FamilySearch™ is a powerful computer system that simplifies family history work. The FamilySearch system includes computer files of family history information. The files are gathered from many different sources, and more files will be added in the future.

When you select a file in FamilySearch™ and type in a name, the computer will search the file for any names that match. The computer even matches last names that are spelled differently but sound the same. It can guide users from the matches they find to full screens of information, including dates and places of birth, marriage, and death, as well as names of parents, children, and spouses.

FamilySearch™ is available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City; at hundreds of family history centers; and at some public and private libraries in the United States, Canada, and other countries.

These FamilySearch™ files are useful for French research:

• Ancestral File. Ancestral File contains family history information gathered from family group sheets and pedigrees that have been contributed since 1979. The file already contains millions of names. You may contribute your family history information to Ancestral File. For more information, see the library publication Contributing Information to Ancestral File (34029), which is available at the Family History Library and through family history centers.
  
• Family History Library Catalog. The Family History Library Catalog on FamilySearch™ is an automated edition of the Family History Library's catalog. The automated edition simplifies use of the catalog. It allows you to quickly find information about records held by the library, including library call numbers.
  
• International Genealogical Index. The International Genealogical Index provides the names and vital information—including birth, christening, and marriage dates on more than 3.4 million deceased people who lived in France. The index includes names extracted by volunteers from parish registers and civil registrations and names submitted by other researchers.
  
• Social Security Death Index. The Social Security Death Index lists all the people in the United States who had social security numbers and who died between 1962 and 1988. The index can lead to other social security records that may provide your ancestor's birthplace in France.
  

Other files will be added to FamilySearch™ as they become available.

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©1998, 2001 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. No part of this document may be reprinted, posted on-line, or reproduced in any form for any purpose without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. FamilySearch is a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
[FamilySearch^TM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/8/2001]