FAMILY HISTORY HINTS

Update: June 11, 2020—Simplified Temple Reservation Lists The Temple menu on FamilySearch.org is being updated. With this update, you can more easily see the ordinances you have reserved and those you have shared with others or with the temple. With this update, when you go to  FamilySearch.org  and click  Temple , a new menu shows on the left side of the screen. If you click  My Reservations  in the menu, you will see a complete list of ordinance reservations that are under your name. To see the reservations you have shared with the temple, click  Shared . The filter option at the top of both reservation lists allows you to filter the list in various ways. The filters allow you to easily see which reservations have been printed and which remain unprinted. You can also filter by the type of ordinance.

If you would like to go to the baptistry as a family, here are a few helpful "How To" facts: 1-How do I start? Please call the Dallas Temple at (972) 991-1273 to request an appointment .  You may have to leave a message but they are great about calling back and finding you a time to attend! 2-When   can I take my family?   SATURDAYS--Saturdays get very busy, so please try to schedule a week in advance.  They will allow 4 to 5 baptisms per person on a Saturday because the lines get long.  The great secret is that the baptistry opens at 6:30 a.m. and is usually not as busy until 7am. WEEKDAYS DURING THE DAY--The advantage of daytimes is that you can often do more family file names per person since it's not as busy.  I have done as many as 24 names at a time.  The best hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.. WALK-INS--You can walk in to the temple without a reservation, but you will most likely have to wait up to an hour.  This is because our temple s...

Setting up a user account is quick and easy.  Whether you're a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not, you're VERY welcome to use this free site. Step 1 :  Go to https://www.familysearch.org/en/ Step 2 :  Click on "Sign In" Step 3 :  Next, if you are not a member of the church, you will click on "Create a Free Account"--and it really is completely free to use this website! If you ARE a member of the church, you will need to click "Sign In with Church Account"--the same account you use to access LDS tools on your phone.   Step 4 :  Enter your username and password. Congratulations !!  You are now able to access billions of records about the genealogical history of the human family.   If you DO NOT HAVE a church account set up , it's easy to do, and will also allow you to access many other features at churchofjesuschrist.org.  Here's how you set up your church account:   Step 1 :   G...

As a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you get a FREE membership to several search sites that allow you to hunt down names of your ancestors.    The one I use the most is Ancestry.com because I find it the most user-friendly and it's a good place to start.    From the familysearch website:  " Church members with free Ancestry accounts can access 99 percent of Ancestry’s databases. " (A few premium features can also be accessed by walking into a  family history center and using their computers.  Or you can pay for a subscription.) Step 1:  Go to  familysearch.org/partneraccess Step 2:  Click on "Join for Free" under the ancestry.com logo. Step 3:  Click on "Create a Free Account" Step 4:    S ign in to FamilySearch using your LDS account username and password. Step 5:    Click on the red button that says "Create Your Free Ancestry Account" Step 6:    Clic...

Here is where we stop to do some off-line homework.  You will need to find the name and a birth date and/or death date of an ancestor of yours who is deceased.  Then we can find or enter him or her in family search. Step 1:  Sign in at familysearch.org. Step 2:  I recommend taking a few minutes to review the " Getting Started " information.  This will answer many questions you've had in your mind about using this site.  You can access this at https://www.familysearch.org/home/etb_gettingstarted OR by clicking on help at the very top right of your home screen. Step 3:   It's likely that your family tree is already in the system to some degree.  You can view your tree by accessing your tool bar across the top of the screen.  It looks like this: Step 4:   Click on "Family Tree" and then open "Tree." Step 5:   At this point, take some time to explore the different views of your tree. You can discover what happens w...

Step 1:   Log into your family search account. Step 2:   Open a new tab on your browser and log in to your account on ancestry.com. Step 3:   Click on "Search" on the toolbar at the top and open "All Collections." Step 4:   Enter the information you have on the person in the appropriate field.  You can click on other links to add information you have about other life events or the family relationships you know about. Step 5:   A window will open with a list of sources, with the most likely options at the top.  This does NOT guarantee that this is the person you are looking for---just that it best matches the parameters you entered.  You must use your judgment to determine if it is the person you are interested in. Step 6:   When you click on a link from this list, you will open a document that will hopefully give you the information you need.  Also, be sure to refer to the " Suggested Records" in the column on the righ...