Category: Records

How to Analyze Genealogical Sources: Part Three

Editor’s Note: This article by James Tanner appeared recently in the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. It has been a while since I started out with a pancake illustration. This is the best example of what is involved with the levels of jurisdiction in geographical naming conventions. There is a legal definition of the...

Historical Images Tool Finds Unindexed Records in FamilySearch Catalog

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by James Tanner in the Genealogy’s Star blog and is used with the author’s permission. https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/explore-historical-images/ To begin discussing the new Historical Images Tool, I think it is a good idea to know what it does and does not do. To understand what it does do, you need to understand why the tool...

Don’t Forget the Unindexed Records on the FamilySearch Website

Editor’s Note: This article by James Tanner was published previously in the “Rejoice and Be Exceeding Glad” blog site and is used with the author’s permission. Don’t Forget the Unindexed Records on the FamilySearch website As of November 2019, there were 1.73 billion digital images published only in the FamilySearch.org Catalog. This compares to 1.4 billion images published in the searchable FamilySearch...

Expanded Commentary on the Rules of Genealogy: Rule Eleven

Editor’s note: This article by James Tanner appeared previously in the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. Expanded Commentary on the Rules of Genealogy: Rule Eleven I have slowly been going back to the list of the Rules of Genealogy and writing about each individual rule. There are presently 12 Rules. Here is the current list...

The Miracle of Community Indexing

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Karen Meyer, Area Temple & Family History Consultant, North America Southwest. You open a heavy trunk, hidden by debris in a dusty attic. Lifting the lid, you see it is full of old pictures. You routinely turn them over in your hands. You notice that a few of the pictures have a name,...

More on Rule Four: There Are Always More Records

Editor’s Note: This blog article was originally published by James Tanner in the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. Expanded Commentary on the Rules of Genealogy: Rule Four I published the first six Rules of Genealogy back on July 1, 2014. See “Six of the Basic Rules of Genealogy.” This short list included the most...

Is The Family History Guide for Experienced Researchers?

Although The Family History Guide is often thought of as a learning center for those new to family history, it’s also surprisingly good resource for those who are more experienced. These are people who know the basics of family history and have “been around the block” with research. Two areas where The Family History Guide shines are these: making research...

Your Work on the FamilySearch Family Tree Will Never Be “Done”

Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by James Tanner on the “Rejoice and Be Exceeding Glad” blog site and is used by permission.  Your work on the FamilySearch Family Tree will never be “Done” Some processes and activities and our lives on earth all have a definite beginning point and an end. Genealogy changes with every new birth...

Why Accuracy is so Important in Genealogy and Family History

Many visitors to The Family History Guide are new to genealogy and family history. There are a lot of misconceptions about why record sources and citations are so important. Some people feel that if a relative passed on a story it should be good enough. What we sometimes don’t consider is that those stories may not be accurate. Most people...

Correcting Indexed Records on FamilySearch

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by James Tanner on his Rejoice, and Be Exceeding Glad blog site and is used with the author’s permission. For some years now, many genealogists have been asking FamilySearch for the option to correct indexed records. From the very beginning of the FamilySearch website, it has been obvious that some of the indexing...