Ready, Set, Now What?

Ready to get started on your genealogy but not sure where to start? This post will, hopefully, help you get started so sit back, relax and get ready to have some fun! The website with the largest efforts to create "One Tree" is www.familysearch.org This is a great starting point to see what is out there so you don't reinvent the wheel. Once you open the website, create a *FREE* account by clicking on the "Free Account" button in the upper right hand corner.

✍TAKE NOTE: If you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) and have an account on www.lds.org your login is the same for www.familysearch.org.

You need to create a username, provide your email address and create a password. If you are a member of the LDS church you will need your membership number. All others will need their birthdate to add in.

Accounts may not activate immediately due to verification processes but are usually ready within 24 hours.

Now that you have created your account the fun begins. You can create your family tree but it will take a little bit of work on your part.

Select the Family Tree tab and you will need to add your spouse in as well as your children. By clicking on "Add Husband/Wife" you can add all information asked for. As you fill in the information it will autofill with "standardized options" that you can select to include as much information as possible. Repeat the same steps as needed to "Add Child".

💎GENEALOGY GEM: When adding in a wife in a marriage you always use the maiden name. So if your ancestors names are John Smith and Jane Doe, add them in as such. If you don't know Jane's maiden name - for the time being - add her in as Jane and leave Surname blank.

Once you have added your immediately family you want to click on the carrot to the right of you and your spouse. You will need to repeat the same steps for your parents and your spouses parents as well. You continue this process until you reach the first family member that has passed away.

✍TAKE NOTE: All searches on www.familysearch.org are looking for deceased people.

When you are ready to add in the first member of your family that have passed away you can search for them in the database and then add them in by selecting them. The more information that you add in to the search engine the more likely the match will be.

If you have a family member that already has a tree on FamilySearch you can ask them for the ID number that is listed next to the name of the individual you are trying to add. It is a 7 digit number and is not case sensitive. It generally includes a hyphen (-) as well. Just click on "By ID Number" and enter the number and it will bring up the individual you want to add without having to type in all of their vital information.

Once you have reached this point your tree will automatically generate the additional generations and family members that have been added. You only need to add vital information of living members and then the tree will populate itself once you "link in" to the departed member of your family on both sides of your tree. You will need to repeat this step with your spouses side of the family as well to link in to their tree as well.

Generally the tree will populate itself within 24 hours of you adding in your relatives.

Congratulations on joining www.familysearch.org!