Oral Histories and FamilySearch

 https://youtu.be/UcnAKxgGzro?si=MW4Tb92NTqcZaidx

I previously posted a blog about "FamilySearch oral histories - where are the oral files?" I decided to try a new way of creating informational videos. Using Google Gemini Notebook, I put my blog post plus some other valid sources into a note in a Google Gemini Notebook and had it create a video. The information in the created video is all mine. By using Gemini Notebook, you can essentially prevent Gemini from using or citing any sources other than those you provide. Unfortunately, oral histories are about the smallest area of interest in genealogy that exists. Although FamilySearch has made a tremendous effort to gather well over a million oral histories from various parts of the world, these oral histories, from my own experience, that part of the FamilySearch.org website is probably not used much. 

This video is a test case. If you are interested in having Gemini Notebook help you generate videos, you might want to watch this video to see how providing the source information allowed Google Gemini Notebook to create a very coherent and workable video. 

Changing a Person from Deceased to Living on the FamilySearch Family Tree

 

First of all when a person dies, there are possible duplicate entries. This is normal. Each who creates an entry of the same living person gets a new ID number. This means that if several people enter a person as living in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree, there will be an equal number of duplicate copies of that individual with the each entries own ID number. 

When a person dies, if the person was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch waits for an entry from a Ward Clerk reporting that the person is deceased. If you find an entry for a person who is deceased, you can mark it as deceased, but you may not be marking all of the entries for that deceased person. If the deceased person was not a member, the living entry remains online until someone marks it deceased. 

Other relatives of the deceased person may have created a number of duplicate entries, as I mentioned above. When that occurs, that still leaves a number of duplicate entries that people have entered showing the person is living. In each of those cases, all that needs to be done is to mark them deceased and explain the reason for making the change. 

It is more complicated if a living entry has been marked as deceased incorrectly. If you were the one that marked the person incorrectly, you can make the change simply by marking the person as living. If someone else happens to mark your living person as deceased, it is a little bit more complicated. Here is the explanation from FamilySearch's AI Assistant: 

To change a person from deceased to living in Family Tree, go to the person page, click Details, then in the Vitals section next to the death date select Edit. Choose Living, enter how you know the person is still alive, and save.

If you are not the only contributor, also submit an explanation with your relationship to the person and how you know they are alive. A request goes to FamilySearch Support for review. 

If you are the only contributor, saving changes the record to Living and it becomes visible only to you.

For more information see the following FamilySearch.org article: How do I change the status from deceased to living in Family Tree? 

MyHeritage Introduces a US Consolidated Federal Censuses , 1790-1950

 

https://blog.myheritage.com/2026/11/myheritage-consolidates-all-17-u-s-federal-censuses-into-a-single-enriched-collection/

Recently, MyHeritage.com announced a notable technical milestone with the release of their United States Consolidated Federal Censuses, 1790–1950 collection. By applying specialized artificial intelligence to cross-link and eliminate duplicate records across all seventeen available enumerations, MyHeritage.com reduced an estimated 841 million individual census listings down to roughly 588 million consolidated profiles. Rather than querying seventeen isolated databases, researchers can now view an ancestor’s reconstructed timeline—tracking residential changes, household compositions, and family units spanning from childhood to late adulthood—within a single aggregated record.

Here is an example of a search for my Great-grandfather. 

 You find the collections under the Reasearch Tab and select "United States Consolidated Federal Censuses, 1790 to 1950." 

In my early years of doing research, I spent hours and hours reconstructing the census records for one large family. It is amazing to be able to do this as quickly as it is possible now.

This blog post was aided in part by Google Gemini. 

Heads Up -- FamilySearch Record Hints may Produce the Wrong Document Image

It may be difficult to read from the screenshot, but this particular record hand for Xaverio Corsi GQHR-PGR is an example where the image of the record given did not contain his name or entry at all. However, it was possible to find Xaverio by manually searching the records in the collection, one-by-one. 

This is another example of a record hint that was inaccurate. 

Here is a comment from one of my friends about the situation. 

