Genealogy Happenings

 

1. Get $40 off AncestryDNA® kits for the holidays. Ends December 31, 2021

2. Ontario Ancestors is offering some virtual presentations this week - Understanding WikiTree and a Virtual Genealogy Dropin

3.  Monthly Record Update For FamilySearch for November includes Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Jamaica, Kiribati, Liberia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and the United States, which includes Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. Records from the United States Bureau of Land Management were included as well.

4. more Haldimand County Ontario Obituaries scheduled for every second day December 2021 to May 2022 on Olive Tree Genealogy blog

Find Ancestors in New York Declarations of Intent 1827-1897

 

Example Declaration of Intent

If you are looking for ancestors in New York, you won't want to miss New York Declarations of Intent 1827-1897 on NaturalizationRecords.com

There are 7 reels of microfilm containing the Declarations of Intent. My team of volunteers and me spent many hours indexing these records for you. 

We created an index to those Declarations, with page numbers to help you find the original on microfilm. The microfilm with full details is available at a Family History center or Family Search Affiliate Library 

 

New Naturalization & Passport Records Online

The following records from FamilySearch have been added to NaturalizationRecords.com links

California, Northern U.S. District Court Naturalization Index, 1852-1989

Colorado Naturalization Records, 1876-1990

Illinois, Northern District Petitions for Naturalization, 1906-1994

Minnesota Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1872-1962

Montana Naturalization Records, 1868-1999

New Mexico Naturalization Records, 1882-1983

Utah Naturalization Records, 1906-1930  

Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929  

Wisconsin Index to Naturalization Petitions, 1848-1990  

Wisconsin, Milwaukee Petitions for Naturalization, 1848-1991

Hawaii, Passport Records, 1874-1898

Update of FamilySearch Ending Mirofilm Circulation Services

Thursday, September 7, 2017, marks the closing of an 80-year era of historic records access to usher in a new, digital model. FamilySearch is discontinuing its microfilm circulation services in concert with its commitment to make billions of the world’s historic records readily accessible digitally online.

 (See FamilySearch Digital Records Access Replacing Microfilm). As its remaining microfilms are digitized, FamilySearch has provided additional information to users of its historic microfilm program.

Continue reading a list of helpful facts and tips to help patrons better navigate the transition from microfilm to digital at http://media.familysearch.org/update-familysearch-digital-records-access-replacing-microfilm/

101 Best Genealogy Sites from Family Tree Magazine

Olive Tree Genealogy is very excited and honored to be chosen as one of Family Tree Magazine's Top 101 Genealogy sites for 2017.

Olive Tree Genealogy was chosen in the category Big Genealogy Websites along with FamilySearch, Heritage Quest, Access Genealogy, Library of Congress, NARA, Rootsweb and US GenWeb. Wow! I'm super thrilled to be in such esteemed company!




This is what Family Tree Magazine said about my site:

Each year, Family Tree Magazine publishes the 101 Best Websites for family history to guide genealogists to the top websites where they can make family history research progress, and to honor the individuals and organizations who create those sites. This year, they focused on websites that provide genealogy information and records free to researchers.

The full list of 101 Best Websites, including my site, can also be found at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/best-big-genealogy-websites-2017

MIssing Canadian Census Images - a Workaround

Recently while searching for a family in the 1861 Canadian census on Ancestry.com , I was puzzled as to why they were not showing up in the indexes. I tried searching various ways - only using first names, using wildcards, searching for the children, and so on. I knew where they were in 1861 - in Innisfil so my puzzlement grew the more I searched.

Of course it was possible they had been missed, or their names so badly mangled that they would not be found in the indexes so I decided to browse the census pages for Innisfil. Still nothing.

I can obsess on things so off I went to Family Search and bingo there was the mother Isabella in their index entry for 1861. However the index entry didn't have quite enough information to help me, and Family Search doesn't have the images for this census. I knew that Library and Archives Canada has the same indexes as Ancestry so there was no point in checking there.

Since Family Search said that Isabella was on Sheet 30, I assumed that was the page number so back I went to Ancestry and the browse feature. And that is when I discovered that the 1861 census images for Innisfil are missing pages 30, 31, and 32.

