The need to make searchable records available worldwide continues to grow. While new technologies are making things easier there is still a big need for indexing records in languages other than English. Can you read a foreign language or are you willing to learn a few key words? If so, join the cause at familysearch.org/indexing.

Join us and FamilySearch's Devin Ashby for the live webinar Friday, June 9, 2017 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion. 

Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

Not sure if you already registered?

Login to view your registration status for this webinar (available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers).

Test Your Webinar Connection

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

Devin Ashby is a Project Manager for FamilySearch, the largest genealogical organization in the world. Devin has been involved in family history for years and in 2004 he received Bachelor degrees in History and Spanish and the following year earned a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Add it to your Google Calendar

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Friday, June 9, 2017 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Make sure you have the latest version of Java installed on your computer. Check at www.java.com.
6. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
7. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
8. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

I'll be there. I hope you will join me, and 100,000 others! If you're not registered, visit http://familysearch.org/indexing. Here's the announcement:

A record-setting 100,000 online volunteers are expected to participate in the second annual Worldwide Indexing Event, facilitating millions of discoveries for eager family history researchers. Scheduled for August 7–14, the event will show how anyone with a computer and Internet connection can help “Fuel the Find” by making information from historical documents easily searchable online.

What Does It Mean to “Fuel the Find”?  

Indexed (transcribed) historical records are like the fuel that powers genealogical search engines such as FamilySearch.org, enabling people to find missing or unknown branches in their family trees. Beyond simple name searches, indexed records also allow FamilySearch.org to provide patrons with highly relevant and accurate hints, essentially bringing the records of their ancestors to them automatically. Every name that a volunteer indexes from a historical record adds another drop of precious fuel that can ultimately help someone easily and quickly find a missing ancestor.

International Language Emphasis

Already one of the largest and most successful volunteer transcription programs in history with more than 1.3 billion records indexed since 2007,FamilySearch indexing is looking toward this year’s event to launch an expanded push for indexed records in languages other than English. Currently FamilySearch.org offers 20 times more searchable records in English than in all other languages combined. To balance this ratio, people with fluency in other languages, especially French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, are being sought as indexing volunteers.

“Family history research in English-speaking countries is a dream compared to research in other parts of the world,” said Mike Judson, manager of FamilySearch’s indexing workforce development. “Our goal is to make research for our friends in other lands as joyful and productive as it is in the United States, Great Britain, and other English-speaking countries. To do this we need tens of thousands of volunteers with well-developed language skills to step forward and use those talents to bless others’ lives. We have the records—now we just need the hands.”

To help volunteers with language skills to get started, FamilySearch indexing has launched carefully chosen indexing projects in its four focus languages of French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Special training guides are now available to help new and experienced English indexers with skills in these languages to quickly familiarize themselves with how to index these particular records.

New One-Week Record Anticipated 

Last year’s Worldwide Indexing Event established a one-week record of 91,721 participants. This year, more than 100,000 participants are expected. To be counted, each volunteer must submit at least one indexing or arbitration batch sometime during the week. Volunteers and potential volunteers can visit FamilySearch.org/indexingevent2015 to learn more, including strategies for avoiding high demand periods that may tend to slow down the indexing system.  

 © 2015 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. A service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint

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 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The recording of today's webinar, "Welcome to FamilySearch Indexing!," by Devin Ashby is now online for free for a limited time at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com. Devin taught how to index records using the FamilySearch Indexing software. He also explained the background and history of indexing, where FamilySearch fits in, and showed a preview of the new indexing software to come in the near future. Most of all, he showed how we can each "pay it forward" a bit. A few comments from our viewers:

• I have had indexing on my mind for some time. Looks like there is almost zero learning curve. This should motivate me and many others to jump in. The water looks nice and warm at the beginners' end of the pool! And I surely have been a "user". Now I can give a little back. Even considering just all the Legacy webinars I've viewed, I need to give back plenty. Thanks for such a worthwhile afternoon!
• Excited to get back to indexing. You are so right it is a way to give back.
• EXCITING, INSPIRATIONAL. We have a Family History club of Seniors (av. age ~70) that I want to share this video with & explain how they can volunteer for indexing and at same time learn to use(search) FamilySearch more effectively for their own genealogical studies!
• I was so happy to learn about indexing today. I wasn't aware of this project before. It's a great way to give back while searching for your own family. Thanks again for a great webinar!

