FamilySearch In a previous article we described the pros and cons of Ancestry dot com, one of the largest online sources of digital history records for genealogy. Access is by subscription fee, with U.S. and International data having separate costs both payable to the company before viewing most of their holdings. Of free, yet equal significance, and greater longevity, is Family Search dot org a not-for-profit enterprise under the umbrella of the Mormon Church. Their Family History Library and collections department have been microfilming and preserving copies of genealogy related records since the destruction of so many peoples history by the World Wars. Many of these photo facsimiles, books, and personal genealogies, are now also being converted to computer digital form, and are being added to their website catalog and index -- the basis for which are still available through interlibrary rental or visit to the Salt Lake library. According to David Ouimette, Certified Genealogist, and new records planning strategist, "the Family History Library has the largest collection of genealogical records assembled in one place in the world". Local LDS Churches, and some other libraries, also provide assistance with accessing these materials. David describes some of the U.S. and Ireland records available in these collections. "Fifty percent of what people do in Irish family history, is doing research in the country the immigrant went to, like the United States, doing deep research to learn where in Ireland the ancestor came from. I mentioned this often overlooked part of Irish family history because about 90% of the people that come in the library to do Irish research end up needing to first do American research or Canadian research or research that helps lead them back to the parish of origin in Ireland or the townland of origin using records from other counties. We have a very extensive collection of U.S. records that can help with that, such as passenger lists, naturalization papers, and vital records that are extremely extensive. So that would be the first highlight I would offer for Irish family history, is the tremendous American records collection, to help pin point where your immigrant ancestor came from in Ireland." David reminds us, "that when it comes to doing Irish family history research, of course the ideal is to have very ready access to the original records. The best way to do that would be digital images online, or on microfilm, or in the archive itself. The Family History Library has a very large collection of Irish records assembled from dozens of archives around Ireland, and it is very convenient to go in and use records from land valuation, census, church records, etc. One highlight I give for the Irish microfilm collection, is the records from the National Archives of Ireland that originally came from the valuation office of Ireland; these are land valuation records, household by household, the head of household around the whole country, starting with the publication of Griffith's valuation in the mid 1800s and, progressing forward through the decades to the mid 1900s. This often underutilized collection of canceled books, or revision books as they are known, helps you see almost an annual heads of household listing, across the country, and is a fantastic substitute for the destroyed 19th century Irish censuses. So, that is one collection I would highlight as unique to the Family History Library and that collection as well as many others we certainly hope to make broadly available on the internet. It is a gradual process, digitizing all of our Irish records and making them available. We have already made great headway by publishing the tithe applotment books, indexed and imaged. This is not unique to Family Search of course, because we acquired the materials from the National Archives of Ireland and we have jointly published the materials online, But those are some records that I would highlight as of a special value." The leadership, technical preservations skills, and reputation, of David and his administration peers, has forged these partnerships with Ireland institutions over the years, making the materials available through many outlets, even other websites. "Recognizing the value of the major records of Irish family history, the censuses, the church records, civil registration, in particular, I would like to talk about the role that Family Search -- the Family History Library -- has played with those records. The census records, the originals, were microfilmed by the family history department, by Family Search, at the National Archives, and this made it possible for the National Archives to digitize these records and make them available online. The catholic parish registers, which have been available for many years on microfilm at the National Library of Ireland, many of these microfilms are broadly available through the Family History Library, thus making a very convenient place to go to do research on your Irish catholic ancestry. The civil registration records are a huge component of family history research, beginning in the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s, and Family Search has recently done a monumental effort of organizing all of the indexes of Birth, Marriage, and Deaths, for Ireland from the mid 1800s through the 1950s and this index which is 22 to 24 million names has been published on Family Search dot org, greatly facilitating the research for people with roots in Ireland. Family search has recently shared this index with other organizations such as Ancestry and Find My Past providing even greater access to this very valuable index to help as many people as possible do Irish family history research. Those are some of the highlights that family search has done recently to help many more people discover their Irish roots." =welcome>about>help>back(to"help")>NEXT: COMING SOON

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