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| Predecessor | Genealogical Society of Utah |
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| Formation | November 13, 1894; 131 years ago (1894-11-13) |
| Founders |
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| Founded at | Salt Lake City,Utah, U.S. |
| Type | Nonprofit organization[1] |
| Purpose | |
| Location |
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Area served | Worldwide |
| Services |
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President and CEO | Steve Rockwood[2] |
Parent organization | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
| Website | www |
FamilySearch is anonprofit organization andwebsite offeringgenealogical records, education, and software. It is operated bythe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is part of the Church's Family History Department (FHD).[3][4] The Family History Department was originally established in 1894, as theGenealogical Society of Utah (GSU); it is the largest genealogy organization in the world.[5]
FamilySearch maintains a collection of records, resources, and services designed to help people learn more about their family history. Facilitating the performance ofLatter-day Saint ordinances for deceased relatives is another major aim of the organization. Although it requires user account registration, it offers free access to its resources and service online at FamilySearch.org. In addition, FamilySearch offers personal assistance at more than 6,400[6]FamilySearch centers in 140 countries, including theFamilySearch Library inSalt Lake City, Utah.[7]The Family Tree section allowsuser-generated content to be contributed to the genealogical database. As of March 2023[update], there are over 1.5 billion individuals in the tree and the historical records database contains over 5.7 billion digital images, including digitized books, digitized microfilm, and other digital records.[8][9]
GSU, the predecessor of FamilySearch, was founded on 1 November 1894. Its purpose was to create a genealogical library to be used both by its members and other people, to share educational information aboutgenealogy, and to gather genealogical records in order to performreligious ordinances for the dead. It was founded under the direction of Church leaders, when theFirst Presidency appointedFranklin D. Richards as the first president.[10]
The society published theUtah Genealogical and Historical Magazine from 1910 to 1940.[11]
The GSU began microfilming records of genealogical importance in 1938.[12] In 1963, the microfilm collection was moved to the newly completedGranite Mountain Records Vault for long-term preservation.[citation needed]
In 1975, the GSU became the Church's Genealogical Department, which later became the FHD. At that time, its head officer was renamed president from executive director, starting duringTheodore M. Burton's term.[10] However, the title "President of the Genealogical Society of Utah" and other GSU titles were still used and bestowed upon department officers.
In 2000, the Church consolidated its Family History and Historical departments into the Family and Church History Department, andRichard E. Turley Jr. became managing director of the new department and president of the GSU. Later this decision was reversed and the Family History Department was separated from theChurch History Department, becoming its own department.[13]
In 2008, theVatican issued a statement calling the practice known asbaptism for the dead "erroneous" and directingCatholic dioceses to keep parish records from Latter-day Saints performinggenealogical research.[14]
| Name | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin D. Richards | 1894–99 | [10] |
| Anthon H. Lund | 1900–21 | [10] |
| Charles W. Penrose | 1921–25 | [10] |
| Anthony W. Ivins | 1925–34 | [10] |
| Joseph Fielding Smith | 1934–61 | [10] |
| Junius Jackson | 1961–62 | [10] |
| N. Eldon Tanner | 1963 | [10] |
| Howard W. Hunter | 1964–72 | [10] |
| Theodore M. Burton | 1972–78 | [10] |
| J. Thomas Fyans | 1978 | [10] |
| Royden G. Derrick | 1979–84 | [10] |
| Richard G. Scott | 1984–88 | [10] |
| J. Richard Clarke | 1988–93 | [10] |
| Monte J. Brough | 1993–2000? | [10] |
| Richard E. Turley Jr. | 2000?–08 | [15] |
In 1998, the GSU began digital imaging of records and in about August 1998 the decision was made by Church leaders to build a genealogical website. In May 1999, the website first opened to the public asFamilySearch.[16] The beta version, released April 1, almost immediately went offline, overloaded because of high popularity.[4] Only a few days after the official launch, the website had received an estimated 100 million hits. To handle the load, site visitors were only given access to the site for 15 minutes at a time.[17] In November 1999, 240 million names were added, bringing the total number of entries to 640 million.[18]
In 2009, the Church launched a collaborative tree known as "New FamilySearch". It was the precursor to the current "FamilySearch Family Tree", and was only available to church members.[19] The system was an attempt to combine multiple genealogical submissions to FamilySearch's databases into one single tree, but it did not allow users to edit information that they had not submitted. It also was difficult to add sources to individuals in the tree or determine what was the correct information among multiple submissions. By April 2011, plans were in place to redesign the database into a more collaborative platform.[20]
In 2011, the FamilySearch website received a major redesign. The previous site had allowed users to only search one database at a time, but the new version allowed sitewide searches of multiple databases. It also included the addition of more databases as well as some digitized and indexed microfilms.[21]
On 16 November 2012, it was announced that the new Family Tree database would be available to all users of New FamilySearch, and that the New FamilySearch database would eventually be phased out.[22] On 5 March 2013, it was announced that Family Tree would now be available to everyone, whether or not they were members of the Church.[23][24]On 16 April 2013, FamilySearch completely revamped the site design generally, with new features and a changed color scheme. Some of the new features include an interactive fan chart and some printing capabilities, as well as the ability to add photos to Family Tree.[25]