Notice the page number (29) and the image number (333)

Clicking to the next image (334) brings up page 33, not page 30

My next step was to head to Library and Archives Canada because I was pretty sure that while they use the same index as Ancestry.com , they have their own set of images. The problem with LAC is that there is no browse feature and when you are on an image page there is no "next" button or arrow or image number that would allow researchers to click ahead a page.

But there is a way to view the images page by page. First you must bring up a page from the hits you get on a search in their database. To do this I went back to Ancestry and pulled up page 29 on their images. I noted a few of the names and ages on that page, then returned to LAC. I searched for one of the names and when the result appeared, I chose the jpg image (not the pdf). Then all you do is replace the last number in the URL in your browser window.

Example: Here is the URL of page 29 http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/1861/jpg/4108345_00061.jpg

By removing the number 1 before .jpg, and replacing it with a 2 you can get to the next page (30)

Hopefully this workaround will help others and remember that just because the name of an ancestor doesn't turn up in a search, does not necessarily mean your ancestor isn't there!

Search other sites for the same database and you might just be surprised at what you find. 

No More Microfilm Ordering from FamilySearch

 On September 1, 2017, FamilySearch will discontinue its microfilm distribution services. That's right - no more ordering film into a local Family History Center.

Before readers react in horror, remember that FamilySearch has made good progress (over 1.5  million films done to date!) on digitizing its microfilm collections, and is continuing to digitize them. Once digitized they are put online.

There are many genealogists, like me, who have NEVER had access to microfilm loans due to no nearby FHC, nor have we been able to access them in Salt Lake City (due to travel and/or expense). But the world has not ended, and we have been able to make great progress on our genealogy.

I'd also like to remind those who think the sky is falling that FamilySearch records are FREE. It surprises me to see complaints about a free service as I am now seeing on Facebook as genealogist are learning of this policy change. We should all be thanking FamilySearch profusely for even creating the microfilms and then working on digitizing them.

And I know I'll get some flack for saying this --- but --- as much as I love genealogy, as much as I am absolutely addicted and obsessed with it --- it's not truly that important in the overall scheme of things. Finding a cure for cancer - that's important. Feeding hungry children - that's important. Figuring out how to have peace in the world - that's important. My suggestion is that we all keep it in perspective.

Just my personal thoughts on this.

Read the full explanation of this policy change on Family History Microfilm Discontinuation

Announcement: Family Search Upgrading

FamilySearch.org will undergo a technical upgrade on Monday, June 27, starting at 12:00 a.m. MDT (6:00 a.m. UTC). The site may be unavailable for up to 24 hours as they test the system improvements.

 It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes they make to the site! Meantime there are lots of other great sites genealogists can explore.

Tips for Solving a Challenging Genealogy Puzzle

My finding of military records for Samuel Jemmett

The following query was recently posted on Facebook: 

I have tried looking for naturalization records and immigration travel for a relative who was born in Ireland and married in Canada. Any where else I should be looking? The time frame would have been between 1873- 1895
Elizabeth Jemmet was born in Ireland 1873, (I have a birth index on her) her parents Margaret and Samuel Jemmet. Elizabeth was married in Toronto in 1893. So between that time she crossed from Ireland to Canada?
She moved to Erie New York in 1893/1894

The challenge intrigued Olive Tree Genealogy so I began looking around and here is what I found:

First I explained to KM that From 1763 to 1947, people born in the provinces and colonies of British North America were all British subjects. Taking the oath of allegiance meant becoming a British subject. Thus immigrants from Great Britain and the Commonwealth (England, Ireland, Wales or Scotland) did not have to be naturalized. See http://naturalizationrecords.com/canada/ for more info and naturalization databases

Next I made two suggestions: 

1.  There are ships passenger lists to Canada from 1869 on so you should be able to find your Elizabeth. Don't forget though that she could have come in via USA and 

2. You can narrow that date of arrival by searching for her in the 1881 and 1891 Canadian census records.

Then I started searching and that proved to be an interesting research saga! I am going to outline everything I found, and where I found it, because I think it will help others to realize that you need to keep an open mind and you need to search in more than one place.

