Family Search

I have a lot of genealogy records researched by my grandmother and mother. Thousands of names and families -- all entered into FamilySearch over time. I find FS to be very user-friendly, though not perfect. Perfect doesn't exist. It's definitely the best free service in my opinion, particularly for free access to indexed records of births, marriages, deaths, etc. Users need to know that others have access to the site, just as you do, and may make changes. I suggest the following: 1. Keep personal copies of everything you have on your ancestors as you may need to go back and correct things down the road. 2. Document the source of your information when you add to an ancestors record on FS. Others are less likely to make changes to well-documented data. 3. Make sure the data you enter is as accurate as it can be. Don't guess or make assumptions -- you might be wrong and mislead others. 4. Use the communication tools to interact with others on site when there are issues. I have used these tips to help me as I have entered, edited, and corrected data on my ancestors. It's a great place for me!

I want to let everyone here know-this is not me. This is a person who stole my identity and is harssing people while pretending to be me. I just spent an hour with FS support, and had to listen to the support person explain to me over and aover and over that this didn't happen and I got frustrated because-just like always, calling for support is a big fail. The two women I spoke with just don't want to offer any sort of assistance> I'm reporting it to cyber crimes FBI. Second woman kept arguing with me, trying to explain how this is NOT possibly happening. I offered to send her the screenshot, she argued that it's not possible to create a screenshot of the webpage. She also told me NOT to send her the screenshot. She didn't want to see it She gave me a headache. I hung on on her when she wouldn't stop arguing. This began four years ago. It has taken away any pleasure I once had doing geneaology. This has been a constant for four years. Each time, it's reported, Family Search support claims it's not true

I used family search for a long time, even participated in their indexing because I was such a fan of the service. But it has a huge disadvantage, which is that anyone can change information you enter. I then began constructing a tree on ancestry.com, which is a much better system, because you can compare different peoples' family trees and decide which ones are better documented before incorporating them. I returned to my free on the family search website recently to find that hours and hours of my work had been undone by people adding sources and "merging" people who were not the same people. DO NOT RELY ON FAMILY SEARCH FOR ACCURATE FAMILY TREES. It is too easy for people to add information they haven't actually verified.

I have been using the website since it first came out. They keep trying to improve it. Some changes I love, some not so much. I love that they allow me to see their historical records that they are constantly adding to for free, no charge. They give me record hints. They are hints that a computer identify as a possible match. Most match, some do not. I love that I can add all my sources I find, both from this site and from other websites all in one place.
The purpose of FamilySearch is to have one big family tree. Unfortunately, there are people who make mistakes. To help stop mistakes, add documentation in sources. Still having people making changes that are not correct, try using Collaborate and add a note and check the Alert Note box. This adds a warning across the details page where people edit information.
You can make your contact information private by clicking on your name in the top right corner of the page and click on Settings. You can mark most setting private by clicking on the edit pencil and change your settings to private. You can also turn off notifications. Check out the Settings to make them to your liking.
You should always use another software program like Roots Magic to keep track of your own personal information or use another site like Ancestry where you can make your own personal tree private. This site is intended for people to work together on the world-wide tree.
FamilySearch has other website that they partner with such as Ancestry, My Heritage and many, many others. These partner sites often share their information with FamilySearch such as Ancestry sharing Find A Grave and Newspapers. FamilySearch also shares their information with other sites.
FamilySearch does not police their website. If there is an error, they expect the users to make the corrections by clicking on the Edit icon that looks like a pencil and making the correction themselves. If you do not know how to use the site, click on the Help icon, a circle with a question mark inside it, in the top right of the screen and learn how to use the website.

I have found Family Search (not my only source) very helpful. On my mother's paternal side, I had completed research back several generations. One of the FS contributors, was able to take my research and trace her lineage information back to the 1700's on her grandfather's side. I was able to verify what was offered via my own research the tracing backwards through known people. Very grateful for the major lift on ancestors.

As a long time researcher of my personal family records, I know that this takes a ton of time. I try to get more than one source on most data points (unless it's an obvious correct data point). I haven't had any data lost (I am sorry to hear some have). I do print out every record I find.
Family Search has also found several photos I had no knowledge of. Amazing!
I have been blesseed with great support from Family Search.
I do recommend family geneaology researchers use more than one source for breakthroughs in your research. I have even found information in area libraries with genealogy centers: 1) one library had a book on Polish immigration records. It led me to a traditional spelling of a Polish great grandfather's name (Josef vs Joseph) and another data point which led to a link back to Europe; 2) in another local rural library, I discovered little index boxes with obituaries attached. I was delighted to find the obituary and burial location of my paternal grandmothers father. 3) One of my aunts went to a Wisconsin library where she was able to resolve a question on her mom's birth year, finding a legal birth record which she shared with me. I've also gone to county offices for records as well as out of state offices.

