Author: James Tanner

Understanding Merging on the FamilySearch Family Tree

Note: This article by James Tanner was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site. The FamilySearch.org Family Tree was originally seeded with previously collected individual and family histories from five major collections: the Ancestral File, the Pedigree Resource File, the International Genealogical Index, and Membership and Temple records from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These records were not directly added to the Family Tree. They were...

Considering the Future of FamilySearch Family History Centers

Note: This article was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site.   https://www.familysearch.org/fhcenters/locations/ FamilySearch.org in conjunction with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) has a huge network of 5397 Family History Libraries and Family History Centers around the world as of the date of this post. These libraries and centers range in size and content from the Salt Lake...

As Genealogists, What Should We Do about Place Names?

Note: This article was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site.   For some time now, FamilySearch.org has been encouraging users to “standardize” place names. This effort has been moderately successful and is continuing to evolve. The suggested standard place names rely on a large database of worldwide names. More recently, FamilySearch has been adding a time-frame to the suggested standard...

What is in a name? Taking Your Genealogical Research to a Higher Level

Note: This article appeared previously in the Genealogy’s Star blog site.     My Great-great-grandfather’s name was David Thomas b. 1820, d. 1888. He was born in Wales. Sometime, probably after he died, he “acquired” a middle name and became “David Nathan Thomas.” Here is a photo of his grave marker with his name as “David N. Thomas.” However, every...