Issue 26.14
Finding your ancestors among the billions of records on FamilySearch.org just got easier with a new feature called Record Hints. FamilySearch.org finds the records for you. For each person in Family Tree, the system now compares the person’s information with all of its indexed records and displays the best matches. You don’t have to fill out a search form or click a button to request a search because the results are already displayed for you. You won’t have to weed through hundreds of search results because what you will see is a short list that usually includes records for your ancestors.
This is similar to the shaky leaf that Ancestry.com has. Keep in mind that the accuracy of the matches depends on the information that is in Family Tree and the information that was indexed. If FamlySearch.org doesn’t have much information to compare, you may still get records that don’t match. But the percentage of accurate matches is high, and the list you look through is short. Plus if you know more about the ancestor, you can edit the information.
When you find a record about your ancestor, it is now easy to attach the records to Family Tree as a source, which lets others see where you got your information. First go to https://familysearch.org/tree and find your ancestors or start your tree. Then in the PERSON view at the right you will see Record Hints. Click the links to see the records.
The records found are coming from FamilySearch Indexing, so each month this will be updated and new records will appear. This feature is available now, it was released June 17 and 18. Soon you will be able to access Record Hints from the Descendancy view, but for now it is on the right side on the person’s page.
It is important to add the sources to your ancestor even if you think all of your family history work is done because you may find new clues, mistakes, family members missed, among other things. Plus this is the fun part, seeing the records of your family and linking them to the entire family.
For more information, contact Shanna Jones (435) 628-4900 shannasjones@msn.com