Make Sure You've Searched All the Records

FamilySearch:

On the home page of https://www.familysearch.org/ click on  "What's New". One article is: "Make Sure You've Searched All the Records" -- "Most people using FamilySearch don't get the full benefit of their search. FamilySearch has 2.34 billion indexed names thast can be searched using the search fields on the home page. If they don't find their ancestor using the search fields they assume they are not in FamilySearch. However, users need to remember that in addition there are 312.4 million names that have not been indexed and cannot be searched using the usual search fields. These collections are referred to as browse only image collections. FamilySearch uses a technique called Waypointing to make these collections available for searching."
Another article is "Understanding Unexpected Search Results" - "Have you ever wondered why particular records show up on your search results when the places don't match? There are a number of reasons for this."

ANOTHER PLACE TO SEARCH FOR CIVIL WAR RECORDS

CLICK HERE FOR CIVIL WAR RECORDS



Have a Civil War ancestor?  FamilySearch announced last month of its release of hundreds of millions of online records. The collections include service records for both the Confederate and Union armies, pension records, and more. Some of these records have been available for some time but have been added to the web site.

RECORDS ADDED IN SEPTEMBER FAMILYSEARCH.ORG

FamilySearch Adds Millions of U.S. Civil War Records

Records Also Added to Canada, England, Mexico, and South Africa Collections

7 September 2011

FamilySearch.org added millions of new records this week of both Confederate and Union soldiers who served in the American Civil War. Also now available for viewing are newly added notarial records from Canada, church records and civil registrations from Mexico, and miscellaneous records from England. Begin searching now at FamilySearch.org.

China, Hungary, Mexico and U.S. Collections Each Add Over a Million Records

U.S. Records Include Illinois, Maryland, New York and Washington

14 September 2011

FamilySearch.org added millions of records this week including 11 new records collections. More than six million Hungary Catholic Church records were added, as well as four million Mexico civil registration records. Looking for records from China? Over a million new Chinese genealogies from 1500–1900 are now available for viewing. Begin searching for free at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch Adds 16 Million New Records

New Collections for Brazil, Canada, Cote d'Ivoire, Czech Republic, Ecuador, and U.S.

21 September 2011

Among the 16 million records added to FamilySearch.org  this week, over six million are from the United States, including new collections from California, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, and Vermont. Additionally, five million new Civil Registration and Catholic Church records from Mexico are now available for free viewing at FamilySearch.org. Begin searching now!

 

 

California, Minnesota, Utah and 7 Other States' Historic Records Added 

New Collections also for Australia, Estonia, and Mexico 

28 September 2011

New records collections from Australia, Estonia, Mexico and the United States can now be searched for free at FamilySearch.org. In addition, new records were added to Austria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Honduras, Poland, South Africa, and Spain collections. Find your ancestors now at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch Adds 12 Million New Records and Images This Week

England and Mexico Collections See the Lion’s Share of the New Additions

The recent collection updates at FamilySearch.org are too diverse to summarize—seigniorial and notarial records, bishop’s transcripts and parish registers, citizen lists, court case files---well, okay, you get the picture.  The largest collection updates this week are from England and Mexico—eight million records and images between the two countries’ collections. Another 4 million records and images were added for Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, USA, and Wales. Search the records online now at FamilySearch.org.

I'M INTERESTED IN GENEALOGY BUT CLUELESS

Family history can be a life-changing experience. Learning about your ancestors can bring perspective and understanding to your own life. It only takes a few minutes to learn how to get started. 

Great video for those of you who are interested in genealogy but don't know where to start.

GETTING STARTED

FAMILY FROM CANADA

Basic Canadian Research Sources, Part 1

April 21, 2011 - 2:51pm by kirkbe

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Do you have Canadian ancestors? Here are some key steps and sources for beginning research in Canada or its provinces.

• If all you know is that your ancestor came from Canada, search the Canadian censuses. The indexed censuses are available for the years 1851-1916 on FamilySearch.org in the “Historical Records” section, and on Ancestry.com. Earlier census years will be available in the future.
• If you believe your ancestor came from another country to Canada, there are two places to search. First, search the Canadian Passenger List, indexed 1865-1935, at Ancestry.com. Second, search the Canadian Naturalization, 1915-1951 (non-British ancestors only, up to 1947) at theLibrary of Canada website.

If all you know is that your ancestor came from a certain province in Canada, here are your first steps:

• Search the Canadian censuses, as described above.
• Search www.familysearch.org, Historical Records section (records from seven provinces currently are included in this collection). Recheck this site regularly, because new records are being added to the website all the time.
• Search GENWEB Canada for your province of interest. In your search engine (Google, Firefox, etc.) search for “genweb Canada” You will see each of the provinces listed on the left column on the web page. Or, you can search for “genweb (name of province)”
• Search individual provincial source(s).

Millions of Historic Southern Records Now on the Web

FamilySearch has published millions of records from Southern states to its rapidly growing, free online collection. The collection includes both digital images and indexes. Millions of death records from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida were the most recent additions. Viewers can search the free collection on the Record Search pilot at FamilySearch.org (click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot).

In the past 18 months, FamilySearch has been diligently publishing digital images and indexes from Southern states. It is part of a worldwide initiative to provide fast, economical access to genealogical records. Fueled by over 100,000 online volunteers, FamilySearch is digitizing and indexing historical records and publishing them online.

The most recent additions are from the following collections:

• Alabama Statewide Deaths 1908 to 1974 (Index)
• Arkansas County Marriages: 1837 to 1957
• Civil War Pension Index Cards (Digital Images)
• Florida Deaths 1877 to 1939 (Index)
• Florida State Censuses: 1855, 1935, 1945 (Digital Images)
• Freedman Bank Records: 1865 to 1874
• Freedman’s Bureau Virginia Marriages 1855 to 1866
• Georgia Deaths 1914 to 1927
• Louisiana War of 1812 Pension Lists (Images)
• North Carolina Deaths 1906 to 1930
• North Carolina, Davidson County Marriages and Deaths, 1867–1984 (Digital Images)
• South Carolina Deaths 1915 to 1943
• South Carolina Deaths 1944 to 1955 (Index)
• Texas Death Index 1964 to 1998 (Index)
• Texas Deaths 1890 to 1976
• Virginia Fluvanna County Funeral Home Records 1929 to 1976 (Digital Images)
• West Virginia Births 1853 to 1930 (Index)
• West Virginia Marriages 1853 to 1970 (Index)
• West Virginia Deaths 1853 to 1970 (Index)

FamilySearch has also published free indexes to the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1920 (partial) U.S Censuses—all important resources for Southern states research.
David E. Rencher, FamilySearch chief genealogical officer said, “This significant set of records fills a real need in Southern states research. To be able to search vital records across the South by name and locality leverages the best search techniques and greatly improves the odds of success for those researching Southern families.”

During both pre and post Civil War eras, there was general migration from the eastern seaboard, down through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and on into Texas. “The publication of these records will begin to open up and answer many questions about family members that migrated and were never heard from again,” Rencher added.

With just a few clicks, visitors can now search millions of records online for that elusive ancestor. Or pore through digital images of historic documents that before this time were inconvenient or impossible for many to access because the original documents were located in an archive somewhere in the South.

“There is much more to come,” said Rencher. “FamilySearch has a large collection of records [on film] from the Southern states that still need to be digitized, indexed, and made available for the public online—and we are acquiring new records all the time. It’s a great time to be a family history enthusiast,” concluded Rencher.

FamilySearch is currently working on federal and state censuses and birth, marriage, death, and war records. New indexing projects and searchable collections are added weekly.