Best of the Genea-Blogs - 12 to 18 January 2025

  Scores of genealogy and family history bloggers write hundreds of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.

My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for most daily blog prompts or meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.

Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week: 

*  The First Rule of Genealogy and Preservation: Start with Yourself by Diane Henriks on Know Who Wears the Genes In Your Family.

*  The Nitty Gritty of Reading Handwritten German Church Records: Helpful Details for the German Researcher by Beccy Martin on Family Locket.

*  Loathsome Jargon: Context Window by Steve Little on AI Genealogy Insights.

*  Heirlooms and Memorabilia: Family Treasures or Junk? (part 1) and (part 2) by Jessica Edwards on GenealogyBank  Blog.

*  5 Different Military Record Types: Uncover Your Ancestry by Admin on MyHeritage Blog.

*   Finding TV-Worthy Stories in Your Family Tree by DiAnn Iamarino Ohana on Fortify Your Family Tree.

*  How To Create Locality Guides for Genealogy Research by Todd on Legacy Tree Genealogists.

*  FOUND: Mystery Jewish Great Grandfather by Dianhan Southard on Your DNA Guide.

*  Understanding Pedigree Charts: A Comprehensive Guide by Admin on MyHeritage Blog.

*  When Crossing the DNA Street, Look Both Ways by Jacqi Stevens on A Family Tapestry.

*  Be a Good Ancestor and Share Your Own Story by Marian B. Wood on Climbing My Family Tree.

*  Hidden Lists and Heroic Choices: A Granddaughter's Quest to Preserve Her Family's WWII Stories by Crista Cowan on Crista Cowan, the Barefoot Genealogist.

*  How Strong Are Your Tree’s Roots? by Paul Chiddicks on The Chiddicks Family Tree.

*  AI Tools for Genealogists: A Practical Skills-Building Roadmap by Carole McCullough on Essential Genealogist.

*  Understanding Church Membership in the Early 19th Century: A Cautionary Tale for Genealogists by Donna Cox Baker on GenoHistory.com. 

Here are pick posts by other geneabloggers this week:

*  Friday’s Family History Finds by Linda Stufflebean on Empty Branches on the Family Tree.

*  This week’s crème de la crème — January 18, 2025 by Gail Dever on Genealogy a la Carte.

Readers are encouraged to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add the blogs to your Favorites, Feedly, another RSS feed, or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I currently am reading posts from over 900 genealogy bloggers using Feedly, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

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Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

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A Historic Milestone: 32 Billion Historical Records Now Available On MyHeritage

 I received this information today from Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage:

=============================

I’m excited to share that we’ve completed the Names & Stories project, adding a remarkable 11.6 billion new records to MyHeritage! These records were extracted from historical newspapers spanning all 50 U.S. states, as well as Canada, Australia, and the U.K., and they’re now fully searchable on our platform. Thanks to this project, MyHeritage has now reached a total of 32 billion historical records — a milestone we’re proud to celebrate!

This massive addition includes names, dates, places, relationships, and life events extracted from obituaries, wedding announcements, and other articles. It brings family stories to life in ways that resonate deeply with researchers.

You can read more about the Names & Stories project and this historic achievement in our latest blog post. 

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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.

The URL for this post is:  

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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"The Family Tree Blues" - A Genealogist's Poem and Song Created by Artificial Intelligence

I've used FREE Artificial Intelligence tools to create biographies, poems and songs about my ancestors lives, genealogy research, and family history in the recent past. Today, I want to share a poem and a song today about one of the challenges faced by all genealogists researching their family tree.

(image created by ChatGPT4)

I requested ChatGPT4, Grok, Gemini and Claude (all FREE AI tools) to create a poem and song lyrics about the family tree blues.

1)  Here is the Prompt information I used for the poem and the song lyrics:  Please create a poem for a sad genealogist trying to research his family tree on Ancestry, FamilySearch and MyHeritage, but hitting "brick walls" on some lines.

2)  I chose the poem created by Claude Sonnet 3.5 today.  Here are the stanzas:

 THE FAMILY TREE BLUES

Through digital pages I endlessly scroll, 

Each record a piece of my ancestral whole. 

Church registers, censuses, passenger lists— 

Yet so many branches remain in the mist.

Great-grandmother Sarah, where did you dwell 

Before Ellis Island cast its immigrant spell? 

Your maiden name changes with each document found, 

Your parents' names lost in time's turning round.

I chase every leaf that Ancestry shows, 

Follow each hint that MyHeritage knows. 

FamilySearch offers a glimmer of hope, 

Then leads to dead ends where I blindly grope.

DNA matches bloom like spring flowers, 

I message my cousins through endless hours. 

Some respond kindly with photos to share, 

While others stay silent, leaving questions in air.

Each breakthrough is sweet, like morning's first light, 

When parish records finally set something right, 

Or when cemetery stones, worn by rain, 

Reveal dates that break through a genealogy chain.

So I'll keep on searching through day into night, 

Building my tree to its uppermost height. 

