Genealogy Help on Facebook

The FamilySearch sponsored Genealogy Research Communities on Facebook were introduced in May 2011 and have been growing exponentially ever since. Currently there are 101 Community pages with a total of over 19,634 Fans. Both the Fans and the volunteer administrators facilitate free research help on all the community pages. The three most common ways to participate on these Community pages include:


 * ask your research questions,
 * collaborate on your research, and
 * share knowledge you have gained as you've done your own research in a specific area.

In addition, there are other locality specific genealogy research Pages and Groups on Facebook that are not sponsored by FamilySearch. The Surname Pages and Groups on Facebook can also be of assistance to you in your research.

How to join a Facebook page

 * Register for a Facebook account if you do not have one at Facebook.com
 * Click on the link for the locality above to go to that research community page
 * Click on the LIKE button
 * Join in the discussions! It's that easy.
 * Learn more about Facebook in this brief video tutorial.


 * Not interested in joining Facebook? Try our Skype Communities instead.

What is Facebook?

 * What is Facebook?


 * Facebook is a leading "social media" website where individuals communicate and interact with one another. You can learn more or register for an account at Facebook.com.

Facebook safety

 * I am concerned about Facebook safety and the privacy of my personal information. Where can I learn more?


 * Facebook has created a website about keeping yourself safe at Facebook Safety. If you are very concerned and would rather not use Facebook, you are welcome to Join a Skype Research Community instead.

Facebook vs. Skype

 * What's the benefit of joining Facebook vs. Skype?


 * Both will be places where you can go to collaborate with other researchers. You may prefer one or the other simply because you already use one tool or the other. Other benefits to each are:


 * Facebook is a leading social media website. You can join a group on Facebook and just visit the website when you wish. Or, if you'd like to be more involved, you can even sign up to receive a text message when something is posted to the page.
 * Skype is a chat program that allows for more detailed communications and interaction between individuals or groups of users. It allows groups to participate together in group discussions. It also allows for sending documents that others can review to help with evaluating records and, if desired, live video discussions or screen sharing.

Additional questions?

 * Additional questions?
 * Ask on the Discussion page. Click Edit this page and add your question.
 * Be sure to add ~ after your question to sign your name so that someone can contact you if needed.

Suggest a new community

 * I would like to see a page started for _________, could you create one?
 * If you would like to have a page created for a location you are researching:
 * Go to the Discussion page and click to edit the page. (You must be signed in to edit.)
 * Add a note about which pages you'd like to see next.
 * Include whether or not you'd like to volunteer to be the administrator for the page.
 * After your request, add ~ . That will Sign your username to the request and allow us to notify you when a community is created for that area.

Volunteer as a Community Administrator

 * To add additional pages, we need administrators to help take care of them. If you would be interested in being an administrator, see Facebook and Skype Community Administrators for more information.