The free FamilySearch website is home to the world’s largest online family tree. Known as the FamilySearch Family Tree, this shared family tree is home to information about more than 1.2 billion ancestors, which has been contributed by millions of descendants.
What’s a “Shared Family Tree”?
FamilySearch’s unified family tree differs from the tree-building experience at most other websites. Instead of concentrating efforts on privately constructing their own individual trees, FamilySearch tree builders cooperate to build a single, shared tree that helps you and others discover more about ancestors and other family members.
One Profile for Every Deceased Person
The FamilySearch shared tree strives to have just one public profile for every deceased person who has ever lived. Descendants contribute what they know about a person to a single, shared profile, rather than scattering their knowledge across multiple profiles on several trees, some of which may have privacy barriers.
Note: On the FamilySearch Family Tree, personal account information and any details about living persons are kept private. Only deceased persons have public profiles.
Why Use the FamilySearch Shared Tree?
The FamilySearch Family Tree can help you more easily connect to your family and build your family history. Here are five ways it might help you.
- Discover New Information
A shared family tree can help you discover new information about your ancestors and even find relatives you weren’t aware of. Each piece of information someone adds—a document, a photo, a memory, a burial location—may shed light on an ancestor’s identity or life experiences. - Build Your Tree with Ease
It can be tedious work to fill out each ancestor’s profile for your family tree on your own. When you connect to the FamilySearch shared tree, some of your ancestors may have an abundance of information already in their profile. Even if you are the first to add a specific ancestor to the shared tree, FamilySearch can show you possible records for that ancestor, and other family members can help you by filling in what they know. - Get a More Complete Picture
The overall result of a well-sourced shared tree can be much more complete and accurate than individual trees. Although information entered by users may at times differ from what you know about your ancestor, the FamilySearch Family Tree enables all descendants to share information that others might not know and add sources to confirm correct information. - Connect with Other Descendants
Working together on a global tree also helps descendants connect with each other. You may find a relative who has visited the same graves, asked the same questions about—and even learned to love or admire—the same ancestors. - Work on Your Family History for Free
When you sign in on a free FamilySearch account and connect yourself to the shared family tree, you’ll be able to see all your connected ancestors in a personal tree view. This online family tree lets you add life events to your ancestors’ profiles; look at a map of where they may have travelled; view and add photos, memories, and records; and much more.
To make discoveries using the FamilySearch Family Tree, sign in to FamilySearch.org or the Family Tree mobile app. You can also learn more about the FamilySearch shared tree on the FamilySearch blog.
New to FamilySearch? Sign Up for a Free Account
See what the world’s largest shared tree can tell you about your family. Sign up on FamilySearch.org, or download the Family Tree app for iOS or Android.
Learn More about the Shared Family Tree
Sunny Morton
Latest posts by Sunny Morton (see all)
- How to Find Your Relative on the Shared FamilySearch Family Tree - July 26, 2019
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I could use the expertise of Ms Morton to guide me in my search for my brick wall finding my great great grandfather who was born in France and lived in Mexico in the 1800s but with the different wars going on at the time it is very hard locate any information. I also need to include the he was a jew when in Mexico at the time anybody that was not Catholic was admitted into colonial Mexico. I would love to hear your presentations through the computer if the service is available since I have a lot to learn from you. Thank you
If my grandmother used a different name when she married my grandpa and never would give us her real name but we know who she lived with from the age of 3 Margret Rowan, Butterfield, Missouri. and the 1890 census is burned how can I found out here real name. Grandma said her mother’s name was Sarah and grandma was born in Arkansas in 1878. My Mom and I have searched for years to get this info.
the lds famiy history centre in durazno uruguay do not ahve the programe to see civl registration information in the centre waht is the name of the grograme they need to see this information in the durazno uruguay centre , the mailof the durazno family history centre is UY_Durazno@ldsmail.net