This Tuesday’s Tip is about effective FamilySearch place name searches, including how to find related places.
We know the FamilySearch online library catalog is the place to go to find out what microfilm is available for loan in the vast Family History Library collections.
For this tip, although it sounds illogical, choose the original version of the catalog for more search options. The newer version of the catalog has been out for a while, but it’s still labeled as being in “beta” or testing mode, and doesn’t offer this feature.
Follow these steps to find out what records are available for a specific region via the Family History Library:
1. Visit the original catalog here.
2. Choose Place Search and enter search term. Then choose View Related Places button at upper right.
Results:
This search revealed all the towns in this province that have microfilm records at the Family History Library. This has been particularly helpful as I translate records with the names of various villages that sometimes were written in German and sometimes in Polish.
Don’t forget: Related Places is only available in the the original version of the catalog.
So that’s today’s tip about FamilySearch Place Name Searches. This certainly came in handy recently when I was able to spend a week on the International floor (B1 in the elevator every day) at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Other people stretch out on the beach with a mai tai for a holiday; we genealogists stick our heads in microfilm readers for a week or so. More on that in a future post and good searching.
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