When it comes to doing family history and genealogy research online you have so much at your fingertips. Marriage licenses, birth certificates, census data, military draft data, church records and more. Everything at the touch of a button. All that information didn’t just magically show up one day… someone had to put it there. That’s where indexing comes into play.
Indexing is an vital cog in the family history and genealogy wheel.
Indexing is (basically in the easiest nutshell) taking old documents and transcribing the information on it. The aim of indexing is to take scanned historical documents that are relevant to genealogy and create searchable digital databases.
Family Search Indexing started as a volunteer project through Family Search, a genealogy database run by The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Through the indexing efforts of people all over the world, A BILLION records have become available online! When you index you help people everywhere find their history!
Without Indexing many people would be unable to research online!
Who can Index?
ANYBODY can index!! Right now on Family Search Indexing there are over 100 projects available in all different languages. You just need a computer, an internet connection and patience! There are indexing projects for every skill level! Some projects are definitely easier than others, but they are well worth the effort! (You may find that indexing is addicting!)
Get Started
Create a free account. Log In. Pick a Project. You DONT have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to use the site or volunteer, in fact, many indexers are volunteers who have no affiliation with the church.
Clearly Labeled Projects and Walk through directions with help bubbles are provided on every field. Submitted batches get double checked for accuracy, and this ensures that all information is correct before it is uploaded.
Want to try indexing? Head on over and check it out and see what you can do to help other researchers just like yourself!