For in every brick wall that blocks my view, 

There's a window waiting to let answers through.

3) Here are the AI created song and lyrics for "The Family Tree Blues" (with song lyrics created on ChatGPT4o used as custom lyrics on Suno.com), using a contemporary style in an upbeat tempo:

THE FAMILY TREE BLUES 

Verse 1
I’ve got a list of names and dates,
But the trail runs cold, and the mystery waits.
An old census line, a faded will,
Leaves me chasing shadows, searching still.

Verse 2
On Ancestry, I’ve scrolled for years,
Through dusty records and pioneer tears.
FamilySearch won’t show me the key,
MyHeritage whispers, “They’re lost to history.”

Chorus
Brick walls in my family tree,
Ancestors hiding their legacy.
I dig and I dream, I won’t let it be,
I’ll break through the walls in my family tree.

Verse 3
Great-great-grandpa, where’s your face?
You vanished without leaving a trace.
A parish book or a land deed's line,
Might help me claim what’s truly mine.

Verse 4
Sarah and Henry, I call your name,
In faded echoes, I feel your pain.
Your stories whisper, just out of reach,
Like waves retreating from the sandy beach.

Chorus
Brick walls in my family tree,
Ancestors hiding their legacy.
I dig and I dream, I won’t let it be,
I’ll break through the walls in my family tree.

Bridge
Every name’s a thread in the tapestry,
Every clue is a part of me.
Through tears and time, I’ll persevere,
For the voices of the past are calling clear.

Chorus (with variation)
Brick walls in my family tree,
But I’ll keep searching relentlessly.
I’ll piece the puzzle, they’ll speak to me,
And I’ll break through the walls in my family tree.

Outro
Brick walls crumble, stone by stone,
With every step, I’m not alone.
The roots run deep, the branches high,
And I’ll find them all, by and by.

The AI tools do this so much better than I could, and weaves the poem and song along a story theme that is true and heartfelt. Each tool provides a different poem and song from the same prompt --I love fishing in all of the AI streams!! Frankly, doing the poems and song are the most genealogy fun I have every week!

4)  These stories, told in verse and song, are part of my genealogy and family research.  My hope is that they will be passed down to my grandchildren and their descendants to highlight the importance of sharing stories, memories, admiration, and love of our ancestors. I will add them to my Google Drive and to my YouTube channel and my FOREVER account.

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My blog posts with the AI-created poems and songs to date are on this Artificial Intelligence Posts page.

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/01/the-family-tree-blues-genealogists-poem.html

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Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Share a Recent Genealogy Find About an Ancestor Or Family

 Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

 It's Saturday Night again - 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. 

1)  Share a recent genealogy find about an ancestor or family, such as a new name, document or even a clue towards cracking a brick wall.

2) Tell us about your recent genealogy find in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook Status  post.  Please leave a link on this post if you write your own post.

[Thank you to Linda Stufflebean for suggesting this topic - I will probably use it again!]

Here's mine:

I searched my Downloads file (where I put all of my research finds before putting them in Family files) and found this 1611 baptism record for my 8th great-grandfather, Richard Sawtell (1611-1694):

Richard's baptism entry is on the right-hand page, about 40% down from the top of the page:

The record says:

"Richard Dolema'n alias Sawtell ye Sonne of

John Dolema'n was baptized Apr ye 7th ??? 1611"

The source citation is:

Aller, Somerset, England parish church baptism record, Richard Doleman alias Sawtell baptism, 7 April 1611, son of John Doleman; imaged, "Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812," Ancestry.com  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60856/images/englb030d_d-p-all-2-1-1_m_00010 : accessed 17 January 2025); Aller > 1560-1653, image 10 of 33; original data in Anglican Parish Registers. Somerset Archives & Local Studies, South West Heritage Trust, Taunton, England.

I did not have a marriage record for the parents of Richard Doleman alias Sawtell but I had a date and place from an index.  Here is the record that I found in the same record collection on Ancestry

:

The record in the set of 1599 marriages says (I think...):

"John Sawtell als Dolma'n and Agnes Pyttard

werre arried ye ???? [9th?] day of October [1599]"

The source citation is:

Aller, Somerset, England parish church marriage record, John Sawtell als Dolman and Agnes Pyttard marriage entry,, 9 October 1599; imaged, "Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812," Ancestry.com  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60856/images/englb030d_d-p-all-2-1-1_m_00021 : accessed 17 January 2025); Aller > 1560-1653, image 21 of 33; original data in Anglican Parish Registers. Somerset Archives & Local Studies, South West Heritage Trust, Taunton, England.

Agnes' last name may be Pyttard, Pyffard or Piffard or Pittard.  Other researchers say Pittard.

That is a new record for me!  I added the image and source citation to my John Sawtell alias Doleman (1570-1622) entry in RootsMagic.

What about the alias in the Sawtell names?  I've seen that often in early English records, but don't recall what it is.  I asked ChatGPT4 in https://chatgpt.com/c/678b1ac3-b764-8005-81d1-8e455f92a578 and got several examples.

