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BROWSE RECORDS.
Not all records collections are indexed
correctly—though we wish they were!
If you’re striking out when keyword-
searching for an ancestor’s record, con-
sider paging through images of the record
instead. You never know what details may be incor-
rect or absent from a record’s index, and viewing
an image of the original record can help clear up
any inconsistencies. FamilySearch.org makes this
easy by allowing you to click through individual
pages, or jump to a specifi c page.September 2019 has everyone’s favorite unlucky
day: Friday the 13th. Historians can’t exactly pinpoint
when the superstition began, but some attribute it to the
1907 novel Friday the Thirteenth, in which a stockbroker
takes advantage of the infamous date to create a Wall
Street panic. Another popular myth incriminates Philip
IV of France, who arrested the Knights Templar on Fri-
day, October 13, 1307.
Regardless of the day’s origins, those with “paraskevi-
dekatriaphobia” have reason for hope. While you’re dodg-
ing black cats and walking around ladders this month, you
can create your own genealogical luck on FamilySearch.
org <www.familysearch.org>, the premier free family his-
tory website. These 13 tips, many of which are discussed
in the Unoffi cial Guide to FamilySearch.org (Family Tree
Books), will stack the cards in your favor.2
SET UP NOTIFICATIONS
FOR FAMILY TREE PROFILES.
As critics of FamilySearch.org will be
quick to tell you, any user can edit your
family tree on the site. While a power-
ful tool for collaboration, this function-
ality opens the door for questionable details to be
added to your hard-earned research. To counter
this, FamilySearch.org also allows you to receive
notifi cations when someone adds or edits details
to an individual’s profi le. Simply click the star next
to Watch when viewing a profi le, and the site will
notify you when someone makes changes or adds
records. With that, you can get in touch with other
users and (hopefully) keep unsourced information
from your tree.FamilySearch Quick Links
Home
<www.familysearch.org>
Search
<www.familysearch.org/search>
Browse Collections
<www.familysearch.org/search/collection/list>
Help Center
<www.familysearch.org/ask/landing>
Research Wiki
<www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Main_Page>
Search the Family Tree
<www.familysearch.org/tree/fi nd/name>
Account Settings
<www.familysearch.org/profi le/account>
FamilySearch Catalog
<www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search>
Blog
<www.familysearch.org/blog/en>
Apps and Partnerships
<partners.familysearch.org/solutionsgallery/s>
Learning Center Video Directory
<www.familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer>
Indexing Projects
<www.familysearch.org/indexing>E
For more on optimizing your
FamilySearch Family Tree, see
<www.familytreemagazine.com/
premium/your-forever-family-tree>.