If it’s been sometime since you’ve delved into your family history, you might be pleasantly surprised at how many historical records are now freely accessible online. It’s amazing what discoveries a simple name or place search on FamilySearch.org will reveal in a matter of seconds.
This is because names from digital images of original historical documents have been transcribed by the FamilySearch’s community of online volunteers, including members of the Church. The highly searchable ‘indexes’ are made freely accessible to all though FamilySearch to help make inspiring family discoveries
The Southport members of the Church, on Preston New Road, set themselves a one-week lockdown challenge to ‘index’ 400 names. Said local resident and volunteer, Mona Gibson (pictured), “I became involved with indexing some years ago when we were asked to help transcribe the 1911 Census by indexing all the information it held. This makes it so much easier for those searching for ancestors in order to build up their family history. Inputting names and information alphabetically onto the computer also helps build a safe digital record. It can help with easing the frustration of searching through pages of documents and maybe endless trips to cemeteries or having to rely on older family members who may no longer be able to remember specific details.”
The indexes created by FamilySearch now make the information once hidden in archived collections readily and freely accessible online. FamilySearch has over three billion searchable images and nearly eight billion searchable names from historical documents from all over the world. It typically adds 500 million new images and searchable records each year—over one million per day.
Mona continued, “I love Indexing as it’s a way to serve the whole family history community, and I can do it all from the comfort of my own home, on my own computer. We managed to get almost 1,000 names indexed over the week of our challenge.”
Go to FamilySearch.org to learn more about your ancestors or how to become an online volunteer.