19 December 2019
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Getting together with family over Christmas? Discover 4 easy ways you can research, share and treasure your family story – from the comfort of your sofa, smart phone in hand… Yes! It really is that simple!
We know, Christmas is super busy! But it’s also highly likely you’ll be catching up with relations over the festive period, so take the chance to enjoy and share a bit of family history together.
We’re going to look at four ways that the fabulous FREE family history website FamilySearch can help you do this.
1. GROW YOUR FAMILY TREE
The online FamilySearch Family Tree is a giant collaborative global family tree.
- To join in with the fun and the discoveries, you’ll need to head over to www.familysearch.org and register for a free account. If you’re on your phone, download the FamilySearch app (Apple and android).
- Add your name, and those of your parents. Within a few generations back in time, you may see the branches of your tree linking in with those of more distant cousins!
2. BROWSE OLD PHOTOS
You may find that these branches of your family tree include photos of these distant relations. If not, you can add your own photos to the FamilySearch Family Tree too, and tag them to the ancestors that you have discovered.
- Get out the old box of family photos (everyone is sure to enjoy browsing through these after Christmas dinner).
- Take photos old your old pictures using your phone.
- Add them to the ‘Memories’ gallery.
3. COLLECT FAMILY STORIES
The memories you can add to FamilySearch aren’t just pictures though. You can add audio too.
- From the ‘Memories’ gallery, you can create a new memory, tapping ‘record’ and telling your family’s favourite anecdotes, recollections of important or amusing events.
4. SPREAD THE LOVE
Once you’ve set up a FamilySearch account for yourself, help your family members set up their own accounts too, adding the app to their smart phones. That way, even when the Christmas fun is over, you’ll all be able to share new discoveries and add new clues, photos and memories to your shared online tree, through the year to come. Who knows, maybe come next Christmas, you’ll all be able to look back and be astonished at all that you’ve discovered!
Have fun with your family this Christmas, sharing the love of family and family history.
COME & LEARN MORE ABOUT FAMILYSEARCH
If you’d like to learn even more about the world’s largest free family history website – www.FamilySearch.org – come along to Family Tree Live. FamilySearch is a sponsor of our fabulous two-day family history show at Alexandra Palace, 17 & 18 April 2020. Get your tickets here!
TIP – the FamilySearch Family Tree is a collaborative one, meaning that other people will be able to edit your tree. Remember too that as it’s collaborative, then you will benefit from the knowledge and research of others. As always, at Family Tree magazine, we always advise family historians to research each new bit of their family tree themselves – to give you that peace of mind that your family tree is as good as it possibly can be!
QUICK LINK: FamilySearch join Family Tree Live as sponsor