I'm afraid today we rely too heavily on online resources. Even after decades now of researching, I'm still learning something new all the time. Good luck to all!

The website does not accept the verification code it sent to me. I tried to use it within 5 minutes of receiving the message! No help whatsoever.

Why the hell is God listed as an ancestor? More ludicrously, why is the "Big Bang"? What is going on?

Information about myself isn't even accurate and I can't search further back than my own father; making the entire website utterly useless.

FamilySearch (FS) is a collaborative FREE Family-tree site, meaning we share one big tree, unlike other sites where you can create your private family tree, and can then share details with others with ZERO DRAMA, no histrionics.
PROBLEM on FamilySearch: Since it's free, it may attract the real power hungry crazies. I've run into 3 really nasty & very petty Wannabe POLICE of Genealogy, one's sent me 7 nasty messages, and has written nasty stuff all over my grandmother's page with a lot of bragging how she's a master genealogist, former High position in "Family History" in her last town, and tried to threaten me with her son is a programmer at FamilySearch, on & on. I NEED a BLOCK button for this person spamming me with hate mail, or vindictively vandalizing my relatives' pages.
The other Hilarity, is this site is not backed by DNA testing, so these folks are making petty fools of themselves without scientific evidence. In 5-yrs, a lot of the pointless squabbling will be replaced with new computing advances & DNA testing.
FS Interfaces for finding and adding information and documents are awkward and not very handy. It's a lot easier to use the OTHER sites to find and add the info, THEN upload it to Family Search--but this launches the few crazies into meltdowns, spamming and vandalism.
I've reported the abusive nutty behaviors to corporate, but NO RESPONSE.

As of this date, November 13,2021, I'm new to genealogy research with online sites. I have only paid for one subscription service [GenealogyBank] that was a disappointment. I've been using the free site FamilySearch for about six months now, finding it an interesting way to spend the time during the pandemic lockdown. Right away I found mistakes in my own family tree, that were made by people who had been careless about "attaching" records to my own grandparents. They were obviously wrong, as I could tell from my own personal knowledge. I corrected them and then took up the mission of making as much of the publicly available (free) information on my ancestors correct and comprehensive.
It soon became obvious to me that certain editors on FamilySearch were interested more in volume than in accuracy. They weren't necessarily "malicious," just careless. FamilySearch does have a way to report "malicious" actors, but most mistakes I've found don't seem to be of this category.
Another annoying feature is that people can supply "evidence" in support of their ancestors to FamilySearch that is hidden behind a paywall from a paid site like Ancestry.com. If one doesn't have a paid subscription to Ancestry.com, one can't verify or challenge the supposed "documentation."
I am looking for someone who has done research on the FamilySearch site to come up with ways to verify source accuracy.

Not sure about anyone else but here's why I gave FS 1 star. This is from an old email I found recently.

This may sound overly dramatic, but genealogy is my main hobby. I have spent (wasted) hundreds of hours entering things in FamilySearch. Did you know that when you attach documents or photographs, they become the property of FamilySearch? My mother's high school graduation photo now belongs to FamilySearch. They monitor your activities and LDS "volunteers" track you and "format" what you do, which means removing accurate information, including documents, because they have already "sealed" a person and they don't want any contradictory information showing up. Many of their "volunteers" (I'm referring to people working at the direction of FamilySearch, not everyday users) do not know the difference between towns and states, and interchange them. They also merge people because they have the same FIRST name. They do not know common nicknames. (I could go on and on.) Many of the LDS users are very rude and send you messages that a part of the "shared family tree" belongs to them and you cannot enter things--even when you have provable verification. This harassment is not only allowed, but reinforced by FamilySearch. They are constantly changing the "shared family tree" in accordance with "projects" they have going on, for example: I have 0% Native American DNA in my DNA tests, but in the last few months I have been given over 50 Native American ancestors in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many of my ancestors who came from Europe, with their names on ship passenger lists, and a continuous line of documentation after arriving in America, have "disappeared." There are several LDS members who send me harassing emails on a regular basis, even thought I have not worked on their part of the "shared tree" for over a year. FamilySearch has no sense of accuracy or reality, they are using you to do their work for them, then changing it to be they way they want it to fir their view of reality. Overnight, huge chunks of your family tree may disappear, but nothing shows up in the change log--they are just gone. If you call the help desk, the first question you are asked is about your religion. By the way, some of the glowing reviews here are written by FamilySearch staff--I recognize their grammatical errors and vocabulary. By all means use their collection of sources, but don't spend time actually constructing your family tree. Also be aware that many of the record "transcriptions" have no corresponding original record--they have been created to match information that has already been attached to someone. Don't invest any time building anything on this site, and double-check all records that you find!