FamilySearch workers recently welcomed visitors to the “Who Do You Think You Are?” exhibition held at London’s Olympia, offering expert advice on how to start one’s own family history search. The nonprofit online genealogical centre provided forty consultants to work the event, helping participants receive the guidance needed in finding long lost relatives. At times the FamilySearch exhibit generated a three hour wait for assistance due to its popularity. Staff from the London Regional Family History library, temporarily located in the National Archives in Kew, were also on hand to support the demanding interest in family history.
- The Family Search stand at 'Who do You think You Are' show
- The Family Search stand at 'Who do You think You Are' show
- Members of the public at the Family Search stand
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The chief genealogical officer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, David Retcher, spoke to six leading family history publications at the exhibition and outlined the intended future for FamilySearch. One goal is the digitizing of the millions of names that are recorded on microfilm. FamilySearch workers demonstrated this process of indexing, inviting those interested to enrol in the project. The consultants emphasized the immediate goal of digitizing the records of all World War I soldiers, aiming to have electronic records available by next year in remembrance of the one hundredth anniversary of the war.
There are currently 120 family history centres in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where help is available for the beginner to the experienced. To find out more about the location of the centres or to learn more about how to get started with family history, visit http://www.familysearch.org