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 29 minute recording of "Welcome to FamilySearch Indexing!" is now available to view in our webinar archives indefinitely. The supplemental syllabus materials are also available here.

Coupon code

Use webinar coupon code - index - for 10% off anything at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com or www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com, valid through Monday, October 13, 2014.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

• On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 190 classes, 280 hours of genealogy education)
• On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 770 pages)
• 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout, and yes, you can also use the 10% off webinar coupon above for a total of 15% off)
• Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
• Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar

Introductory pricing:

• Annual membership: $49.95/year (that's about the cost of 5 webinar CDs)
• Monthly membership: $9.95/month

Click here to subscribe.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

• Researching Your War of 1812 Ancestor by Thomas MacEntee. October 15.
• Tracking Migration Using the Draper Manuscripts by Mary Hill. October 22.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. November 14.
• Using Evernote for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. November 19.
• Family History for Kids by Devin Ashby. December 3.
• Look Ma, No Hands! Using Dragon Naturally Speaking for Your Genealogy by Ivan Baugh. December 5.
• Researching Your North Carolina Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. December 10.
• Bagging a Live One - Connecting with Cousins You Never Knew You Had by Mary Kircher Roddy. December 17.

Click here to register. Or click here register for multiple webinars at the same time.

Print the 2014 webinar brochure here.

See you online!

Indexes created at your fingertips! Be part of an international initiative to index the world’s largest collection of genealogical records. This class, by FamilySearch's Devin Ashby, will give you indexing background and basics to help you understand where to begin, how to help, and what we can achieve.

Join us for the live webinar Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

Download the syllabus

In preparation for the webinar, download the supplemental syllabus materials here. The syllabus is available to everyone this week!

Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

Not sure if you already registered?

On the Upcoming Webinars tab, login to view the webinars you are already signed up for (available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers).

Test Your Webinar Connection

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

Devin Ashby is a Community Advocate for FamilySearch, the largest genealogical organization in the world. Devin has been involved in family history for years and in 2004 he received Bachelor degrees in History and Spanish and the following year earned a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Devin's webinars in the archives:

• YouTube Your Family History
• What's New at FamilySearch
• Google Glass and Family History

Click here to view.

Add it to your Google Calendar

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific
• 6pm GMT

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Make sure you have the latest version of Java installed on your computer. Check at www.java.com.
6. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
7. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
8. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

What a terrific announcement yesterday from FamilySearch and GenealogyBank about the indexing and publication of obituaries! FamilySearch Indexing is my favorite way to spend an extra few minutes each morning. My three boys, age 14, 12, and 9 now share the fun with me in my office. They've enjoyed indexing obituaries for a few months now, and with the announcement below, it appears that we won't run out of obituaries to index for a very long time.

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FamilySearch International (FamilySearch.org) and GenealogyBank (GenealogyBank.com) today announced an agreement to make over a billion records from historical obituaries searchable online. It will be the largest—and perhaps most significant—online US historic records access initiative yet. It will take tens of thousands of online volunteers to make GenealogyBank's vast U.S. obituary collection more discoverable online. Find out more at FamilySearch.org/Campaign/Obituaries.

The tremendous undertaking will make a billion records from over 100 million US newspaper obituaries readily searchable online. The newspapers are from all 50 states and cover the period 1730 to present. The completed online index will be fairly comprehensive, including 85% of U.S. deaths from the last decade alone. The death collection will easily become one of the most popular online genealogy databases ever, detailing names, dates, relationships, locations of the deceased, and multi-generational family members.

Obituaries can solve family puzzles, tell stories, dispel myths, and provide tremendous help with family history research. A single obituary can include the names and relationships of dozens of family members. For example, Alice E. Cummings' obituary sheds light on where she lived during her lifespan, her personal history, and it provides information connecting five generations of ancestors and descendants in her family tree—14 people in all.

Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch, explained that obituaries are extremely valuable because they tell the stories of our ancestors' lives long after they are deceased. He invites online volunteers to help unlock the "treasure trove" of precious family information locked away in newspaper obituaries.

"Billions of records exist in US obituaries alone," Brimhall said. "The average obituary contains the names of about ten family members of the deceased—parents, spouse, children, and other relatives. Some include much more. Making them easily searchable online creates an enormously important source for compiling our family histories. The number of people who will benefit from this joint initiative is incalculable."