1. Elizabeth is in the 1891 census for Toronto - badly misindexed as Elizabeth Jenmidt on Ancestry.com . Her father's name is misindexed too - as James. But a look at the image shows you it is really Samuel. He is a labourer born England and is 53 years old. Wildcards are your friend. I searched for J*m*t as the surname. Now you know she arrived before 1891.

Marriage Record Samuel & Margaret

2. I am pretty sure I've found  Samuel arriving in USA in 1881.  He is travelling alone, and is listed as a labourer born in England. As well, Margaret states in the 1915 NY Census that she arrived 1888.  Take that with a grain of salt as the immigration year is among the most mis-remembered year of any. It's wise to add a year or two on either side. See http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/ for help with passenger lists 

3.  Here's a potential candidate for Samuel - Samuel Jemmett born in Henley Oxfordshire England, enlisted in the military in 1857 at age of 19.  Started as a driver then was a gunner. He was discharged from D BATTERY 2ND BDE REGT OF ARTILLERY as a gunner. Samuel was in the mlitary 22 years, 247 days, served in Canada and India for combined total 13 years 30 days. He was in Montreal in 1866 and later. Was transferred in 1859 to 4th brigade then later to 2nd. Landed in India 1875. Discharged in 1879. Source: FindMyPast

4. Birth of Elizabeth is found registered on March 13, 1873 to Samuel and Margaret Jemmett in the Artillary Barracks Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. Her actual date of birth was 17 February 1873 and the family is Methodist. Source: www.rootsireland.ie

5. Here's more evidence to support the Samuel I found who was a Gunner. in the 2nd Brigade His marriage to Margaret Tremble in Montreal Quebec in 1868 is mis-indexed on Ancestry as Samuel Jemmett Lunna but a look at the image shows the record to be "Samuel Jemmet Gunner in the Royal Artillery..." Source: Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968. This marriage is also found in the Register of Marriages and Baptisms, 4 Brigade Royal Artillery at the
National Archives UK website at http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11665166  and a copy can be ordered.

6. I found the man I believe to be Samuel in the following Census records on FamilySearch, FindMyPast and Ancestry.com :
* 1851 Henley Oxfordshire England with parents Samuel and Elizabeth and siblings Richard and Edward. He is 13 years old, an errand boy
* 1861 Woolwich, London Kent England. He is a driver for the Royal Artillery, unmarried, age 22
* 1871 not yet found
* 1881 Reading St Mary, Reading, Berkshire, England with his brother Richard. He is listed as age 45, a labourer and married, but there is no wife or daughter with him
* 1891 Toronto Ontario with wife Margaret and daughter Elizabeth
* 1901 Maidenhead, Berkshire England living alone. Listed as married, age 63, a bricklayer's labourer

7. I place Samuel on this suggested timeline:

1838: birth of Samuel
1841: 
1851: Samuel in Henley Oxfordshire with parents and siblings Richard and Edward
1857: Samuel enlists in Royal Artillery
1861: Driver for R.A. in Woolwich England
1868: Samuel in Montreal Canada married Margaret Tremble while in R.A.
1871:?
1873: Samuel in Ireland still in R.A. Daughter Ellzabeth born
1879: Discharge from R.A.
1881: Samuel with brother in Berkshire England then on ship to New York
1891: in Toronto Ontario with wife and daughter
1893: his daughter Elizabeth marries in Toronto Ontario
1900: Margaret, his wife, age 52 alone in Buffalo New York. Says she is married but no husband with her 

Reading Mercury - Saturday 13 January 1900

1900: Mention of Samuel living in Berkshire England and receiving his military medals
1901: Samuel In Berkshire England alone
1915: New York State census finds Margaret, 68 living with her married daughter and family. 

I am not done searching as this was a fun challenge to work on! There are lots of unanswered questions:

Did Samuel and Margaret separate, he going back to England, she to New York with their daughter? My own great-grandfather and great-grandmother did that so it is not that unusual. 

When did Margaret and Elizabeth leave Ireland?

Finding an Ancestor in Canada West

Fred wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with quite a few questions about his ancestors who were in "Canada West" between 1856 and 1863.

