The Latter Day Saints, also known as Mormons, are a group that has tenaciously collected genealogy records in two forms, a library and an online research engine, the first of which has celebrated over 100 years of community service. The Family History Library was founded in 1894 in Utah to gather and preserve valuable family information in one centralized location. Since that time the library a massed over 2 billion names on computer, over 2 million rolls of microfilm, and over nearly 300,000 books that have come from over 80 countries. That means beginning your search with LDS databases isn’t a bad idea.

The online search function for Family Search can provide quite a bit of information, but it’s not wholly simple or forthright. You have to think outside the box. For example, we all know many surnames were changed upon arrival in US so ancestors may have variant name spellings. That means before you even start surfing, you have to dig out as much information about yourself and your family as you can gather. Have those photo albums, scrap books and family Bibles where you can reach for them as your search commences.

Also before you start hunting, ask yourself what it is that you’re really wanting to learn. For example, maybe you’re only missing a birth date or place for one of your forebears. That’s likely to be simpler than figuring out the entire history of that person’s branch of your family tree! In any case this will decrease the amount of time online considerably because you can go directly to the type of search you want to undertake. LDS records allow you to look at records two ways. One is compiled records that come from biographies and such, the other is through original documentation like a marriage license. Experts say that most people experience greater success by working with compiled records first. As you uncover new or different facts, you can then compare them to what you’ve already got. Note that its wholly possible to come up with informational conflicts – history is not a perfect creature. When in doubt, any data that’s supported by documentation is always more likely to be accurate.

By the way LDS offers a variety of software and databases that you can order to augment your family searches. There are history research products, family history center listings, census, vital record indices, worksheets, logs, and much more. It’s well worth taking your time looking around their site and getting familiar with how it works as the materials are well organized, and intended for both the serious genealogy searcher and those of us who just have a good curiosity.

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