New Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of February 4, 2019

FamilySearch added millions of new free historical records this week from France and England. Additional records were added from Australia, Russia, New York, Wales, and the BillionGraves Index.

Search these free new records and images by clicking on the collection links below, or go to FamilySearch to search over 8 billion free names and record images.

Country	Collection	Indexed Records	Digital Images	Comments
Australia	Australia, South Australia, Will and Probate Records	45,061	0	New indexed records collection
England	England, Hampshire Parish Registers, 1538-1980	2,071,150	0	New indexed records collection
France	France, Haut-Rhin, Civil Registration, 1792-1919	1,870,795	0	New indexed records collection
France	France, Vienne, Civil Registration, 1792-1913	2,191,179	0	New indexed records collection
Other	BillionGraves Index	121,880	121,880	Added indexed records and images to an existing collection
Russia	Russia, Samara Church Books 1748-1934	2,191	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
United States	New York, Church and Civil Deaths, 1824-1962	40,923	0	New indexed records collection
Wales	Wales, Marriage Bonds, 1650-1900	26,747	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection

About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch Awarded Silver Anvil Honors for Historic Freedmen’s Bureau Project

You might say that 25,000 volunteers were silent recipients of a 2018 Silver Anvil Award for Integrated Communications when it was presented to FamilySearch International in New York City. The prestigious honor, which was bestowed by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), was given because of the supportive collaboration that led to the success of the Freedmen’s Bureau Project. 

Nearly 1.8 million African-American historical documents were indexed by the volunteers, resulting in searchable online records for those hoping to find long-lost ancestors.

The Freedmen’s Bureau Project was announced by FamilySearch International on June 19, 2015 in conjunction with Juneteenth and the 150^thanniversary of Emancipation Day. Through an unprecedented collaboration with the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and the California African American Museum (CAAM) a grassroots effort was launched that unlocked invaluable, 150 year-old African-American records in the Freedmen’s Bureau. Previously, the microfilmed records of the original Freedmen’s Bureau records were only available to view at The National Archives and Records Administration or in a field office.

The online crowdsourcing initiative to transcribe historical documents was completed in 366 days—on June 20, 2016—with the help of civic, educational, and religious groups. At least 120 indexing events were held across the nation and in parts of Canada.

Congress established the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands in 1865. It assisted formerly enslaved individuals and thousands of impoverished Southern whites by providing food, clothing, medical care, legal representation and many other services. Offices were established in 15 southern and border states and the District of Columbia. Though the Bureau only operated until 1872, it provided handwritten records, including letters, labor contracts, lists of food rations issued, indentures of apprenticeship, marriage and hospital registers, and census lists.

The free FamilySearch online database allows researchers to locate individual names and access digital copies of original handwritten records. For many people, this will be a key to finding their own family history and a chance to build their own family trees.

“We want to help individuals overcome the brick wall of research,” said Thom Reed, Deputy Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch International. “The indexing of these records allows many African-Americans to create a link to their Civil War-era ancestors for the first time. This effort brings to life the names of those who came before so we can honor their great legacy. The most rewarding part of the project has been seeing the benefits to the families.”

The PRSA Silver Anvil Awards, considered the “Oscar” of the communication industry, began in 1945. Each year, the organization has recognized the best public relations campaigns and the highest standards of performance in small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, not-for-profits, and major government agencies. The Silver Anvil Award is considered the most prestigious and iconic award in Communications.

RELATED:

• African American Freedmen’s Bureau Records
• FamilySearch Gives Historic Freedmen’s Bureau Database to National Museum of African American History and Culture

About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Free Family History Library Classes and Webinars for February 2019

The FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, has announced its free classes and webinars for February 2019. Classes focus on beginning skills using the free FamilySearch Family Tree, such as attaching sources, adding memories, and learning how to merge duplicate information correctly. Some classes are offered in Spanish. Participants can attend in person or online. See the calendar below for the complete list of classes. No registration is required.

FamilySearch.org and Family Tree Classes will be offered every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. MDT throughout the month of February.

If you are unable to attend a class in person or online, most sessions are recorded and can be viewed later online at your convenience at Family History Library classes and webinars. Online classes are noted on the schedule as webinars. Webinar attendees need to click the link next to the class title at the scheduled date and time to attend the class online. Those attending in person simply go to the room noted. Invite your family and friends.

All classes are in mountain daylight time (MDT).

DATE/TIME	CLASS	WEBINAR | ROOM
Saturday, 2 February, 1:00 P.M. MDT	Navegando, agregando, editando, y estandarizando lugares y fechas	Webinar | Main Lab
Tuesday, 5 February, 10:00 A.M. MDT	Attaching Sources to Family Tree	Webinar | Main Lab
Tuesday, 12 February, 10:00 A.M MDT	Adding Memories to Family Tree	Webinar | Main Lab
Saturday, 16 February, 1:00 P.M. MDT	Buscando a lo máximo en FamilySearch	Webinar | Main Lab
Tuesday, 19 February, 10:00 A.M. MDT	Merging and Correcting Relationships on Family Tree	Webinar | Main Lab
Tuesday, 26 February, 10:00 A.M. MDT	Submitting Names for Temple Ordinances on Family Tree	Webinar | Main Lab

About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

What's Coming from FamilySearch in 2019 

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (7 January 2019), The popular, free genealogy website, FamilySearch.org, announced its 2019 plans to enhance its record search and Family Tree search capabilities and introduce new interactive discovery experiences. FamilySearch is a global leader in the growing Family History market segment, serving 12 million users worldwide.

