ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Genealogy Volunteer Opportunities

Updated on August 14, 2013

The Family History Library has the largest collection of genealogical records in the world. It is a part of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, but everyone can have access to its services. The library is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, but has branches all over the world.

And most importantly, it has a Family Search website, where you can search for your ancestors from the convenience of your own home. From this website, you can enter your ancestor's name, and find many different types of records, including birth records, death records, marriage records, military records and census records. Many times, an image is available that you can examine and download. All of this valuable information is provided free of charge. They have entered into partnerships with other companies to gather even more records, and some of these records may require a fee or membership to the partner's site, but it is completely voluntary

Indexing for Family Search
Indexing for Family Search | Source

Genealogy Records at Family History Library

Because many of these records are indexed, it is easy to type in a name of an ancestor and find records you wouldn't have thought to look for. For example, I found birth certificates for stillborn children. I did not know these children existed, but this was likely a significant event in these parents' lives, and the record included the mother's maiden name.

The records are indexed by two different volunteers to ensure accuracy. Then an arbitrator (an experienced volunteer) will resolve any differences. That's three volunteers that are needed for each record.

Family History Library Resources on Amazon

Family Search Indexing

Volunteering to index some of these genealogy records gives you a chance to see these records early and lets you really get to know the records. It also lets you see how indexing works, which may give you some ideas about how to search for your ancestors.

Volunteering to index genealogical records also gives to the genealogy community. If a lot of people volunteer, the records will be available to the public faster, and with the indexing, it is much easier to find your ancestor. If more of us volunteer to index the 1940 U.S. census which was recently released in April, 2012, all of us will be able to find all of our family members much faster.

You can index the records at a Family History library, but you can also index them at home. To do so, simply go to the FamilySearch Indexing and sign up. The same user name works for searching for records, as it does for indexing. You can even do some practice indexing to see if this is for you. You will download some files which include the index viewer. Then start indexing. There is lots of help on the site that give you general information about indexing, and the specific project also has help for each field.

What I like about Family Search Indexing is that the job is broken up into small manageable pieces. Each batch only takes me a small amount of time, about twenty to thirty minutes. I can start and stop at my leisure. I can index for a few minutes while I am waiting for someone, or I can index all day if I choose.

I can also choose what type of project I want to work on. I can choose to work on records in my area, or the area of my ancestors. I can choose military records, Freedman's Bureau records, or census records. There are projects from all over the world from which to choose.

After you have experience, you may be asked to volunteer as an arbitrator. Then you can choose to work as an indexer or an arbitrator, depending on your mood that day.

Volunteering to Index FamilySearch Records

When I think about all the people who have indexed records, and how much those indexes have helped me in my genealogy search, I feel like I want to give back and index some more records. Together, all of us can help the number of indexed records grow, making it easier and easier for all of us to find our ancestors and other family members.

Volunteering from home is a great way to give back to the community. I can avoid transportation time, and fit in a little bit of indexing into a small space in my schedule.

I think it is a great way to say thanks to the people who have indexed before me by joining them.

© 2011 Shasta Matova

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)