FamilySearch

FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church also known as the Mormon Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family History Department.[3][4] The Family History Department was originally established in 1894 as the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU); it is the largest genealogy organization in the world.[5]

Quick facts: Predecessor, Formation, Founders, Founded at,... ▼

FamilySearch International

Predecessor	Genealogical Society of Utah
Formation	November 13, 1894 (1894-11-13)
Founders	Franklin D. Richards James H. Anderson A. Milton Musser
Founded at	Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Type	Nonprofit organization[1]
Purpose	Family history genealogy kinship and descent
Location	Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Services	Record digitization and preservation digital record access genealogical collaboration tools genealogical training
President and CEO	Steve Rockwood[2]
Parent organization	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Website	familysearch.org

FamilySearch maintains a collection of records, resources, and services designed to help people learn more about their family history. Facilitating the performance of LDS ordinances for deceased relatives is another major aim of the organization. Although it requires user account registration, it offers free access to its resources and service online at FamilySearch.org. In addition, FamilySearch offers personal assistance at more than 5,100 family history centers in 140 countries, including the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.[6] The Family Tree section allows user-generated content to be contributed to the genealogical database. As of February 2021^[update], there are over 1.3 billion individuals in the tree and the historical records database contains over 5.7 billion digital images, including digitized books, digitized microfilm, and other digital records.[7][8]