The following are eight recent milestones in family history work:

1. Increases in Indexing and Submission of Family Names

Family Search reported increases in family history work in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparing the first two quarters of 2019 to the first two quarters of 2020 there have been the following increases:

• 57% increase in the number of records indexed
• 30% increase in the number of indexing volunteers
• 24% increase in the number of names added
• 11% increase in the number of people adding names

2. 8 Billion Searchable Names

FamilySearch announced that their database of searchable names has reached 8 billion.

3. RootsTech Connect 2021 Will Reach 168 Countries

In 2021, the annual RootsTech conference will be held as a free, virtual worldwide event on February 25–27, 2021.

4. Missionary and Pioneer Databases Join Forces

The Missionary Database, which contains about 40,000 names, will be integrated with the Pioneer Database, which contains about 80,000 names. Learn more.

5. Adding Content from the Church History Catalog

A new FamilySearch feature lets you easily attach information found in the Church History Catalog to your FamilySearch record. Learn more.

6. A Gift after Devastation

When a fire gutted the Santo Niño de Pandacan Parish Church earlier this summer, hearts of Filipino parishioners broke. The fire claimed 190 years’ worth of parish data like baptismal and marriage records. In response, FamilySearch gathered previously microfilmed and digitized records dating back to 1778 and presented them to the Pandacan Church.

7. Saints by Sea

In July, FamilySearch launched a new campaign with Brigham Young University, “Saints by Sea: Latter-day Saint Immigration to America.” The project indexed records of 90,000 Latter-day Saints who immigrated to the United States between 1869 and 1932. Learn more.

8. Records from the Mayflower

FamilySearch and AmericanAncestors.org created the Mayflower Database, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower sailing to the new world. The database lets you discover if you are one of an estimated 35 million descendants of those initial Mayflower passengers. Learn more.

Learn more about the above milestones in the LDS Living article, “7 exciting family history changes and milestones you may not have heard about.”

The post 8 Family History Changes and Milestones first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.
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