Film

Note: This article appeared previously in the Genealogy’s Star blog site.   Here is the link to the actual video. https://youtu.be/cSfNA86DIUM?si=Y-dBS1r5h54DywSE Here is a quote from the YouTube notes for the video. In a world that often celebrates the extraordinary, watch as five individuals who’ve led seemingly ordinary lives through their own eyes, are reminded of the indelible mark they’ve left...

FamilySearch to Digitize Ottoman Empire Family Histories

According to a recent article in the Church News, FamilySearch will be digitizing records of peoples whose history was entwined with the Ottoman Empire. The announcement was made at the International Congress on Archives, an event that takes place every four years and is organized by the International Council on Archives, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023 (Oct....

The New, Improved FamilySearch.org Startup Page

Note: This article was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star website. Above is a screenshot of the vastly improved FamilySearch.org startup page. You can see from the startup page that a real effort has been made to engage new users of the program. If you sign into the account you will get your own personalized page but if you are a new...

Exploring the New FamilySearch Chat Feature

The Messaging feature has been a fixture on the FamilySearch website for years, but it has now been replaced by the new Chat function. The Chat window opens as a pop-up in the main FamilySearch screen so you don’t have to switch between tabs. It includes a chat directory where other FamilySearch users can find you, and you can send...

FamilySearch Training in English & Spanish, with The Family History Guide

At RootsTech 2023 we met Maribel Camarillo Gomez, who has been actively training visitors on family history at the San Diego FamilySearch Center. She helped out at our booth in the Expo Hall, helping RootsTech attendees learn more about The Family History Guide. Maribel recently put together a great training course for FamilySearch and family history basics, featuring The Family...

Always New Records on FamilySearch.org

Note: This article was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site.   If you look closely at the date these records were added to FamilySearch.org, you will see that they are the same day that this post is being written. The process of adding all these records and thousands more each day is complex. It starts with a pile...

FamilySearch Places in The Family History Guide

We have recently added over 300 links in The Family History Guide to FamilySearch Places, which is a wonderful tool that helps you learn about and locate place names on a map, all over the world. These link additions include over 60 countries, all 50 U.S. states, 40 England counties, and 10 Canada provinces. A number of the pages have...