GenealogyBank has over 6,500 historical U.S. newspapers and growing, spanning over 200 years. The death notices in these publications go beyond names and dates. They can provide insightful first-hand accounts about an ancestor that simply are not available from censuses or vital records alone.

"Obituaries, unlike any other resource, have the ability to add incredible dimensions to an individual's family history research. They contain a wealth of information including facts and details that help capture the legacy of those who have passed on," said Dan V. Jones, GenealogyBank Vice President. "The unique life stories written, dates documented, and generations of family members mentioned are often only found within an obituary, which makes them such an invaluable resource. Obituaries have the unique power to both tell a story and enable individuals to learn more about their family relationships. GenealogyBank is proud and excited to partner with FamilySearch in bringing these obituaries to researchers all over the world."

Volunteers Are Key

The success of the massive US obituary campaign will depend on online volunteers. The obituaries are fairly simple to read, since they are digital images of the typeset, printed originals, but require human judgment to sort through the rich, historic data and family relationships recorded about each person. Information about online volunteering is available atFamilySearch.org/indexing. A training video, indexing guide, detailed instructions, telephone and online support are available to help new volunteer indexers if needed.

FamilySearch.org volunteers have already indexed over one billion historic records online since 2006, including all of the available U.S. Censuses, 1790 to 1940. In 2012 volunteers rallied in a record-breaking effort to index the entire 1940 U.S. Census in just four months. Today, the US censuses, 1790 to 1940, are the most popular online databases for family history research. Indexed obituary collections can be searched online at FamilySearch.org and GenealogyBank.com.

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 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About GenealogyBank

GenealogyBank.com is one of the largest exclusive collections of newspapers and historical documents for family history research. It provides information on millions of American families from 1690--today. Over 7,100 newspapers provide first-hand accounts of your ancestors' lives that simply can't be found in other genealogy resources: obituaries, birth and marriage notices, photographs, hometown news and more. Over 380,000 historical books and documents from 1749-1994 include military records, widow's claims, orphan petitions, land grants, casualty lists, funeral sermons, biographies and much more. Discover the stories, names, dates, places and events that have shaped your family story at GenealogyBank.com.

I'm back from vacation now, well, mostly vacation. In addition to our time at the beach, I fit in a couple of Legacy User Group meetings, a full-day conference with Tom Jones, and broadcasted a webinar. That might sound like work to some, but when you love what you do, as I do, every day is a vacation. Except for those that aren't. I digress.

Recently FamilySearch indexers participated in an amazing 24-hour event. They hoped to have an unprecedented 50,000 contributors in a 24 hour period. They beat that by a lot. On July 20 and 21, 66,511 volunteers participated. My wife and three oldest children participated as well. I am a big believer in FamilySearch Indexing. I try to do a little each morning. Then, if my day is completely unproductive, I know I've at least done one thing right that day. Anyways, here's the official announcement from FamilySearch.

FamilySearch volunteers are amazing! On July 20th and 21st, FamilySearch indexers and arbitrators from around the world joined together to set an international record for the greatest number of indexing participants in a single day! We hoped to have an unprecedented 50,000 contributors in a 24 hour period. FamilySearch volunteers excelled, surpassing that goal by 16,511! That’s right—66,511 participants in one day! Incredible! We are grateful for the patience and persistence of many volunteers who faced technical difficulties due to an overwhelming response.

These generous indexers and arbitrators made a true difference. Each record and each name indexed and arbitrated matters. It only takes one to open the door to linking generations of families together. Without question, thousands of lives will be changed as a result of this day’s effort.

While the focus for this challenge was on the total number of participants, a tremendous amount of indexing and arbitration work was accomplished as well. Here are the results for the number of records indexed and arbitrated. 

Indexed: 4,682,746
Arbitrated: 941,932
Total Records Processed: 5.7 million

Our ancestors deserve to be remembered. You can be proud to be the one who made the difference for someone else who is looking for their ancestors. Because of you, they will know the joy of adding a new branch to their family tree. Thank you!

Did you participate in this historic event? Celebrate with us! Print and/or share this badge online to let your friends know you helped make history! Visit the badge page to download the badge.
We want to hear from you! Share your event day experience in a comment below or email us at [email protected].

And keep indexing! More names and stories-especially from obituaries-are ready to be indexed by you and discovered by researchers worldwide. One volunteer, one document, one name can make all the difference to someone looking for his or her family.

