1: Navigate   2: View Details   3: Children, Spouses   4: Find, Recents   5: Alternate Views   6: Change Info   7: Add Ancestors   8: Add Sources   9: Record Hints, Attach Sources   10: Notes   11: Merging   12: Charts and Forms   13: Account   14: Solutions Gallery   FS Project 1              Show Me, Goal 4    Translation Tips    Music      Print Friendly and PDF   












Project 1: Family Tree


Goal 4: Find and Recents Features



Goal 4: Use the Find menu or Recents menu to locate ancestors in your family tree.


The Find and Recents menus can greatly speed up searches for known ancestors in your part of the tree, instead of scrolling through Family Tree views.


Goal 4 Quiz


Choices


AUsing the Find menu, search for known ancestors in your family tree.


Summary

Note : The Find option in the Family Tree menu helps you find ancestors already in Family Tree. Doing research for new ancestors to add to the tree is explained in Project 4: Discover.


  1. To learn about the Find feature and the Find by ID feature, read the article.

    FS—How do I find a deceased person in Family Tree? - 2026

  2. For help with using ID numbers in Family Tree searches, read the article.

    FS—What are ID numbers used for in Family Tree? - 2025

Exercise


B Quickly find recently viewed people using the Recents menu.


Summary

  1. In the Family Tree menu click Recents. A list of up to 50 recently viewed individuals appears. In Tree view, your name is always the first one in the list, so you can click your name to reset the tree with yourself in first position. (In the Home page, your name may appear in various positions in the list.)

  2. Choose a person in the list, or begin typing a person's name in the box to narrow the selection list and more easily find the person you're looking for.
  3. To view the Person page, click the person's name. To view the tree for the person, click the tree icon to the right of the name. If you type a complete ID in the box, you can click Go to view the Person page.

  4. To remove a person from the list (but not from the FamilySearch tree),
    a) Click Edit;
    b) Click the trash icon that appears next to the person's name; and
    c) Click Done.
  5. For information on adding unconnected persons in Family Tree, see Choice D in Goal 7.

Resources
  1. Learn more about Recents.

    FS—How do I find the records I last viewed in Family Tree? - 2024

Exercise

C Use TreeFind to create a list of direct-line ancestors in Family Tree.


  1. Go to TreeFind.org (part of the BYU Family History Technology Lab).
  2. When prompted, sign in to your FamilySearch account.
  3. In the Searches screen, click Search on the Ancestors tab. A list of direct-line ancestors is created, with names, event dates, and event locations. Also included are links to the Person page of each ancestor.
  4. You can also do ancestor searches in a variety of categories, as shown here:
  5. To download an Excel spreadsheet of the search results, click Download sheet (upper right).
  6. To download a .kml map file that can be used with mapping tools such as Google Earth, click Download map file (upper right).
  7. To get additional help, click your name (upper right) and select Help Center at the bottom of the page.