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-share.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: "Please Create a Transcription, a Summary and a Source Citation for an Attached Marriage Record"

 The Artificial Intelligence tools (like ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, Gemini, Grok, Meta, Grok, GenSpark and Perplexity) can provide much useful and nearly instant information about subjects in a concise format, especially when they have been pre-trained on a large volume of information about the subjects.

1)  I wondered if the FREE AI tools could provide me with a line-by-line transcription, a summary, and a source citation in EE format for a record image on Ancestry.  Here is the attached record image:

 I intentionally used a screen capture of the Ancestry page because it provides information that can be used for the source citation.  I want the transcription, summary and citation for the bottom record on the page - the marriage of my 3rd great-grandparents John Richman and Ann Marshman in 1811 in Hilperton, Wiltshire.

2)  The first prompt was:  "Please create a line-by-line transcription, a summary of the information, and a source citation (in Evidence Explained format) for the attached record for the John Richman/Ann Marshman marriage on Ancestry.com."

3)  The free ChatGPT4 provided this response:

Transcription (line-by-line):

1. Nº 18
2. John Richman of this Parish
3. and Ann Marshman of this Parish
4. were Married in this Church by Banns
5. this Fourth Day of November in the Year One Thousand Eight
6. Hundred and Eleven By me Wm. Meyler Curate
7. This Marriage was solemnized between Us {John Richman}
8. {Ann Marshman X her Mark}
9. In the Presence of {Richd Richman}
10. {Edward Flower}

Summary of Information:

• Groom: John Richman, of the parish of Hilperton, Wiltshire.
• Bride: Ann Marshman, of the parish of Hilperton, Wiltshire.
• Date of Marriage: 4 November 1811.
• Location: Parish Church, Hilperton, Wiltshire, England.
• Marriage Method: By Banns.
• Officiant: Wm. Meyler, Curate.
• Signatures: John Richman signed his name, while Ann Marshman made her mark (indicating she could not write).
• Witnesses: Richard Richman and Edward Flower.

Source Citation (Evidence Explained Style):

Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1916, John Richman and Ann Marshman marriage, 4 November 1811, Hilperton; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [date]), image 51 of 64.

4)  There are errors in their transcription and summary fo some reaso.  My next prompt was: "the record clearly says the record number is 20, the marriage was 28 "Feby", the curate's name was J. Bailes, John Richman signed by mark, and the witnesses were Richard Hiscock and Thomas Richman (who signed by mark).  Can you correct the response?"

5)  The ChatGPT4 response was:

Thank you for pointing that out! Here's the corrected transcription, summary, and citation based on the accurate details you provided:

---

Transcription (line-by-line):

1. Nº 20
2. John Richman of this Parish
3. and Ann Marshman of this Parish
4. were Married in this Church by Banns
5. this Twenty Eighth Day of February in the Year One Thousand Eight
6. Hundred and Eleven By me J. Bailes Curate
7. This Marriage was solemnized between Us {John Richman X his Mark}
8. {Ann Marshman X her Mark}
9. In the Presence of {Richd Hiscock X his Mark}
10. {Thomas Richman X his Mark}

---

Summary of Information:

• Groom: John Richman, of the parish of Hilperton, Wiltshire.
• Bride: Ann Marshman, of the parish of Hilperton, Wiltshire.
• Date of Marriage: 28 February 1811.
• Location: Parish Church, Hilperton, Wiltshire, England.
• Marriage Method: By Banns.
• Officiant: J. Bailes, Curate.
• Signatures: Both John Richman and Ann Marshman signed by mark (indicating neither could write).
• Witnesses: Richard Hiscock (signed by mark) and Thomas Richman (signed by mark).

---

Source Citation (Evidence Explained Style):

Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1916, John Richman and Ann Marshman marriage, 28 February 1811, Hilperton; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [date]), image 51 of 64.

6)  This is a "Summarization" request with a transcription and source citation included.  I was disappointed that the initial line-by-line transcription was so inaccurate.  It may be the result of hallucinations.  The handwriting on the form was not very good, and the image was relatively small (570 kb) because I wanted to capture the full Ancestry page, but my 81-year-old eyes could figure it out, as did Ancestry's indexers.  

I might have received a better transcription if I had uploaded the record image rather than the screen capture of the Ancestry page with the image.  I tried that in a new chat and it got most everything right (only the curate's name was wrong).  But then the source citation information can not be captured by ChatGPT4 from the image.

If it was just one or two minor errors in the handwriting, I would feel a lot better.   After telling ChatGPT4 what the errors were, some of the lines were still not transcribed word-for-word.

The summary reflects the transcription so it's wrong in all of the same places.

The source citation is impressive.  I asked ChatGPT4 which edition of Evidence Explained that it used, and it said Version 3 (2017), so it's not the current Version 4 (2024).  I wondered if ChatGPT4 would capture all of the elements of the source citation by finding them on the image. It managed to find the "author" (in the lower left-hand corner of the image), the Ancestry collection title at the top of the image, the persons involved, the date and place (from the record image), and the image number (at the bottom of the record image). However, it did not capture the "sub-title" of the record set - the "Hilperton > 1807-1812" sub-title below the collection title.  That is very important because this collection includes hundreds of parishes, and several sub-titles for each parish. 

