FamilySearch, has published its eight billionth free searchable name from its worldwide historic record collections online.
It’s quite a feat when you realize that just one billion seconds ago, it was 1988, or one billion minutes ago the Roman Empire was thriving and Christianity was just beginning to spread.
“To digitally preserve and make so many names freely searchable online is impressive, but it’s the personal family connections that matter most,” said David Rencher, FamilySearch’s chief genealogical officer. “With each new record, there’s the possibility to find a missing link in the family tree. And that is soul-satisfying.”
FamilySearch adds more than one million new records each day.
“Every human being who comes to this earth is the product of generations of parents. We have a natural yearning to connect with our ancestors. This desire dwells in our hearts, regardless of age,” said Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the sponsoring organization of FamilySearch. “When our hearts turn to our ancestors, something changes inside us. We feel part of something greater than ourselves.”
“This milestone is just the tip of the iceberg. FamilySearch won’t quit until we’ve accounted for everyone possible from the world’s available records,” said Mr. Rencher.
Growth is in the roots of FamilySearch. It began 125 years ago as the Genealogical Society of Utah, with only 300 hundred books of family records on its shelves.
Now FamilySearch has 3.2 billion digital images, 490,000 digital books, and a Family Tree with over a billion more user-contributed records available online.
Seven billion names from almost every country have been added in just the last 10 years. And efforts have been amplified to increase access to even more of the world’s genealogically relevant records. FamilySearch largely credits this remarkable accomplishment to its dedicated online volunteers, innovative technologies, and growing partnerships with other organizations.
Explore the free databases at FamilySearch.org.
