A Million Photos and Other News from FamilySearch

This past week FamilySearch.org had another flurry of blog posts and announcements. One highlight was the announcement that the number of images uploaded to FamilySearch.org's website exceeded one million. This was announced in a press release dated September 19, 2013 entitled, "One Millionth Photo Received on New Free Family Photo Preservation Service Online." Interestingly, the press release makes the following statement:

Once your pictures are uploaded, they will be preserved forever. Every photo is backed up with a redundant system and preserved in state-of-the-art archive facilities. Each ancestor's photo will now be available to every descendant that individual has or will ever have.

That is an interesting claim.

Here are some of the other highlights of the week:

Personal Arbitration Mentoring by Brett Nixon

Are you a new or less experienced Indexing arbitrator? Would you like to increase your confidence and the quality of your work as an arbitrator? You can now receive personal arbitration mentoring!

More Updates to the Family Tree by Steve Anderson

Family Tree has seen some more refinements in order to make specific features a little easier to use.

Partner News—September by Gordon Clarke

FamilySearch is also pleased to announce Ages-online, CreateFan , and TreeSeek and are now Tree Access Certified.  “Certified” means the product is compatible with FamilySearch.org and has features that conforms to our strict standards of quality.

Recent Updates to Family Tree—September, 2013 by Steve AndersonThe last couple of weeks have seen some changes to Family Tree. A few of these features were released in English only. However they are working hard to get the other languages done very soon.

Sharing Photos and Stories by Matt Wright

Matt explains some of the basics of getting starting with sharing photos on FamilySearch.org and a new social link from the Photos program. 

Window to the Past by Matt Wright

More from Matt about the features and benefits of the FamilySearch Photos program. The Find feature in FamilySearch Photos and Stories allows you to search family names, place-names, or any other keyword found in the titles and descriptions of our large and growing collection.

Free Guide to Lancashire England Ancestors by Nathan W. Murphy 

FamilySearch is pleased to announce a new online guide to tracing Lancashire England ancestors. Historic Lancashire, home of the Beatles, heart of the industrial revolution, and port of departure for millions of emigrants, is a bustling place families from around the globe connect with. The guide has been published in the FamilySearch Research Wiki and includes major cities Manchester and Liverpool.

FamilySearch Adds More Than 2.7 Million Indexed Records and Images to Collections from Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and Switzerland By Rob Goates

FamilySearch has recently added more than 2.7 million indexed records and images from Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. Notable collection updates include the 1,459,211 indexed records and images from the England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1538–1910, collection, the 534,245 indexed records and images from the new Mexico, Aguascalientes, Civil Registration, 1859–1961, collection, and the 172,333 indexed records from the Italy, Napoli, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1809–1865, collection. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.

Annual Stake Indexing Director Forum By Courtney Connolly

Annual Stake Indexing Director Forum Friday, October 4, 2013

The Stories a Tombstone Can Tell By Steve Anderson

A feature article on cemetery experiences.