Family History for the Older and Wiser - Chapter 5 - Using the Family Search Website

Family History for the Older and Wiser - Chapter 5 - Using the Family Search Website

Addendum/update - July 2012

One of the problems with writing material related specifically to the Internet is the speed with which websites change. Sometimes these changes are mainly cosmetic and are designed to improve the searching experience of visitors to the site. On other occasions the changes reflect a more fundamental change in the way that data is collected and structured.

At the time when Family History for the Older and Wiser was published, mention was made (pg 108) of the Record Search project. This was linked to the indexing of records and the possibility of creating digitised versions of the records which could be accessed from the database search results.

This project is now at the forefront of the way in which the FamilySearch website operates and it means that the initial screens and the way in which results are presented varies from that described in the book. Rather than trying to match up the new look site with the original material you may find it easier to approach the site in the following way.

1Look at the home page at

2At the top of the page click the link to the section called Learn.

3Click the section called Research Courses.

You should now be in the Learning Centre. There is a four minute video presentation Record Search Tips on Family Search. You can watch the presentation and/or read a pdf "lesson notes" handout. It is a useful reminder about how you should approach any searches, not just those on this website, if you want to get the best results.

If you go back to the Learning Centre and scroll down, you will find a 10 minute video clip on FamilySearch tips. After viewing the presentation, you may want to download the pdf that accompanies it which has screen shots of the searches and which will help you orientate yourself when you are back on the main search page.

At this point you might want to go back to the main FamilySearch page and see what results come up using the same example of Percy Bysshe Shelley as we used in the original book. The results will be presented in the new format. One feature which does not seem to be available in the new style is the Pedigree Chart which allowed you to click back through someone's ancestors to the earliest person recorded in that tree. This is probably because we are now looking at results from a range of historical records rather than looking at family trees that someone has put together. If you do want to search back through a tree then choose the Trees option on the FamilySearch home page and then click back through the links from the parents' names.

The Catalogue is accessible from the main page. There is a new version which is still under development (Beta) but there is also a link to the previous version.