How to Use FamilySearch.org Hints to Easily Do Genealogy

Family Search gives you lots of record hints. Do you ever wonder how do you use them? Should you save the clues to your family tree? Learn how to use FamilySearch record hints to climb your family tree easily.

In this video, discover the basics of researching your ancestors by evaluating the suggested hints available in FamilySearch.org. Let FamilySearch.org do the hard work of finding records for your ancestors.

Watch this video on YouTube.

How Accurate are FamilySearch Record Hints?

I love any website that tries to do some of my genealogy research for me. However, we need to be careful when deciding whether we accept the hints from an online genealogy website.

FamilySearch records hints appear to be reasonably accurate, but they still need human evaluation.

How to Access FamilySearch Record Hints

From the FamilySearch home page in the browse, you’ll see a box with “Recommended Tasks in the right column.”

If you have a full family tree and you’re not sure where to being researching, this is the best place to find a branch where you can contribute to your family tree.

You may find research hints on the page that contains all of the research discoveries for your ancestor. I call this the Personal Profile Page. In the right column, you’ll see blue icons representing record hints. The hints are listed by record names.

↪️ Are you new to genealogy? Grab your copy of this FREE Beginner Guide:

Steps to Evaluating a FamilySearch Record Hint

1. Select one ancestor’s hint,

2. Review your relationship with that relative.

3. Review the Personal Profile page for this ancestor.

1. Make a note of their vital events.

2. Familiarize yourself with their parents’ and siblings’ names.

3. Notice the spouse(s) and children for the relative.

4. Also, explore what sources other researchers have already found for your ancestor.

4. Look at the Record Hints and Select the First One To Investigate

• Evaluate the record.

• Is the record for the right period your ancestor lived?

• Is the record for the correct location where your ancestors lived? (Be careful, sometimes our ancestors appear where we least expect.)

• Are the relationships right on the record to what you previously discovered?

• Are there any additional identifying details that confirm the record applies to your ancestor?

5. If the record hint applies to your ancestor, attach the record to your family tree

• Accept the hint

• Transfer new details from the record to the family tree

• Explain why you are attaching the document to the family tree.

6. If the record hint does not apply to your ancestor, reject the hint.

• Click on the “Not a Match” link.

• Explain why the record hint does not apply to your ancestor.

The best way to learn all of these steps is to watch the video.

I demonstrate step-by-step how I evaluate a record hint from the front page and my ancestor’s profile page.

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Continue Learning About FamilySearch

Review the following blogs and videos for more tips about using FamilySearch

1. Record Hints: A Quick Way to Add to Your Family History

2. How to Evaluate FamilySearch Hints

3. How Do You Evaluate Hints on Family Search?

4. Why are there multiple sources for one event?

5. How to Use Puzzilla.org with FamilySearch for Genealogy Research