Project 1: 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.

Find by ID

1. If you know the ID number for a person (available on the Summary panel or Person page),
   a) In the Home page click the Family Tree menu and select Find;
   b) Click the Find by ID tab; and
   c) In the ID Number box, type the ID number and click Search.
2. If the person is found, a screen is displayed with the person's name, events, and relationships. You can try additional searches or reset a search in the right pane.

Find by Name

1. If you don't know the ID number,
   a) Click the Find by Name tab and type the name and birth or death year of an ancestor in your part of the tree to search for. You can also specify place information.
2. To add more search criteria, in the right pane select More Options. Then specify alternate names, sex, life events (birth, marriage, residence and death), and family members (spouse, father, mother, other person).
3. To remove a field from the search, click the corresponding "x" (right side).
4. To require that your search terms be exactly matched, click "Show Exact Search." You can then mark checkboxes for fields that need to be exactly matched in the search.
   Note : You should use exact matches only when you are reasonably sure that the data in all your search fields is correct. Otherwise, you may exclude records that should be included in the search.
5. Click Search to return the name, as well as other names FamilySearch determines might be matches. If you want to remove all the search criteria you entered, click Reset.
6. To set ID search preferences, click Preferences (top of the search results window). In the right pane you can select the format, display information, and language options for the search, as well as indicating the number of search results you want, or specifying an export file for the results.

Note : Using the Find by Name tab is essential for Goal 7: Add Ancestors.

Resources

1. 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

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

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.