In February 2014, FamilySearch announced partnerships withAncestry.com,findmypast andMyHeritage, which includes sharing massive amounts of their databases with those companies, and members of the Church receiving free subscriptions with these companies. They also have a standing relationship with BillionGraves, in which the photographed and indexed images of graves are both searchable on FamilySearch and are linked to individuals in the family tree.[26][27] At the end of 2015, FamilyTree had 1.1 billion persons added by 2.47 million contributors.[28]
In August 2017, FamilySearch discontinued distribution of physical microfilm to its family history centers due to large-scale availability of digital images of those films and planned digitization of remaining films.[29] In May 2018, FamilySearch added and digitized its 2 billionth record.[9] In September 2020, FamilySearch announced that it now includes 8 billion names, 3.2 billion digital images, and 490,000 digital books, with over 1 million new records each day. 7 billion names from almost every country were added within the last 10 years.[30]
Since 2011, FamilySearch International has organized an annual family history and technologyconference calledRootsTech. It is held annually in theSalt Palace Convention Center,Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference is attended by professional and amateur genealogists, technology developers, and members of the Church. In 2014 there were nearly 13,000 people in attendance. As of 2020, it is the world's largest family history and technology conference in the world.[31] It is the successor to three former conferences: the Conference on Computerized Family History and Genealogy, the Family History Technology Workshop[32] and the FamilySearch Developers Conference.[33]
The main service of the FamilySearch website is to offer access to digital images and indexes of genealogical records. These images can be searched along with a number of databases. While access to the records is always free, some records have restricted access, and can only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center, at an Affiliate Library, or by members of the Church.[34][35] FamilySearch.org also contains the catalog of theFamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The library holds genealogical records for over 110 countries, territories, and possessions, including over 2.4 million rolls ofmicrofilmed genealogical records; 742,000microfiche; 490,000 books, serials, and other formats; and 4,500 periodicals.[36]
FamilySearch FamilyTree (FSFT) is a "one world tree," or a unified database that aims to contain one entry for each person recorded in genealogical records. All FamilySearch users are able to add persons, link them to existing persons or merge duplicates. Sources, images, and audio files can also be attached to persons in the tree.[37]
There are also several features specific to the membership of the Church, facilitatingtempleordinance work. In keeping with an agreement with Jewish groups and to prevent abuse, performing ordinances for Holocaust victims or celebrities results in account suspension until the researcher proves a legitimate family connection to the subject of their search.[38] FamilySearch allows users to input same-sex marriages or other unions.[39]
Searchable indexes of the records on FamilySearch are created by volunteers of theFamilySearch Indexing program. To ensure greater accuracy, each batch of records is indexed by an indexer and is then checked by a more experienced indexer. Indexing volunteers need not be members of the Church. FamilySearch is currently working with genealogical societies all around the world to index local projects.
At the end of 2010, 548 million vital records had been transcribed and made publicly available through the FamilySearch website.[40] In April 2013, FamilySearch Indexing completed their goal to offer 1 billion indexed records online.[41]
FamilySearch offers free lessons on FamilySearch.org to help people learn how to find their ancestors. The topics range from basic research to training on specific record types and are designed for both beginners and experienced researchers. Most of the classes come from research consultants in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, but FamilySearch is also collaborating with partners such as theMid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Missouri, to record and post classes.
In 2007, it was decided to start aFamilySearch Research Wiki to help FamilySearch users and others researching genealogy and family history to find and share information on data sources and research tips. The first version of the wiki was built on thePlone wiki software product, but it was soon discovered thatMediaWiki software was much more suitable, so in January 2008 it was moved to the MediaWiki platform. In the intervening years it was rolled out in other languages, and as of July 2014 it was available in 11 languages.[42] The other language wikis are found via links at the bottom of the wiki homepage. The wiki in English had over 79,500 articles and over 150,000 registered users as of July 2014.[43]
FamilySearch operates the FamilySearch Library inSalt Lake City,Utah. The library was built in 1985 as a successor to previous libraries run by the Genealogical Society of Utah. The library is open to the public and has a large collection of international genealogical materials, including microfilm, books, and digital materials. The library's catalog and many of their digital materials are located at the FamilySearch website.
FamilySearch stores copies of their records in a dry, environment-controlled facility built intoGranite Mountain inLittle Cottonwood Canyon, nearSalt Lake City,Utah. The storage facility is known as the Granite Mountain Records Vault. The vault stores over 2.4 million rolls of microfilm and 1 million microfiches.
FamilySearch operates over 6,300 FamilySearch Centers in 140 countries around the world as of 2023. The centers are branches of the FamilySearch Library, often located in meetinghouses ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their purpose is to help people with their genealogy and provide access to and help with genealogical materials and software provided by FamilySearch.
New.familysearch.org, which replaced TempleReady last year and includes the Family Tree feature, will be integrated into the updated site.
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