Where are the Records on the FamilySearch.org Website?

 

There are four main types of genealogically significant records on the FamilySearch.org website. They are as follows:

• Indexed records in the Historical Records Collections that are also listed in the FamilySearch Catalog
• Unindexed records in the Historical Records Collections that are also listed in the FamilySearch Catalog
• Unindexed records that are available by searching in the FamilySearch Catalog
• Images of records that are not indexed nor are they in the FamilySearch Catalog

Indexed records can be searched by name, date, location, and usually other relevant information depending on the information in the original record. 

When located by searching in the FamilySearch Catalog, unindexed records must be searched by location and date sometimes page by page. In some cases, the original record contains its own index which may be helpful in finding individual ancestors or relatives. 

In addition, there are records that are images only and very generally identified by the name of the records, a date, and a place. These records are indexed and have yet to be cataloged. 

Here is a screenshot of the drop-down menu showing the selections:

The "Records" link takes you to the Historical Record Collections. The "Images" link takes you to the images only records that are not yet in the catalog.  The "Catalog? link, of course, takes you to the catalog.

If you try to search for the name of an ancestor or relative and do not find any information, that does not mean that there are no records on the website, it just means that either you do not know how to search for the person or that there are no indexed records for that person. You can see a list of the indexed and unindexed records for general locations such as states or countries, using the interactive map on the Historical Record Collections page. 

When you click on a region, a pop-up menu will appear and you can select a more specific location. If I click on England for example I get the following list of records for that country.

This list can be very extensive. Here is a screenshot of the search page for the Images section.

The records are then organized by country and the subdivisions of countries.