7)  I wonder if the subscription ChatGPT4 site would do better and provide more details, or more insight.  Perhaps a reader with access to the subscription site can tell me!

8)  This can serve as a benchmark to see if ChatGPT improves this task over time.  If it does, this could be a real time-saver for researchers.  However, we will still have to review and correct any errors that are made by the AI tools.  

9)  Census records, passenger lists, vital record certificates, military records, and other record types with handwriting on forms come to mind for further investigation.  

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See all of my Artificial Intelligence-related posts at https://www.geneamusings.com/p/artificial-intelligence-posts.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/01/ask-ai-please-create-transcription.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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Added and Updated FamilySearch Historical Record Collections - Week of 11 to 17 January 2025

 Each week, genealogy record collections are added and updated to FamilySearch and listed on the Historical Record Collection list at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list.

As of 17 January 2025, there are 3,417 historical record collections on FamilySearch (an increase of 1 from last week):

The added, deleted, new and updated collections this week from FamilySearch are:

--- Collections Added   ---

*  Italy, Lecco, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1911-1947     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3031547); 90 indexed records with 90 record images, ADDED 14-Jan-2025

--- Collections Updated ---

Argentina, Cemetery Records, 1833-2020  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2363123); 1,451,210 indexed records with 839,871 record images (was 1,226,896 records with 839,871 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Argentina, General Censuses, 1806-1827  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000089); 108,485 indexed records with 2,914 record images (was 108,395 records with 2,913 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Argentina, Jujuy, Civil Registration, 1888-2000 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4489444); 15,751 indexed records with 27,651 record images (was 15,746 records with 27,638 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Argentina, Santiago del Estero, Catholic Church Records, 1581-1961      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974197); 155,153 indexed records with 102,368 record images (was 150,238 records with 102,368 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Aruba, Civil Registration, 1823-2004    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4285043); 27,524 indexed records with 13,025 record images (was 27,513 records with 12,639 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Belgium, Namur, Civil Registration, 1800-1912   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2138511); 921,144 indexed records with 372,768 record images (was 893,808 records with 372,768 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Bolivia, Catholic Church Records, 1566-2020     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1922463); 9,605,352 indexed records with 1,649,601 record images (was 9,587,451 records with 1,649,601 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Brazil, Cemetery Records, 1799-2024     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2137269); 1,282,311 indexed records with 150,972 record images (was 1,257,895 records with 150,972 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Brazil, Foreigner Files, 1653-2022      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000160); 448,149 indexed records with 503,494 record images (was 447,733 records with 676,769 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Brazil, Minas Gerais, Civil Registration, 1820-2021     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3479702); 968,003 indexed records with 402,566 record images (was 967,455 records with 402,309 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Brazil, Pará, Civil Registration, 1815-2013     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4473609); 631,827 indexed records with 182,672 record images (was 631,209 records with 182,488 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Civil Registration, 1810-2022        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3741255); 1,840,553 indexed records with 931,500 record images (was 1,837,151 records with 930,210 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Civil Registration, 1804-2013   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1582573); 6,992,381 indexed records with 5,100,470 record images (was 6,992,381 records with 5,100,470 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Brazil, Sergipe, Catholic Church Records, 1785-1994     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2177298); 1,496,821 indexed records with 273,847 record images (was 1,496,812 records with 273,847 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

California, San Francisco, Area Funeral Home Records, 1835-1981 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1385518); 162,269 indexed records with 193,721 record images (was 161,199 records with 193,721 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Cemetery Abstracts      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3015284); 19,987 indexed records with 19,987 record images (was 19,987 records with 19,987 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Chile, Catholic Church Records, 1633-2015       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3405096); 8,834,500 indexed records with 1,129,324 record images (was 8,834,492 records with 1,129,322 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Colombia, Catholic Church Records, 1576-2019    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1726975); 27,620,628 indexed records with 12,659,776 record images (was 27,620,340 records with 12,659,776 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Colombia, Civil Registration, 1553-2023 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4469480); 769,682 indexed records with 893,240 record images (was 769,653 records with 893,216 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Colombia, Migration Records, 1885-2014  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000159); 1,070,635 indexed records with 977,396 record images (was 1,070,373 records with 977,134 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Costa Rica, Civil Registration, 1823-2023       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1925429); 6,209,997 indexed records with 404,718 record images (was 6,209,997 records with 404,718 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Croatia, Church Books, 1516-1994        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2040054); 5,317,663 indexed records with 1,421,761 record images (was 4,918,718 records with 1,421,761 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Cuba, Church Records, 1584-1960 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4375851); 278,197 indexed records with 47,062 record images (was 278,077 records with 47,055 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

El Salvador, Catholic Church Records, 1655-1977 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1919582); 2,794,725 indexed records with 592,191 record images (was 2,768,849 records with 592,191 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