Get started at familysearch.org/indexing

Add this date to your calendar: Sunday, July 20, 2014. Join volunteers from around the world on July 20 and 21 for an international history-making event! The goal? For 50,000 indexers and arbitrators to submit at least one batch in a 24-hour period! Do more if you would like, but one batch is all that is required to be counted in the record! Click here for more information or join the Facebook group.

By the way, anyone can index. As I write this article, both my 12-year-old and 8-year-old sons are in my office - indexing! Somehow they've caught the bug. Maybe their brotherly competition helps too. Whatever your reason, indexing is a big deal. Check out these statistics as of June 30, 2014:

• 1,182,325,120 total records completed
• 78,718,984 total records completed in 2014
• 19,691,636 records awaiting arbitration
• 179,021 total contributors in 2014
• 336 current projects

To get an idea of what indexing is, watch this brief video: 

from FamilySearch.org:

FamilySearch recently released a newly redesigned indexing website at FamilySearch.org/indexing, and we invite you to come and take a look. This new website integrates indexing with the rest of FamilySearch.org, making it easier for indexers to know how to get started and find the help they need.

FamilySearch indexing is the volunteer program that has already generated more than a billion freely searchable names on FamilySearch.org. Changes to the indexing program over time have greatly increased the number of records that FamilySearch is able to publish. Projects that used to take years to index can now be completed in a matter of months, and as the indexing program improves, the availability of searchable records will only accelerate.

Come and explore what's new: 

• Getting started with indexing just got easier. With an easy-to-navigate Overview page and an all-new Get Started page, the new website is the perfect introduction to indexing.
• Looking for more indexing help? Check out the completely redesigned resource guide. Now called Help Resources, this page guides you to the help you need.
• Find projects you want faster. In the old indexing website, you had to scroll through over 200 projects, now you can click on an interactive map and filter the project list based on language and country.

The change in the indexing website is just the first step in a total redesign and improvement of the indexing experience. The coming year will see the all-new indexing program become more integrated with FamilySearch.org, bringing indexing to your Internet browser, enabling indexing on tablet devices,and much more.

Join us at RootsTech in February to learn more about what's coming. Visit the FamilySearch indexing booth in the exhibit hall, which is free and open to the public, to get a hands-on experience with the new indexing program, or attend the session "Introducing the new FamilySearch indexing tool."

Why you should get involved with FamilySearch indexing?

Indexing is great for:

• Beginners to family history. Anyone can index. And indexing can be a stepping stone, giving you a great experience with family history while teaching you about the types of records that can be found as you research your ancestors.
• Experienced genealogists. If you are more experienced, you already know the great value of indexes and searchable online records. Indexing gives you great satisfaction as you help bring even more records online for your own research needs and for the entire genealogy community.

Come and see what everyone is talking about; visit the FamilySearch indexing website today!

Has it been a while since you've done any FamilySearch Indexing? Watch this brief, animated video from FamilySearch and get inspired again. Haven't started yet? Sign up here.

Big news from FamilySearch Indexing today! The 1 billionth record was recently indexed. Way to go and thanks to all indexing volunteers for making genealogy easier for everyone!

Here at Legacy Family Tree, we support the FamilySearch Indexing efforts. Click here to volunteer. We also hosted a webinar presented by FamilySearch's Katie Gale: Helping Unlock the World's Records: FamilySearch Indexing for Power Users. Click here to view its recording.

Here's the congratulatory email from FamilySearch:

Thank you for contributing to the billion! We did it! We reached a major milestone of one billion records indexed and arbitrated since the launch of FamilySearch indexing in September of 2006. We are grateful for the many volunteers who dedicate their time and efforts to make these records freely available for online research.

Kenneth B. (California, United States), Brittney S. (Idaho, United States), and April R. (Alberta, Canada) were the lucky ones to index and arbitrate the billionth record! They will receive a FamilySearch backpack stuffed with FamilySearch goodies. We also want to thank all the volunteers who have contributed to the billion records with a FamilySearch indexing badge. You can download your free badge at https://familysearch.org/node/2113.

It took us seven years to reach the first billion. How long do you think it will take us to reach the next billion? The advances of technology and the dedication of our volunteers have increased the speed in which we can process and deliver records for publication. Join the global effort to make the next billion records available for family history research. Start indexing now! familysearch.org/indexing

Sincerely, FamilySearch indexing