FamilySearch Family History Research Wiki

Photo by Rana Sawalha on Unsplash

Today we have a plethora of online records available on free and paid sites.  As you plan your research, I found the FamilySearch Family History Research Wiki to be especially helpful in understanding what records and catalogs exist for a place or topic when using the www.familysearch.org.  While I’ve used FamilySearch for many years, I didn’t realize the value of their Wiki until I started using it this past year.  Not only does it tell you what is available but also where to find the information.
 
Today I’ll walk you through an example by looking at a favorite research location—Grey County, Ontario.  Let’s say that I want to find out what land records are available in Grey County for the township of Bentinck.  Here are the steps so you can replicate if you wish.

Go to FamilySearch Research Wiki. You'll notice that you can choose to search by place or topic.
Type Canada, Grey and in the results choose:
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Grey_County,_Ontario_Genealogy

 For me it has worked best to start at a higher level, otherwise you might miss records that were not indexed to that detail.
Once on that site, you can see the listing of all the various records, including the years that are included in these records. Everything from Birth, Death, Marriage to Civil to religious is listed to help you organize your research. Some information will be on FamilySearch.org while other links point you to other websites.

When we started this search we were looking for land records of Bentinck township. Hmmm no land records listed in the Wiki but there are two links provided that may help us with our mission.

1. Records for Canada, Ontario, Grey County.
   This link shows you all the records that are available online or at a library of the Family History Centers.  I’ve expanded out the land records so you can see what that looks like.  (I happen to know that the land I’m looking for is in South Grey County and I have the land description but if you didn’t there are abstract indexes online which would assist you. You do need to have the land description to be more efficient. Once you have that information, and the index results, you’ll be able to find the numbers for the various documents associated with the concession you’re interested in.  In a future blog we’ll discuss Canada and land records.)

1. Population table under the FHS column for
   1. You’ll notice that this does not include any land records but I wanted to show you that it does show what is available for Bentinck township if you were looking for other data. For example, there are taxation records that would tell you more about your ancestor and how well he was doing.
      

FamilySearch Family History Research Wiki has helped me be more planful when tackling a genealogy problem.  Not only can I see at a glance what records may help answer my question, but I can also use that information to plan my next topic of research.  Land today, perhaps marriages tomorrow.  Hopefully you will find this site useful as you gather data about your family and look for ways to include it in your family story.

                                      As long as one keeps searching, the answers come.
                                                                         - Joan Baez