Las Vegas Nevada FamilySearch Center/Training

How Do I Start
1.Write down what you know. Family Tree Chart


 * Start with yourself. Use the Family Tree Chart above to enter information about you, your parents, grandparents, etc. If you do not know exact dates and places, estimate them.  Fill out by memory first and the from records you have at home.  NOTE: always use a pencil so corrections are easy to make.
 * For each couple in the Family Tree Chart, fill out a Family Group Chart that will show each of the children in that family.
 * Circle any missing or incomplete information, and decide what/whom you want to find first.

2. Contact your immediate family first:


 * In the step above, note the information that is missing and decide on the family member that might have that information.
 * Record any useful information and stories they provide.
 * Ask about copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates as well as journals, letters, photos, and other records that might be available.
 * Find out if they know other people you should contact.
 * Use this new gathered information to fill in the missing information on your Family Tree Chart and Family Group Charts. This will give you a guide as to where to go next.

3. Search other sources.


 * A guide of places to find family history information can be found Here
 * Gather your records starting with the records you already have, and organize them in one place.
 * Explore online sources starting with FamilySearch.org/search for free access to family history records such as census, birth, death, marriage, military records, etc. See the information below to best learn how to use FamilySearch.org.
 * Get personal help by visiting our local FamilySearch family history center for free personal help and many other valuable services. Center staff may also direct you to other local community resources.

4. Visit the FamilySearch Library to access premium websites to search for records


 * Free access to Ancestry.com, WorldVitalRecords.com, Fold3.com, Find My Past, and more.
 * Personal help to direct you in your research process.
 * Free training classes

5. Sign up for Family Tree to see others who may be working on your line


 * Go to FamilySearch.org and creating an account.
 * Click on Family Tree to start you family tree or see what others have.
 * See the training below for Family Tree

6. Take the newly found information and add to your pedigree and family group sheets. 7. '''Pick another ancestor or question and repeat the above steps. '''

Tips for Using FamilySearch.org/search
This is a collection of HISTORICAL Records that spans billions of names across hundreds of collections—including birth, marriage, death, probate, land, military, IGI extracted, and more. This online database stores all the historical documents and is available for searching. You can instantly search through hundreds of millions of records for information about your ancestors at FamilySearch.org/search ■FamilySearch.org/search protects privacy. No information about living people is publicly available. ■For women, use maiden names to find birth and marriage records, but married names for census and death information. ■Add five years to life spans ■Try different spellings of a name (Miller, Milr). ■Try different forms of a name (Elizabeth, Liz, Liza). ■Immigrants often changed their names. ■If you can’t find information about a person, look for information about family members.

Informative training videos are found at FamilySearch Videos Watch the Overview and click on Finding Records and watch the 8 videos to learn to search for best results.

FamilyTree
We have hands on training classes at the center. Check the Classes and Handouts page at: "https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Las_Vegas_Nevada_FHC/Class_Schedule"

Family Tree Training
Login into the site to access the training videos and PDFs.

Ancestry.com Learning How to Get the Most Out of Searches
Basics of starting a search http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuk_wddJ6OM

Ancestry Desktop Education Series http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2F65E97B57EF8279&amp;feature=digest_mon Best ways to search Ancestry http://ancestry.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1060#res2

Fold3
Tour using Fold3 with 4 videos and written instructions http://www.fold3.com/tour/

WorldVitalRecords.com
Under the advanced search: http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/search.aspx you can search by birth/marriage/death,census &amp; voter lists, court/probate recrods, Collection Title, Recently added collections, by place and more.

Family History Consultant Training
See our Class Schedule for scheduled Consultant Training Classes by downloading the present months class schedule at: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Las_Vegas_Nevada_FHC/Class_Schedule

Indexing Help Resources
Indexing help


 * Basic Indexing Guidelines: https://help.familysearch.org/publishing/347/102817_f.SAL_Public.html
 * Quick start Video: http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Local_Support/FamilySearchIndexing/EN/demos/FS_index.html?v=http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Local_Support/FamilySearchIndexing/EN/demos/IndexQuickStart
 * How to Dounload and Install Program: http://broadcast.lds.org/eLearning/fhd/Product/en/FamilySearch_Indexing/DownloadIndexing/player.html
 * Index Resource Guide https://indexing.familysearch.org/public/publications.jsf
 * FAQs: https://indexing.familysearch.org/support/faq.jsf
 * FamilySearch Wiki (content availability may vary): https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Main_Page
 * List of current Indexing projects: https://indexing.familysearch.org/projtab/current_projects.jsf