Here is a little known fact about me. I have recently begun to really enjoy family history (aka genealogy) and so has my husband. I am not necessarily very good at it, but I enjoy it. I often use FamilySearch to help me make connections, find and add information about ancestors in my family tree. FamilySearch is a free resource that anyone can use and is a great way to start building and discovering your family tree and I am really excited that they have asked me to help promote their upcoming event!
In addition to tracking your own genealogy on FamilySearch, you can also help others out by Indexing names. From July 15-17 FamilySearch International is sponsoring the 3rd annual "Worldwide Indexing Event." This will bring together 72,000 people from around the world for a 72-hour online event! Indexing is a way to make records searchable to the public and they need your help to make this happen!
If you love family history, or are a newbie like me, you can totally join in! You will simply need to download the FamilySearch software and complete as many names as you want to! There are no limits to what you can do! And if you only have time to complete a couple, that's ok too! Anything helps! And all you need is a computer and an internet connection to join in.
Volunteers have made over 1 billion records searchable since 2008 when FamilySearch first introduced online indexing. That's a whole lot of records. But it enables people like you and me to go on their site and make family connections! So the demand continues to grow. And since FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world (it is also a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) it is the most effective way to learn about your family's roots online. And it is available for ANYONE to use for free just by going here: FamilySearch.org or by visiting one of the 4,921 family history centers in 129 countries across the globe.
Christina L.
Already signed up! 🙂
Deborah Yeary
Just now saw your post on genealogy. I did my family tree long b4 " everything " was online. I have to say there is nothing like walking in a courthouse, cemetery etc. And seeing ancestors names. Online genealogy has its place but don't rule out personal visits to places. I used to teach genealogy, do paid research, and the first thing I would teach was b4 you do anything online, reach out to parents, siblings, any surviving grandparents, aunts, uncles, long lost cousins, anyone you can, visit and get their memories on record . Grand parents first, ask them to allow you to copy any and all photos, documents, etc. then ask them to just talk about their childhood memories, take it all down as oral history, don't try to separate fact from fiction at this point. Everyone remembers the same shared experience a little differently, even in Bible Jesus life was recorded by several different men in the gospels each putting in their own unique perspective. So too will your siblings, cousins, aunts uncles parents. My point is connect with every living relative you can find, you will find this is what gives your genealogy it's bones. Sure it's fun to know if you are eastern European, Scottish.. but all the DNA stuff and online stuff will be there indefinitely, your relatives along with photos or documents might not be. Things get scattered when someone passes. Don't pass up researching for example your grandfather's brother, his children, and so on to get a complete picture. You just never know what his children have or know that no one knows about because no one has bothered to ask. This can be an all consuming hobby and I was addicted for many years until I knew everything I could and was satisfied going far back enough, you'll know when. Good luck, if you have a question I'll ry to help you (no charge) I love it when people are interested in family history, it gives you a sense of pride and belonging. I don't know who first said this but it's true. "You can't know where your going if you don't know where you've been".