FamilySearch Research

The Hemptinne family by François-Joseph Navez. Provided by Photoconsortium, Belgium. PD for Public Domain Mark https://unsplash.com/photos/xN3iyrRlAXg

​I suspect that you have been using FamilySearch for many years.  I too find FamilySearch to be a helpful site as more resources are digitized from across the globe.  It is worth looking at some areas that you may not have tackled before.  Let us look.

Something that caught my eye this week while researching a distant relative.  I searched in the historical records, looking for some additional information on this person. There was an additional notation in the upper righthand corner indicating that there was a family tree for this individual.  I have a love/hate relationship with published trees…no matter what site they are found on.  Too often people seem to randomly gather “facts” …even if they do not match the reality of an individual’s life. (i.e. someone marrying after they are deceased.)  However, I do take a second look at trees that have source records that I can explore and determine if this record does apply to the person I am researching.  Occasionally, people publish records that are not readily available, or they have made a discovery that I have not.  I have included screen shots to show you how you can find the source records, details, and timelines on an individual.  Before you get too excited…sadly not all individuals have family trees.

This slide is the result of searching for the 1880 United States Census for Nicholas Fritz. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZ99-32X

​By selecting Nicholas Fritz in the upper right corner, a pop-out window displays.  You can see the basic birth and death dates as well as how many source records are tied to this record.  In this case there are no memories or collaborate tied to his record.

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LCY9-TXM

I chose the sources and that results in a detailed listing of the sources as well as links to those records.  Once you are on that page, you can choose to view the information by details, timeline or stay at the sources as well as collaborate and memories.  If you choose to look at the details, you also may see related family members listed with their own ID codes.

While there is no substitute for doing your own research, sometimes the clues from others will help you discover new things.  A word of caution though…you do need to do your due diligence.  You may have some other information that contradicts or tells a slightly different story about an individual.  Family history continues to challenge us with puzzles and twists and turns.  Here is another tool for your toolbox as you sleuth to find that missing data.  Have fun!