FamilySearch, the largest nonprofit genealogy organization in the world, offers billions of records free on its website at https://familysearch.org. Tips for accessing its databases are now outlined in George G. Morgan’s new “Genealogy at a Glance: FamilySearch.org Research.”
It is suggested that researchers first create a login ID (user name and password) and then choose to:
• Upload your family tree, family photos, stories, etc. or search the contents of others’ submissions.
• Search or browse the vast collection of databases from around the world. (Records that have not been indexed can be easily browsed using Morgan’s tips — illustrated with examples.)
• Use the FamilySearch Wiki (online encyclopedia) to read any of the 75,000 articles.
• View the Learning Center’s online courses and video tutorials.
The extent of the genealogical collections that can be searched cannot be overemphasized. Microfilming of historic records around the world was begun in 1938, digitization began in 1998, and the FamilySearch website opened to the public in 1999. The “primary goal is to digitize all of the existing microfilmed records and place them online.” And all of them are free. Morgan’s guide enables one to successfully maneuver through the tools available on the FamilySearch website.
“Genealogy at a Glance: FamilySearch.org Research” is a four-page laminated guide, 8 ½-by-11 inches, ISBN 978-0-8063-1995-7, that can be ordered from Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211-1953, as item No. 3891, at $8.95 plus postage and handling ($4.50 first item; each additional item $2.50). MasterCard or VISA orders also may be placed at the toll-free number, (800) 296-6687, or online at http://www.genealogical.com.
Visit the publisher’s website and conduct a search for “genealogy at a glance” (quotation marks unnecessary) to see the list of 25 additional guides that are available in this laminated format. For example, George Morgan also has created a guide for researching Ancestry.com, the subscription-based website with data from around the world. Many libraries offer Ancestry’s databases to its patrons. Laminated guides also are available for several foreign countries (e.g., France, Italy, Ireland, Poland) as well as specific topics (e.g., immigration, African American, court records, federal census records).