England, Middlesex, Parish Registers, 1539-1988 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3734475); 2,010,667 indexed records with 360,603 record images (was 2,010,667 records with 360,603 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

France, Guadeloupe, Church Records, 1639-1830   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4316498); 16,068 indexed records with 2,684 record images (was 15,679 records with 2,650 images), UPDATED 16-Jan-2025

French Polynesia, Civil Registration, 1780-1999 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2549721); 136,915 indexed records with 499,447 record images (was 136,908 records with 526,916 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia, Wuppertal, Civil Registration, 1810-1930       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000010); 254,649 indexed records with 237,397 record images (was 250,939 records with 234,255 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Ghana, Census, 2010     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000267); 380,319 indexed records with 94,593 record images (was 280,299 records with 72,397 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Guadeloupe, Civil Registration Records, 1792-1872       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4293709); 4,944 indexed records with 1,463 record images (was 4,504 records with 1,345 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Guatemala, Guatemala, Civil Registration, 1874-2008     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2075150); 4,629,620 indexed records with 1,486 record images (was 4,626,249 records with 1,486 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Haiti, Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, Catholic Church Records, 1866-2017        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4279947); 151,518 indexed records with 26,807 record images (was 149,137 records with 28,402 images), UPDATED 16-Jan-2025

Hawaii, Probate Packet Records, 1814-1917       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3463463); 72,896 indexed records with 67,816 record images (was 72,888 records with 61,244 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Honduras, Catholic Church Records, 1633-1978    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1823595); 1,854,498 indexed records with 425,330 record images (was 1,849,394 records with 425,330 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho Falls, Rose Hill Cemetery Records, 1800-2007    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1447470); 14,519 indexed records with 14,137 record images (was 14,519 records with 14,137 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1740-1900   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2820100); 8,240,457 indexed records with 291,098 record images (was 8,180,336 records with 288,717 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Italy, Cagliari, Cagliari, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1934    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2043426); 63,773 indexed records with 1,791,108 record images (was 63,670 records with 1,791,108 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Italy, Catania, Diocesi di Caltagirone, Catholic Church Records, 1502-1942      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1493344); 3,269 indexed records with 554,541 record images (was 3,269 records with 554,541 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Italy, Genova, Chiavari, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1941      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1482818); 48,988 indexed records with 650,745 record images (was 44,520 records with 650,745 images), UPDATED 16-Jan-2025

Italy, Messina, Messina, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1939      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1887904); 25,093 indexed records with 927,560 record images (was 4,503 records with 927,560 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Italy, Messina, Patti, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1823-1941        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1946858); 4,605 indexed records with 891,170 record images (was 1,039 records with 891,170 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Italy, Napoli, Torre Annunziata, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1900-1911      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1947578); 9,216 indexed records with 41,398 record images (was 0 records with 41,398 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Italy, Nuoro, Nuoro, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1942  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1946873); 105,523 indexed records with 118,771 record images (was 104,288 records with 118,771 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Italy, Oristano, Oristano, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1941    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1947719); 127,764 indexed records with 342,194 record images (was 127,601 records with 342,194 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Italy, Padova, Padova, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1871-1929        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1946877); 44,376 indexed records with 1,745,536 record images (was 10,421 records with 1,745,536 images), UPDATED 16-Jan-2025

Italy, Ravenna, Ravenna, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1943      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1947700); 156,166 indexed records with 1,759,182 record images (was 76,273 records with 1,759,182 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Italy, Rovigo, Rovigo, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1871-1937        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1482864); 678,669 indexed records with 1,082,856 record images (was 671,019 records with 1,082,856 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Italy, Treviso, Treviso, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1871-1941      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1947831); 57,264 indexed records with 427,232 record images (was 56,223 records with 427,232 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Martinique, Church Records, 1662-1847   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4316497); 16,693 indexed records with 2,893 record images (was 16,056 records with 2,765 images), UPDATED 16-Jan-2025

Martinique, Civil Registration Records, 1766-1874       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4316501); 10,033 indexed records with 3,015 record images (was 9,966 records with 2,997 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Mexico, Michoacán, Catholic Church Records, 1555-1996   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1883388); 6,215,473 indexed records with 5,283,986 record images (was 6,206,440 records with 5,283,986 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Mexico, Puebla, Catholic Church Records, 1545-2009      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1837906); 9,069,532 indexed records with 6,124,553 record images (was 9,069,506 records with 6,124,553 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

New York, Birth Indexes outside of New York City, 1881-1942     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4460198); 2,739,181 indexed records with 78,929 record images (was 2,739,181 records with 78,929 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Norway, Oslo, Census, 1912      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4445453); 41,218 indexed records with 8,996 record images (was 41,218 records with 7,183 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1775-1991       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1589502); 3,617,666 indexed records with 1,789,697 record images (was 3,617,655 records with 1,789,697 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Peru, Catholic Church Records, 1556-2023        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1877097); 22,419,768 indexed records with 4,192,353 record images (was 22,156,560 records with 4,192,353 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Philippines Civil Registration (National), 1945-1996    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1852584); 2,771,036 indexed records with 20,274,621 record images (was 2,009,652 records with 20,274,621 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Puerto Rico, Catholic Church Records, 1645-2021 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1807092); 3,339,579 indexed records with 191,547 record images (was 3,339,500 records with 191,547 images), UPDATED 16-Jan-2025

Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates, 1833-1885      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1469151); 563,006 indexed records with 128,317 record images (was 562,910 records with 128,317 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Russia, Samara, Church Books 1748-1934  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1807365); 11,198,102 indexed records with 1,909,956 record images (was 11,131,982 records with 1,909,956 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Russia, Tula, Church Books, 1722-1936   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000050); 3,605,210 indexed records with 950,613 record images (was 3,482,680 records with 922,079 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

Samoa, Vital Records, 1846-1996 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4016424); 91,826 indexed records with 437,094 record images (was 91,826 records with 437,094 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Scotland, Civil Registration, 1855-1875, 1881, 1891     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000163); 4,463,287 indexed records with 1,270,005 record images (was 4,278,627 records with 1,032,934 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Spain, Madrid, Municipal Census Records, 1910-1945      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000004); 1,777,197 indexed records with 687,234 record images (was 1,777,197 records with 598,952 images), UPDATED 15-Jan-2025

St. Lucia, Church Records, 1751-1793    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4449051); 3,000 indexed records with 629 record images (was 2,878 records with 602 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Ukraine, Mykolaiv, Metrical Books, 1790-1917    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4447266); 159,374 indexed records with 63,562 record images (was 158,371 records with 62,990 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Ukraine, Poltava, Metrical Books, 1741-1937     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4440335); 1,451,635 indexed records with 406,225 record images (was 1,451,285 records with 406,117 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

United States Census (Mortality Schedule), 1850-1880    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1420441); 1,356,553 indexed records with 8,724 record images (was 1,356,539 records with 8,724 images), UPDATED 13-Jan-2025

Uruguay, Civil Registration, 1879-2020  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1837849); Index only (1,637,291 records), no images (was 1,625,745 records with 0 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Venezuela, Archdiocese of Barquisimeto, Catholic Church Records, 1634-2018      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2373794); 153,992 indexed records with 64,274 record images (was 153,988 records with 64,272 images), UPDATED 14-Jan-2025

Venezuela, Archdiocese of Mérida, Catholic Church Records, 1654-2015    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1417520); 1,446,456 indexed records with 1,157,611 record images (was 1,446,409 records with 1,157,611 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

Venezuela, Civil Registration, 1843-2021        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1823609); 1,269,883 indexed records with 586,312 record images (was 1,256,241 records with 586,312 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Virginia, Vital Records, 1715-1912      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4149585); 1,812,578 indexed records with 95,186 record images (was 1,797,254 records with 94,856 images), UPDATED 17-Jan-2025

Zambia, Archdiocese of Lusaka, Church Records, 1908-2019        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3736255); 993,017 indexed records with 181,888 record images (was 992,749 records with 181,815 images), UPDATED 16-Jan-2025

Zimbabwe, Diocese of Masvingo, Catholic Church Records, 1893-2022       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000104); 587 indexed records with 31,651 record images (was 587 records with 31,621 images), UPDATED 10-Jan-2025

--- Collections with new images ---

Argentina, Military Records, 1911-1936  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000280); 1 indexed records with 1,040,524 record images (was 1 records with 983,910 images), last updated 31-Oct-2024

Arizona, Santa Cruz, Nogales, Index and Manifests of Alien Arrivals, 1905-1952  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3041280); 502,795 indexed records with 496,137 record images (was 502,795 records with 495,686 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Brazil, Alagoas, Civil Registration, 1876-2023  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4469403); 1 indexed records with 202,393 record images (was 1 records with 200,385 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024

Brazil, Maranhão, Civil Registration, 1827-2022 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4469402); 1 indexed records with 133,826 record images (was 1 records with 133,067 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024

Brazil, Sergipe, Civil Registration, 1866-2021  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4470324); 1 indexed records with 100,036 record images (was 1 records with 99,826 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024

California, Passenger and Crew Lists at Various Ports, 1907-1957        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3477653); 382,893 indexed records with 292,268 record images (was 382,893 records with 291,362 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

California, Pioneer Migration Index, Compiled 1906-1935 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2137266); 6,651 indexed records with 6,373 record images (was 6,651 records with 6,144 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Colombia, DAS Civil Registration Alphabetic Cards, 1914-2011    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000074); 1 indexed records with 15,907,895 record images (was 1 records with 15,907,681 images), last updated 25-Nov-2024

Colombia, Diocese of Barranquilla, Catholic Church Records, 1808-2007   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2241457); 220,514 indexed records with 65,139 record images (was 220,514 records with 60,709 images), last updated 06-Nov-2024

