An exciting new search tool on the FamilySearch.org home page called “Learn about your family” combines the power of searching records—the most used feature on the website and app—with searching the FamilySearch Family Tree—a worldwide community tree with over one billion profiles. With this new feature, you can learn about your family surname and more.
Using a simple new interface, users need only to enter one word, a family last name, and the powerful FamilySearch search engine takes it from there. It will show you how many people in the Family Tree share your last name and where around the world your last name can be found.
If you want to know more about a specific ancestor, you can also enter a few more details into the search, such as a first and middle name, birthplace, birth year, death place, and death year. With these extra details, the new search feature can help you find historical documents for your ancestor and even match their information with profiles on the FamilySearch Family Tree.
Try It for Yourself
You don’t need a FamilySearch.org account to use this search feature, but desktop users will need to be logged out to see it. Go to the FamilySearch home page and, before logging in, look just below the main banner. There you will find the “Learn about your family” tool.
The new feature also works on the FamilySearch Family Tree app:
- For an iOS device, open your app, and tap More. Then select Find a Person. Fill in at least the Last Name field, or add additional information if you know it. Then tap Find.
- For an Android device, open the app, and tap the magnifying glass in the top right corner to access the Find a Person search. Fill in at least the Last Name field, or add additional information if you know it. Then tap Find.
FamilySearch’s new “Learn about your family” feature allows quick and easy access to the billions of records and profiles on the site—and if you have a FamilySearch account set up, you can then attach records to your family tree. You’ll be connecting to your past before you know it!
If you don’t have a FamilySearch account, create your own free account here.
I am unable to enter a same sex partnership on to my Family Tree. Can you help?
Tom, thanks for reaching out and asking! Here is the official statement from FamilySearch:
“The goal of FamilySearch.org is to capture, store, and provide records and an accurate genealogy that represents past, present, and future families of the world. To support this goal, same-sex relationships, including same-sex parents and same-sex couples, will be provided in FamilySearch Family Tree. Several systems that surround Family Tree, such as tree and record searching, must be significantly redesigned to support same-sex relationships before Family Tree can release this capability. We expect to finish this work by 2019. Following this work, the FamilySearch Family Tree application can then allow same-sex information to be recorded. We appreciate your patience and desire to preserve the world’s genealogy in Family Tree.”
Hopefully this answers your question. In short, stay tuned because this feature is coming really soon!
Thanks for the reply and confirmation. Cheers
nice