Back in 1990 when I purchased my first computer, rumours were circulating about a Mormon genealogy site that would see their massive collection of records brought on-line.

The internet was just getting started at this time and the thought of a site where I could plug in my ancestor's name and find his or her birthdate had me drooling at the mouth!

The Mormon genealogy site found at www.familysearch.org is still as important today as it was back then.

Search! Search! Search!

This is the name of the game and familysearch.org gets your started on its home page. Simply punch in your ancestor's name and country. Chances are likely you'll make a match.

For example, I entered the surname "Gagnon" into the Mormon genealogy site and came up with 233 hits. The following list is a break-down of results by database:

• Ancestral File - over 25

• Census/1880 US Census - over 25

• Census/1881 Canadian Census - over 25

• IGI/Africa - 2

• IGI/Asia - 2

• IGI/British Isles - over 24

• IGI/Continental Europe - over 25

• IGI/North America - over 25

• IGI/Norway - 1

• IGI/South America - 2

• IGI/Southwest Europe - 8

• IGI/World Misc. - 9

• Pedigree Resource File - over 25

• U.S. Social Security Death Index - over 25

Family History Catalog

The Family History Library Catalog is a great resource to track down records that aren't available on-line or elsewhere. For example, I was able to find minutes for a hospital located in England. My ancestor was a doctor there in 1791 and these documents actually provided me with rich biographical details about his life. Use your imagination and look for unusual documents you wouldn't typically use in your day-to-day research. The catalog is broken down into the following categories:

Place Search

Surname Search

Keyword Search

Title Search

Film/Fiche Search

Author Search

Subject Search

Call number Search

Trying a variety of searches including the place where your ancetor lived or an author search that may reveal a book written by great great grandma.

If you locate a record of interest you don't have to travel all the way to Salt Lake City to take a look. Nope! Just visit your local Family History Library and for a small fee they will have the microfilm mailed to you. Depending on the popularity of the records, this can take upward of 4 weeks or more.

PAF - Free genealogy software!

If you use your computer to track your research PAF (Personal Ancestral File) is free software that can help you out. Don't be fooled by the word "free". This doesn't mean its not a quality program. I began using it as DOS program in 1991 and it has since evolved to a powerful piece of software.

Look for the download link on the homepage. You may also wish to download the Users guide and another nifty piece of add-on software that allows you to print a variety of nifty color ancestor and descendant charts.

Other Free Resources

Click here to learn about using their other online databases:

Learn about other LDS Resources

FamilySearch.org also offers a variety of free census forms, pedigree charts and the like that you can download, photocopy and use in your research.

The site also offers a number of useful getting started guides and advice that assist you if you ever get stuck in your research.

This Mormon genealogy site is a great place to visit. Make sure you bookmark it in your browser. You'll be returning again and again!