3.4 FamilySearch Wiki

The research wiki is located on FamilySearch.org under the “Search” menu and allows genealogists to search for information by place or topic. Around the turn of the century a lot of family history was done in person at repositories, libraries, and record’s offices. A researcher wanting to discover documents about their ancestors in 2001 might plan a trip and physically walk into the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah to get started. Back then, the visitor to the library would have been greeted with racks of stapled pamphlets that were alphabetized by place and had printed information about how to begin research in each area. These helpful guides were created based on the experience of researchers who had looked at documents tied to that particular place and having their notes helped new researchers get on the right track and avoid frustrating pitfalls. While everyone is invited to visit the library in person, today FamilySearch provides similar guides online in the form of the FamilySearch Wiki. Beyond how to get started and what records to seek out for a certain place, the wiki often has a chart of specific collections for different types of records tied to that area. FamilySearch is not promoting just their services in these guides. If Findmypast.com or another website has useful access to records, the wiki will list that collection with a link and other information like costs to use that website. The wiki will even list websites that are not genealogical in nature. Something like a recorder’s office, religious organization, or civic group may be named if that is the most useful place to access the records.

Although the FamilySearch Wiki is not a place to search for specific documents, it has information provided by other researchers that identify the most helpful collections and give a history of each place so a researcher should consult the wiki before beginning a document search. If someone was looking for immigration records about her ancestor who sailed from Ireland around 1855, she could turn to the wiki and search “Ireland passenger lists.” The results would point to a page titled “Ireland Emigration and Immigration”1 where she could look at suggested record collections about Irish immigration that cover the time her ancestor would have traveled. Hopefully this would give her a targeted starting point, leading to the name of the ship and passenger list about her ancestor.

As in that example, the wiki provides lists of record types available and notes about which time periods they cover for each topic and location. There also are strategies and tips for researchers, complete with links to other websites where records may be found. If someone is interested in learning more about a certain topic, the wiki search works for that as well. If a researcher wants to learn more about U.S. agricultural schedules, it can be searched in the wiki.2 A page with the history and pertinent information will come up as a result and can be clicked on to gives the researcher historical information on the topic. The FamilySearch Wiki will not provide a document but it will teach someone the best strategies and point to good collections for targeted, efficient searching.