In addition to over 300 million additional historical records and images for family history discoveries, look for the following new offerings in 2019.

1. Online Interactive Discovery Experiences 

For the first time, fun discovery experiences that have been available only at life-sized, interactive kiosks in select FamilySearch venues will also be available on FamilySearch.org in 2019. Making these three discovery experiences available online will expand the reach of the activities to more patrons globally.

• All about Me

Have you ever wondered about the origin and meaning of your name or what events happened in the year you were born? The All about Meexperience will allow you to discover these fun things about yourself and also about your ancestors.

• Picture My Heritage

This simple and fun experience lets you insert yourself digitally into traditional clothing related to your heritage. On Picture My Heritage, you can save your custom photos or share them with friends and family.

• Record My Story

Priceless stories and memories from you or family members can be recorded on Record My Storyand added—by text or audio—to FamilySearch.org or downloaded to another source.

2. Family Tree and Friends, Associates, and Neighbor (FAN) Relationships

The free FamilySearch Family Tree will give users the ability to record other relationships to an ancestor beyond immediate family members, when applicable, such as friends, associates, and neighbors (FAN). This function will aid research by allowing users to record information about other people living in an ancestor’s household as noted in a historical record, such as boarders or staff.

FamilySearch will continue to develop site experiences that enable families to connect with their ancestral homelands near and far. FamilySearch.org will also provide more help throughout the site to make it easier for visitors to accomplish key tasks in a few simple steps.

3. Updated Find Capability

The FamilySearch Family Tree search capacity will be significantly updated to provide faster and better results. Another innovation will allow search engines such as Google to present names and limited facts from the Family Tree to online search queries without the searcher being signed into FamilySearch.org. This feature will enable millions of people searching for their ancestors online to discover the vast, free services FamilySearch offers them.

4. Memories

Millions of people use FamilySearch Memories to record, preserve, and share their family photos, historical documents, and stories. In 2019, users will be able to record audio remembrances related to a photo they have uploaded. Memories will also give users the capability to organize items in an album according to their interests or needs.

5. RootsTech London 2019

The first international version of the highly successful RootsTech family history conference will be held in London on October 24–26, 2019, at the ExCel London Convention Center.

The RootsTech London 2019 convention will not replace the annual conference in Salt Lake City (held on February 27–March 2, 2019) but will be an additional RootsTech event. Registration for RootsTech London opens in February 2019.

About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch 2018 Genealogy Highlights

Salt Lake City, Utah (4 January 2019), FamilySearch International, global leader in helping individuals discover their family history, published its annual at-a-glance summary of its efforts in 2018. A key FamilySearch initiative is to simplify family history and increase discovery experiences for beginners. In 2018, FamilySearch published hundreds of millions of new, free historical records online, provided personal, interactive learning opportunities, opened new facilities, and created more effective search experiences at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch has the largest collection of genealogical and historical records in the world and 5.8 billion of those are now searchable online. True to its mission to connect families, FamilySearch published its two billionth digital image of historical records online and continues adding records at a rate of over 300 million new records and images yearly. Over 300,000 online volunteers clocked in over 11 million hours to help index 122 million new records, making them easy to search for an ancestor's name.

FamilySearch published significant new collections from the War of 1812 and World War I. Military records are a treasure trove of largely underutilized record collections. They can help uncover details about soldiers and their families and lives. Another significant collection published was the complete archive of Ellis Island and Castle Garden Records online. Today, more than 100 million Americans have at least one ancestor who came through Ellis Island.
The popular, free FamilySearch Family Tree had 1.6 million contributors for the year, who added 28 million new people to the global tree. The total number of searchable people is now 1.21 billion. Users also added 241 million sources to their ancestor pages.

New tools make online searches easier with an array of devices. The powerful FamilySearch Family Tree mobile app now has over 90 percent of the functionality of FamilySearch.org's Family Tree feature.

FamilySearch's vision includes creating a bond, linking the present to the past, and building a bridge to the future. Part of that process is to create fun, interactive experiences that link people to the past. FamilySearch's innovation experiences are now showcased at Revolution Place in the Museum of the American Revolution, a popular new tourist attraction in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Four interactive displays immerse visitors in an experience of 1770 Philadelphia when the American Colonies struggled with the quest for independence.

August of this year, David Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, and chief genealogical officer of FamilySearch, was also made director of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. He is working with FamilySearch development teams to increase patron success at the library and more than 5,000 local centers worldwide. During the year, 72 new centers were built to increase user access. In January 2018, a new 8,000 square foot FamilySearch center opened in Lehi, Utah, and ground was broken for a new Ogden Utah FamilySearch Center.

RootsTech 2018 was a huge success, providing up-to-date information on resources and search techniques. Over 125,000 attendees participated in person and online. Throughout the year, lectures have been rebroadcast and posts of information have appeared on the RootsTech Blog.

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About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.