How do I search oral genealogies in FamilySearch?

Article Id: 913
November 14, 2023

FamilySearch collects, preserves, and shares genealogical records worldwide and works to make these records available to all people.

We began collecting oral family histories and genealogies in the Pacific Island countries of Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and Tahiti in the 1960s. Collection work expanded to the southeast Asian countries of Indonesia and Malaysia in the 1980s. Today, FamilySearch collects and preserves oral histories and genealogies in Africa. The project aims to preserve important family information for future generations to enjoy.

Steps (website only)

  1. Sign in to FamilySearch.org.
  2. On the FamilySearch home page, click Search.
  3. Click Genealogies.
  4. Scroll down to the section titled Explore one of our collections.
  5. Oral Genealogies is the collection on the right.
  6. Click Search for a Person.
  7. Enter your search terms. Click More Options for more options.
    • Use the options to narrow your search.
    • You can add multiple names, events, and relationships by clicking the blue words under each category. The information you enter are added to your search query.
    • To search for an exact match, click the circle for Show Exact Search, located near the bottom of the search area.
  8. Click Search.
  9. If the search yields too many results, try refining your search.
    • Several filtering options appear at the top of the page, beneath the word Results. Options include Collection, Sex, Birth, Marriage, and Death.
    • Additional filtering options appear in the column on the right. Here you can modify the person's name, add or remove a life event, add a relationship, or change the collection.
    • To update your search click Search again. To clear all of the search fields, click Reset.
  10. From the list of search results, click the name that interests you.
  11. Above the pedigree chart, in the section titled Oral Genealogies, review the information about the person's oral history. To read the complete entry, be sure to click More . . . .
  12. If we have oral genealogies, you can access them through the links.

Contribute

Volunteer opportunities with FamilySearch

How do I search the Pedigree Resource File and other genealogies?
Where do FamilySearch missionaries serve?

Was this helpful?