When I check the hints in my Italian tree, The images associated with the hints are never correct. If the system gives me 3 or 4 hints that are duplicates, the 3 or 4 images will all be different and wrong. Most of the time the correct image is in the same book and I can find it with the date but not thanks to AI. For Pellegrinas' son Raffaello, his baptism was on 4th of November 1834, one hints showed me an image from 1832, the other  from 1843 and another from 1871. None for the correct date. When I asked AI about the discrepancy, this is what I got: This link, 3 times offered, shows 3 different pages for the document. It should be 1834, it shows 1832, 1843, 1871...

It should be noted that FamilySearch Record Hints are typically generated through a mix of automated record indexing, traditional automated record-matching algorithms, and probabilistic linking rather than generative AI. Also, AI cannot search the records directly and can only see a record shown on the screen. 

The fact that the Record Hints may not show the corresponding digital record should be a warning to those who use the feature to check the image record. It may also be the case that these Italian records have not been verified. 

Adding Unconnected People to FamilySearch

The reality of the FamilySearch.org Family Tree is that it contains an innumerable number of snippets and partial pedigrees for individuals who are not definitively connected to the main tree. From time to time, as you add people, you will discover that an individual has already been entered. This is how some of the isolated records floating around in the Family Tree universe eventually become anchored to their proper places. FamilySearch provides a specific option for adding these unconnected people.

Before adding an unconnected person, verify they are not already in the Family Tree. While FamilySearch attempts to match records, common names and variations remain challenging for both researchers and the site's search engine. Once you proceed, you will complete a similar online form used for any new entry.

If you decide to add the unconnected person and you plan on looking at the record you created, you may want to record the person's ID number. Also, keep in mind, that you may have just created a duplicate record. 

FamilySearch Oral Histories -- Where are the oral files?

 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/genealogies/

There are 1,847,774 oral histories on the FamilySearch.org website as of the date of this blog post. All those oral histories are searchable and are located in the Genealogies section found under the Search menu.The oral histories originate primarily in Africa and the Pacific Oceania But there are numerous additional locations scattered through the collections.

There are more oral histories if you click on the arrow at the right side of the screen.

Records are gathered through targeted collection efforts, field projects, and direct user submissions. Submissions often include details regarding interviewees, foundational ancestors, specific regional locations, and tribal or clan names.

Field workers and researchers conduct recorded audio and video interviews with community elders and family historians. These conversations capture spoken lineages, traditional histories, and personal narratives in the local language. FamilySearch preserves the original digital audio files to retain the authentic voices, songs, prayers, and cultural expressions of the speakers. FamilySearch also processes the contents of these interviews to construct searchable pedigree structures and family trees, making oral records discoverable alongside traditional historical documents.

The Oral Histories projects are ongoing. More oral histories will be made available over time. 

RootsTech 2027 Class Preview

 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/schedule?cid=EM-00065414&lid=o0pvp9nxmuo7

The upcoming RootsTech RootsTech 2027 conference, scheduled for March 4–6, 2027, invites family history enthusiasts from around the globe to gather both online and in person at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, under the guiding theme of celebrating the joy of connection and discovering the stories that matter most.

For those participating from home, the virtual experience is entirely free and grants access to over 200 new online sessions translated into more than 20 languages, inspiring keynote addresses, virtual networking with fellow attendees, and an on-demand learning library available year-round. Meanwhile, attendees heading to Salt Lake City can secure early bird registration for $99 US for a 3-day pass or $69 US for a 1-day pass, unlocking over 225 exclusive in-person sessions, a sprawling Expo Hall featuring more than 200 exhibitors and sponsors, and early previews of cutting-edge family history technologies.

The extensive educational lineup spans a broad spectrum of specialized topics designed to sharpen research skills and break through stubborn brick walls. Attendees can explore dedicated tracks covering Artificial Intelligence in genealogy, DNA research, beginner fundamentals, regional research spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and beyond, as well as specific record types, methodology, archiving, and preservation. In addition, the event features specialized Latter-day Saint sessions, including uplifting Family Discovery Day broadcasts and Temple and Family History leadership instruction.

If you are traveling to Salt Lake City for the conference, I strongly recommend reserving a room right away. With the popular Plaza Hotel now gone, nearby downtown accommodations are in higher demand and booking up faster than usual.