I have traced my Winslow family from Dublin, Ireland to the ship "Constantine" on which they sailed and landed in the Port of NY in 1856. The entire family, which consisted of John, his wife Eliza and their children William Thomas, John, Oliva and Jane, were destined for "Canada West" according to the ship's manifest. Only a few other passengers on that voyage stated their destination as Canada West. I believe I was able to trace one of those other passengers (not related to me) to Perth in 1860. 

    The elder John was a carpet cutter and upholsterer and I presume he was seeking a better job in his field.  However, there is no trace of John or any member of his family in the Canadian or US census for 1860.  Also I have reason to believe that Eliza Winslow died in Canada not too long after immigrating there but I can find no trace of her death record.   

    By 1863, the family moved to Connecticut and took up work in the spinning mills there and from that year I have been able to trace them without much difficulty.  Are there large gaps in the Canadian census that are listed on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch?  Presuming they were in Canada in 1860, why am I unable to find any trace of them?

My Answers: Fred, first things first. Hopefully you discovered that "Canada West" is present day Ontario. So you need to find early Ontario records for your family.  Before being called Canada West it was called Upper Canada.

Example of 1861 Census

CENSUS RECORDS
There is no 1860 census for Canada. Canada did not exist as a country until Confederation in 1867 and thus the first census for Canada is 1871. The census prior to 1871 was 1861 (not 1860) and consists of records for the 5 provinces that existed that year.

Unfortunately not all of the 1861 returns survived. For a  list of the missing returns, see Ontario GenWeb Census Project.  As well, many surviving records are badly faded and could not be indexed,  so a search on Ancestry.com might not find a name even though a record survived. You would have to do a page by page search of the images in hopes of spotting your ancestors' names.

In the Ontario 1851 and 1861 Census, there are agricultural returns as well as personal returns. These are listed by the name of the head-of-household.  Agricultural Census returns are often overlooked by genealogists. Agricultural returns provide information such as lot and concession number, acreage, livestock and agricultural products.

Ancestry.com has the 1861 Agricultural portion of the census online. That's the good news! You can search for an ancestor in it by including the keyword "AGRICULTURAL" in the search fields.

The bad news is that only half of each page has been scanned.

DEATH RECORDS
You say you cannot find a death record for Eliza "in Canada". Again, you are looking in Ontario and a look at the explanation for Ontario Vital Records on Ancestry.com or the Archives of Ontario or other websites (such as Olive Tree Genealogy Ontario section) will reveal that registration did not begin until 1869, well past the date your Winslow family left for USA. A search of surviving church records would be your next step provided you can narrow the location of your family. 

You could also check OCFA (Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid) in case Eliza's grave is recorded there. If you get a result you will need to read the website instructions for details on how to obtain the burial information. 



DON'T OVERLOOK THE IMPORTANT DESCRIPTION OF RECORDS
This brings me to an important reminder - don't overlook the explanation or description of record sets online. This is where you will learn what the records consist of (what is missing and what is available) and what years the records cover. When you are searching for an ancestor in a place where you are not familiar with the records, you should always consult the local archives or genweb site to find out when records were kept, where they are kept, and what has survived.



SETTLEMENT OF ONTARIO
It is also important to remember that Ontario was not settled until the time of the American Revolution so these are relatively early records you are seeking. Any hope of finding a death record for Eliza rests on knowing a more precise location where they settled in Ontario. If they owned land you might find them in land records, or petitions. If you know their religion you could search church records. But there are few Ontario-wide databases to search, and that is why you must have a more precise location of a county or preferably a township where your family lived.

An Interesting Find on Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923 online

Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923  are online at FamilySearch which is wonderful.

The caveat is that they are not indexed. Researchers can find it quite a task to go through image after image looking for your ancestor.

I was searching in Lennox and Addington, Centreville, St Anthony of Padua and discovered that the Priests actually kept an index to the baptisms. The image on the left shows the start of the indexes. There are 230 images and image 3 is the start of the index.

To use the image you find the name of the individual you are seeking. on the left of the name is a number which is the number of the baptism in the register. To the right of the name is another number which is the page number. 

The register is described on FamilySearch as Baptisms 1844-1889 but the first  baptisms begin 24 February 1856.