England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1538-1983 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1465708); 1,108,130 indexed records with 113,618 record images (was 1,108,130 records with 110,108 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

England, Hampshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1980 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2556014); 1,853,815 indexed records with 140,156 record images (was 1,853,815 records with 97,861 images), last updated 24-Oct-2024

Finland, Passport Registers, 1900-1920  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4139415); 111,359 indexed records with 2,075 record images (was 111,359 records with 1,927 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

France, Calvados, Military Registration Cards, 1867-1921        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2815120); 144,096 indexed records with 127,060 record images (was 144,096 records with 127,046 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Hawaii, Death Records and Death Registers, 1841-1925    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2390846); 138,345 indexed records with 63,139 record images (was 138,345 records with 63,113 images), last updated 10-Jan-2025

Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1743180); 18,304,230 indexed records with 1,113,918 record images (was 18,304,230 records with 1,113,102 images), last updated 13-Jun-2024

Hungary, Church Books, 1624-1950        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4133831); 7,603,730 indexed records with 867,097 record images (was 7,603,730 records with 866,998 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

Hungary, Reformed Church Christenings, 1624-1895        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1858355); 6,076,320 indexed records with 312,704 record images (was 6,076,320 records with 312,386 images), last updated 13-Jun-2024

Iowa, Tama County, Tax Records, 1865-1939       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3246418); 373,492 indexed records with 20,595 record images (was 373,492 records with 20,518 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Italy, Ivrea Diocesi di Ivrea, Catholic Church Records, 1474-1950       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000373); 1 indexed records with 99,994 record images (was 1 records with 99,988 images), last updated 05-Dec-2024

Italy, Torino, Diocese of Torino, Catholic Church Records, 1801-1899    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000113); 1 indexed records with 270,944 record images (was 1 records with 270,941 images), last updated 05-Dec-2024

Kansas, Swedish Church Records, 1863-1914       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3042282); 19,579 indexed records with 1,558 record images (was 19,579 records with 1,450 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Missouri, Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops, 1863-1865       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3459909); 17,932 indexed records with 5,787 record images (was 17,932 records with 5,780 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Philippines, Neighborhood Census, 1836-1899     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000268); 3,093,569 indexed records with 120,948 record images (was 3,093,569 records with 91,445 images), last updated 26-Oct-2024

Puerto Rico, San Juan, Cemetery Records, 1888-1988      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4376727); 182,749 indexed records with 82,034 record images (was 182,749 records with 76,088 images), last updated 13-Jun-2024

Sierra Leone, Civil Births and Deaths, 1802-2017        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3245338); 1,099,372 indexed records with 840,484 record images (was 1,099,372 records with 828,449 images), last updated 09-Oct-2024

South Africa, Civil Marriage Records, 1801-1974 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2821281); 2,699,587 indexed records with 2,692,993 record images (was 2,699,587 records with 2,692,981 images), last updated 05-Nov-2024

South Africa, Orange Free State, Probate Records from the Master of the Supreme Court, 1832-1990        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3040532); 639,973 indexed records with 82,306 record images (was 639,973 records with 82,303 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

United States, Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3346936); 99,204,702 indexed records with 3,408,643 record images (was 99,204,702 records with 3,404,743 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

United States, Obituary Records, 2014-2023      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000145); 1 indexed records with 28,197,661 record images (was 1 records with 28,197,660 images), last updated 22-Jul-2024

United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2968245); 6,932,344 indexed records with 5,611,122 record images (was 6,932,344 records with 5,608,515 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Uruguay, Passenger Lists, 1888-1980     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2691993); 3,641,119 indexed records with 155,873 record images (was 3,641,119 records with 142,578 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Virginia, Wills and Deeds, ca. 1700s-2017       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3158846); 1 indexed records with 1,820 record images (was 1 records with 1,126 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024

--- Collections with images removed ---

Alabama, Voter Registration and Poll Tax Cards, 1834-1981       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4016429); 701,385 indexed records with 143,369 record images (was 701,385 records with 147,823 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

Alaska, WWII Statement of Service Records, 1948-1949    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4138678); 8,638 indexed records with 8,507 record images (was 8,638 records with 8,621 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

Arkansas, Military Discharge Records, ca.1860-1970      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4114266); 43,768 indexed records with 11,036 record images (was 43,768 records with 12,408 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

Canada, Census, 1931    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000196); 2,466,494 indexed records with 2,462,440 record images (was 2,466,494 records with 2,462,708 images), last updated 16-Jun-2024

Colombia, Archivo Distrital de Bogota, Obituary Books, 1900-1940        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000257); 172,322 indexed records with 27,550 record images (was 172,322 records with 28,224 images), last updated 03-Jan-2025

Colombia, Bogotá, Burial Permits, 1938-1995     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3212241); 231,067 indexed records with 212,731 record images (was 231,067 records with 212,782 images), last updated 05-Nov-2024

Connecticut, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1804-1959        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3477650); 98,790 indexed records with 3,010 record images (was 98,790 records with 6,972 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

