One of the most popular genealogy websites is FamilySearch. It is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and is free to use. Genealogists of all faiths, or who have no religious beliefs, are welcome to use the website. They frequently add records and other useful information to FamilySearch. Here is what’s new at FamilySearch this week.
This week, FamilySearch added 76 Million new records. All of them are free for genealogists to access. State census, naturalization, immigration, and vital records for 22 states were added this week. This includes Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
FamilySearch has partnered with the National Archives of Italy in order to digitally preserve and index its civil registration. Over 24 million images have been published, and 4 million names are now searchable at FamilySearch. They have also added millions more records from: Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, and Switzerland. Genealogists with ancestors from any of those countries may want to take a look.
FamilySearch has a blog with advice about using the Ortssippenbuch. It is a book of compiled records from a parish, and it may also contain other local sources that organize people into family groups. This source may be useful for genealogists who have ancestors Wurttemberg, Baden, or Ostfriesland in Germany.
Do you have ancestors who were Mormon? FamilySearch put together a blog that gives advice about how to use the Mormon Migration Website. You can access the Mormon Migration Index to find ship’s passenger logs, to explore the history of the Mormon Migration, and to share what you know about it.
FamilySearch has also added to or updated some of their records. On July 10, 2012, they added images to “Alabama, Madison Country Chancery and Circuit Court Records, 1847 – 1950” and to “Czech Republic, Censuses, 1843 – 1921”, and to “Czech Republic, Land Records, 1450 – 1889” More images were added to “Korea, Collection of Genealogies, 1500 – 2009” on July 10, 2012.
On July 11, 2012, they added records to their collection called “Argentina, Capital Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1737 – 1977”. On the same date, they added images to “Chile, Santiago, Cememterio General, 1821 – 2011” and to “China, Collection of Genealogies, 1500 – 1980”. There were also more images added to “Dominican Republic, Civil Registration, 1801 – 2010”, and more records added to “Peru, Lima, Civil Registration, 1874 – 1996” on July 11, 2012.
There also have been additions to the records and image collections of several American states. On July 10, 2012, they added to: “Maine, State Archive Collections, 1790 – 1966”, “Nevada, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861 – 1865”, “New York, Orange County Probate Records, 1787 – 1938”, “Oregon, Douglas County Records, 1852 – 1952”.
Image by photosteve101 on Flickr