The first baptism is found on Image 32 and is dated February 24, 1856 for little Jeremiah Gaffney who was born June 25, 1855 in Hungerford.

However if you go to the back of the register book there are earlier baptisms. Image 186 starts baptisms in 1844. The heading on the page states "The following copied from the Parish of Railton Records"

The detail in this church register is amazing. For example for little Jerermiah his date of marriage, place of marriage and the name of his bride as well as her parents are noted in the Remarks column. His date of death are also noted.

New FamilySearch Collections Update: October 5, 2015

Major additions this week to the United States World War II Draft Registration Cards 1942, Brazil Sao Paulo Immigration Cards 1902-1980, Colombia Catholic Church Records 1576-2014, Italy Asti Civil Registration (State Archive) 1803-1814 1911-1935, Maryland Baltimore Passenger Lists 1820-1948, Massachusetts Boston Crew Lists 1811-1921, and New Zealand Archives New Zealand Probate Records 1843-1997 collections. 

Twelve additional collections were also updated this week. See the lists on the left for more details.

A Mother's Inspiration

Joan McGinnis 1916-2009

In honour of Mother's Day, Family Search asked bloggers and family historians to share memories of their mothers' favourite words.

I was pleased to share inspiring words from my mother in this FamilySearch post‬. 

My Fearless Female Blog Post featured on FamilySearch

I'm excited to announce that the blog post I wrote about Eileen Vollick was chosen by FamilySearch as their lead story about Fearless Females. 

Eileen was the first woman in Canada to qualify and receive her pilot's licence in 1928.

Read all the FamilySearch stories at Find Stories of Women Relatives with Inspiration from Fearless Females.  


 My previous stories about Eileen are

Carnival of Genealogy: Famous Canadian Ancestor Eileen Vollick, first licenced female pilot in Canada

Women's History Month: A Pioneer Female Pilot

 

 

Photoduplication Services To be Discontinued at FamilySearch

Genealogists will be disappointed to learn that  Photoduplication Services provided by FamilySearch are being discontinued as of December 5, 2014. As of this date, existing orders will be completed, but new orders will not be accepted. 

This would be the time for someone living in the Salt Lake City area and looking to make some extra money to step in and offer to retrieve documents for a reasonable fee. I know I'd use their services. 

I realize films can be ordered in to a nearby Family History Center and that's great if you live near one or are physically able to get out to one. I am one of those who can't access one.

Hopefully the termination of this service won't be too much of a negative impact on researchers but I for one will be sorry to see it go.

FamilySearch Update

FamilySearch has added more than 2.9 million indexed records and images to collections from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, and the United States. 

Notable collection updates include the 609,536 indexed images from the new Canada, Quebec, Notarial Records, 1800–1920, collection; the 240,983 images from the New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Probate Records, 1848–1991, collection; and the 464,001 indexed records from U.S., New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925–1957, collection. 

See FamilySearch Blog for the full list of updates.

What to Do with Those Old Family Photos, Letters, and Documents

Yesterday Olive Tree Genealogy received an email with exciting news from FamilySearch. Here is their announcement:

Free records preservation service available nationwide
SALT LAKE CITY, UT—FamilySearch International (online at FamilySearch.org) announced today a new, free family photo and document scanning and preservation service for patrons in thousands of its North American family history centers. Patrons can now digitally preserve and share their precious printed historic family photos and documents using customized Lexmark multifunction products (MFPs).

“We all have them. You know, the kitchen or dresser drawers, paper boxes or plastic bags, scrapbooks or folders—all full of family photos, vital records, and other keepsake correspondence from our ancestors,” said Penney Devey, FamilySearch Director of Worldwide Patron and Partner Services. “These family artifacts are constant reminders of our heartfelt good intentions to someday preserve, organize, share or tell their hidden stories for posterity. We just don’t know where to start, how to do it, or feel we can’t afford it.”

Well, thanks to FamilySearch and Lexmark, the future is now here. And there is now a very convenient, free solution to each family’s photo and historic document preservation and sharing needs readily accessible to almost everyone.