Connecticut, Vital Records, Prior to 1850       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2843390); 437,710 indexed records with 413,510 record images (was 437,710 records with 413,517 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Dominican Republic, Immigration Records, 1925-1999      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000147); 42,243 indexed records with 137,702 record images (was 42,243 records with 137,705 images), last updated 07-Nov-2024

Ecuador, Cemetery Records, 1862-2020    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3755446); 992,024 indexed records with 360,567 record images (was 992,024 records with 364,002 images), last updated 05-Nov-2024

Finland, Tax Lists, 1809-1915   (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2704794); 966,449 indexed records with 13,284 record images (was 966,449 records with 16,079 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

France, Saône-et-Loire, Parish and Civil Registration, 1530-1892        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2840171); 7,237,342 indexed records with 1,971,400 record images (was 7,237,342 records with 1,973,984 images), last updated 21-Oct-2024

Hawaii, Grantor and Grantee Index, 1845-1916    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2821304); 438,621 indexed records with 21,571 record images (was 438,621 records with 21,572 images), last updated 10-Jan-2025

Idaho, Naturalization Records,  1892-1990       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3241358); 15,873 indexed records with 15,262 record images (was 15,873 records with 15,311 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Minnesota, Waseca County Historical Society, Burial Cards, ca.1860-1992 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3744865); 10,352 indexed records with 10,280 record images (was 10,352 records with 10,282 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

New York, State Death Index, 1880-1956  (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2803479); 4,749,222 indexed records with 84,724 record images (was 4,749,222 records with 84,783 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Scandinavia, Mission Emigration Records, 1852-1920      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3288472); 27,406 indexed records with 510 record images (was 27,406 records with 893 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

South Africa, Civil Death Registration, 1953-1967       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3732506); 1,221,606 indexed records with 1,226,745 record images (was 1,221,606 records with 1,226,757 images), last updated 05-Nov-2024

South Carolina, County Marriage Licenses, 1911-1953     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3161369); 737,889 indexed records with 662,984 record images (was 737,889 records with 663,046 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Texas, Manifests of Permanent and Statistical Alien Arrivals at El Paso, 1924-1954      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2526188); 80,992 indexed records with 79,820 record images (was 80,992 records with 79,890 images), last updated 15-Jun-2024

United States City and Business Directories, ca. 1749 - ca. 1990        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3754697); 64,961,936 indexed records with 911,302 record images (was 64,961,936 records with 926,828 images), last updated 20-Dec-2024

United States, Census, 1950     (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4464515); 52,785,233 indexed records with 52,640,949 record images (was 52,785,233 records with 52,645,364 images), last updated 16-Jun-2024

United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2761958); 7,193,829 indexed records with 368,773 record images (was 7,193,829 records with 386,922 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

United States, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1417475); 6,959,032 indexed records with 3 record images (was 6,959,032 records with 6,959,032 images), last updated 20-Sep-2019

Uruguay, Civil Registration Index Card, 1900-1937       (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1976089); 2,592,800 indexed records with 661,555 record images (was 2,592,800 records with 669,837 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

Virginia, Vital Records, 1853-1934      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4231103); 2,064,673 indexed records with 107,149 record images (was 2,064,673 records with 107,757 images), last updated 30-Jul-2024

--- Collections with records removed ---

Brazil, São Paulo, Immigration Cards, 1902-1980 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2140223); 2,319,337 indexed records with 4,039,657 record images (was 2,319,338 records with 4,039,657 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

California, Birth Index, 1905-1995      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2001879); Index only (24,589,426 records), no images (was 24,589,429 records with 0 images), last updated 01-Mar-2012

United States, Public Records, 1970-2009        (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2199956); Index only (875,609,756 records), no images (was 875,609,765 records with 0 images), last updated 01-Jun-2024

United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024    (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000290); Index only (413,877,595 records), no images (was 413,877,602 records with 0 images), last updated 22-Jun-2024

Virginia, Marriage Certificates, 1936-1989      (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2370234); 2,510,414 indexed records with 137,344 record images (was 2,510,415 records with 137,344 images), last updated 11-Jul-2024

=======================================================

My friend and SDGS colleague, Marshall, has come up with a way to determine which collections are ADDED, DELETED or UPDATED, and to alphabetize the entries in each category. Thanks to Marshall for helping me out here!

Marshall notes that there are:

*  0 removed entries

*  1 added entries 

*  75 updated entries

*  63 entries with more or fewer images or records

The FamilySearch website says 3417 total entries on the list. Marshall's list says 3417.  In sync!

In order to select a specific record collection on FamilySearch, go to   https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list and use the "Filter by collection name" feature in the upper left-hand corner and use keywords (e.g. "church england") to find collections with those keywords.

Each of the collections listed above has a Research Wiki page (use the "Learn more" link). It would be very useful if the Wiki page for each collection listed the dates for when the collection was added as a new collection and the dates for major updates also.

=============================================

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/01/added-and-updated-familysearch_01132431848.html

Copyright (c) 2025 Randall J. Seaver

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