FamilySearch has equipped over 2,800 of its local family history centers in North America with new Lexmark MFPs (coming soon to international centers). The Lexmark MFPs are easy to use and can digitally scan your documents and photographs quickly. The most exciting part is that software from Lexmark that runs on the MFP lets the user scan their documents and photos directly into a free FamilySearch.org account where the documents and photos can later be tagged, explained, shared with others, or attached to ancestors in your free FamilySearch Family Tree. You can also save the digital copies to a thumb drive and take them home with you.
FamilySearch and Lexmark have made it very easy and convenient to preserve family photos and historic documents. All you have to do is bring the stash of photos and documents that you want to digitally preserve to your local FamilySearch family history center.

“The Lexmark solution we’ve created for FamilySearch is an example of how Lexmark MFPs and software come together to solve unique paper-based workflow challenges,” said Marty Canning, Lexmark executive vice president and president of Imaging Solutions and Services division. “We’ve made it faster and easier for family history center patrons to scan historic photos and vital documents right from our Lexmark MFPs into their online family trees.”

The touch screen on the Lexmark MFP is easy to use and lets patrons scan in three easy steps:

1. Touch the FamilySearch Logo
2. Log in to your free FamilySearch.org account
3. Scan your family documents and photos

Your documents and photos scan directly to a folder on your personal FamilySearch.org account online or to your thumb drive. From any computer with Internet access, you can log into your account and select either documents or photos under the Memories feature to view the high-quality digital images of your scanned documents. From within your account, you can label, crop and share your historic family documents and photos of ancestors in your free FamilySearch Family Tree.

“By sharing links to the uploaded artifacts with family and friends, you can encourage them to add their photos and family documents for your common ancestors,” added Devey. “Don’t be surprised if you discover additional photos of common ancestors that other relatives may have already scanned and uploaded.”

Patrons can also upload digital files of their family photos and historic documents directly at FamilySearch.org.
FamilySearch is a world leader in historic record preservation and access, connecting growing generations of families through family history products and services. Lexmark is uniquely focused on connecting unstructured printed and digital information across enterprises with the processes, applications and people that need it most. For more information, please visit www.lexmark.com. 

What Are Your Top 5 Genealogy Websites?

What are the top 5 websites you use most often for genealogy? This was a question posed by a friend on Facebook  and I thought the responses were very interesting. They also gave me some leads on new avenues of research. So here is the question repeated and I hope my readers will comment with their top 5. The sites can be free or pay-to-view.




Here are my top 5:

Ancestry.com I use it daily for American, Canadian and British research and would be lost without it.
FamilySearch - for International databases
British Newspaper Archive for my British ancestry
Library and Archives Canada for Canadian databases
Trove (National Library of Australia) for Australian & British ancestors

It was difficult to narrow my top sites to 5 as I have about a dozen that I use frequently (meaning at least once a week).  They include GenealogyBank.com, FindMyPast.com, OliveTreeGenealogy.com (yep I snuck my own site in this list but I do use it frequently), OurOntario.ca, TheShipsList.com and others.

Credit: "Top Rated Stamp" by Stuart Miles on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

FamilySearch Update: Collections from Brazil, Canada, England, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and the United States

FamilySearch Adds Close to 11.1 Million Indexed Records and Images to Collections from Brazil, Canada, England, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and the United States

FamilySearch has added close to 11.1 million indexed records and images to collections from Barbados, BillionGraves, Brazil, Canada, England, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.

Notable collection updates include the 1,703,529 indexed records from the U.S., Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1846–1910, collection; the 766,368 indexed records and images from the new Canadian Headstones, collection; and the 2,917,490 indexed records from the England, Kent, Register of Electors, 1570–1907, collection. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.

Update: FamilySearch Adds More Than 4.5 Million Indexed Records

FamilySearch Adds More Than 4.5 Million Indexed Records and Images to Collections from Brazil, China, Ghana, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines, and the United States
 
FamilySearch has added more than 4.5 million indexed records and images to collections from Brazil, China, Colombia, Ghana, Italy, Netherlands, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 1,165,725 indexed records from the U.S.,West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970, collection; the 469,903 images from the GhanaCensus, 1984; and the 415,997 indexed records from the UnitedStates Census, 1860 . 

 Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.