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Overview

FamilySearch™ provides several free online genealogical products and services. Ancestral Quest provides links to four of these:
 

• Over 1 Billion Indexed Records. See more. How to.
• Over 500,000,000 names in a large Family Tree database, often referred to loosely as New FamilySearch (nFS). See more. How to.
• The International Genealogical Index (IGI). See more. How to.
• A ‘previous’ collection of records. See more. How to.

Over 1 Billion Indexed Records.

For roughly a century, FamilySearch has sent volunteers around the world to microfilm records of genealogical value. For the last several years, volunteers have been busy digitizing those records, and FamilySearch has recently made these indexed records available for free via the Internet. More microfilmed records are being indexed every day, so the count of available indexed records is constantly growing. Ancestral Quest will help you search for records of your ancestors by letting you highlight a name on your AQ screen, then click on a search option to begin the search for records relating to the highlighted person. These indexed records are freely available to anyone with Internet access. AQ provides links to this service to all registered users of Ancestral Quest. How to.

Over 500,000,000 names in a large Family Tree database, often referred to loosely as New FamilySearch (nFS).

This is currently a product of New.FamilySearch.org. These names have been collected by FamilySearch for many years, and contain records from databases familiar to genealogists, such as the Ancestral File, the International Genealogical Index (IGI), Pedigree Resource Files (PRF), LDS Church Membership records, and other records. Ancestral Quest allows you to search through the records of this database. If you find a match, you can link your record to the FamilySearch record and review your information side-by-side with the information in the FamilySearch record. If you choose, you can exchange data with a linked record. If you find that nFS has family lines that you are missing, you can directly import those lines into your family file. If you discover that you have records that are not in nFS, and you wish to share your records with the world, Ancestral Quest will help you easily upload your data to nFS. If you are a member of the LDS Church, AQ will also help you review, reserve and track LDS temple ordinances for your family members. Access to nFS is free, but you must obtain a FamilySearch Account or LDS FamilySearch Account, and the account must be activated. Because nFS is still in “Pilot” mode, FamilySearch is limiting access to this system, and you will only have access if you have been invited to test the pilot. We understand that access to more users, and eventually to everyone, will be available soon. How to.

The International Genealogical Index (IGI).

This collection of data has largely been merged into nFS, but some researchers prefer to still work with the original IGI records. Ancestral Quest allows you to highlight a name on your family file and search the IGI for matches. If a match is found, you can import information from the matching record into your database. This service is freely available to all. How to.

A ‘previous’ collection of records.

Most of FamilySearch’s records are now available both as part of nFS and as part of the over 1 billion records in the newer search mentioned above. However some researchers prefer searching through these records in the older format. FamilySearch has preserved this older method of searching these records, and AQ allows you to highlight a name in your database and search the ‘previous’ collection of records. This service is freely available to all. How to.

 

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How To

Over 1 Billion Indexed Records.

Anyone can freely search this set of records. You can create and use a FamilySearch Account, but you will be able to search these records even if you choose not to.

To access these records through Ancestral Quest, simply highlight the name of an ancestor that you want to research and take one of the following steps:
 

If you have set one of the “FamilySearch” options as your default Internet search (See below), simply click on the Internet Search Icon on the toolbar to perform your default search.
Click on the Internet Menu, then select “Search FamilySearch” and finally click on “Search FamilySearch.org”.
Click on the Internet Menu, select “Search Favorite Sites”, then select one of the FamilySearch options. This option allows you to select a different person, or a different Internet search site before performing the search.

The International Genealogical Index (IGI).

Anyone can freely search this set of records through AQ. Simply highlight the name of the ancestor you want to research, then click on the Internet Menu, select “FamilySearch”, and finally click on “Search IGI.”

You will see an option screen. Choosing the “Internal Search” will require you to have a free FamilySearch Account, and will allow you to directly import data from FamilySearch into your file. Choosing the “External Search” will not require a FamilySearch account, and will show you the results of the search in your preferred Internet browser.

 
 

A ‘previous’ collection of records.

Anyone can freely search this set of records. To access these records through Ancestral Quest, simply highlight the name of an ancestor that you want to research and take one of the following steps:
 

If you have set “FamilySearch (Old Site)” as your default Internet search (See below), simply click on the Internet Search Icon on the toolbar to perform your default search.
Click on the Internet Menu, then select “ Search FamilySearch” and finally click on “General Search (Previous Site)”. (We will be changing "Old Site" to "Previous Site" in the program for consistency in a future maintenance release of AQ.)
Click on the Internet Menu, select “Search Favorite Sites”, then select “FamilySearch (Old Site)”. This option allows you to select a different person, or a different Internet search site before performing the search.

Setting Your Default Internet Search.

Ancestral Quest provides several Internet searches to help you with your research. You can customize this by adding your own searches to the list. Any Internet search, whether it is one that AQ provided, or one that you have added, can be set as your Default search. The Default search will be activated when you click on the Internet Search icon on the toolbar.
To set the default Internet search, click on the Internet menu, then select “Favorite Sites”. Highlight the search that you prefer and click on the “Make Default” button.

Over 500,000,000 names in a large Family Tree database, currently referred to loosely as New FamilySearch (nFS).

To use AQ's links to this product, you will need to have a “FamilySearch Account” or an “LDS FamilySearch Account.” Even though you may have a FamilySearch Account, if it has not been activated for use in nFS by FamilySearch, you will have to wait until the account has been activated. You will also need to activate the FamilySearch links in the Preferences screen of AQ.

 Obtaining a FamilySearch Account.

Go to www.familysearch.org. Select the “Sign In” option, then choose the option to Create a New Account. Proceed from there to create either a FamilySearch Account or an LDS FamilySearch Account.

 Activating the Links to New FamilySearch in Ancestral Quest.

In Ancestral Quest, go to the Tools menu, then to Preference. From the General tab, make sure the “Connect to FamilySearch” box is checked. If you do not want AQ to display the FamilySearch links and menu, remove the mark from this checkbox.

 Checking if Your FamilySearch Account is Active.

Once you have a FamilySearch Account, and have activated the FamilySearch links in AQ, go to Ancestral Quest’s “FamilySearch” menu and select “Login.” Enter your FamilySearch Account Username and Password. If your account is active, you will be logged in, otherwise you will receive a message stating that your ID and password are not correct.

Using the Links to New FamilySearch.

If your FamilySearch Account is active, you can click on a FamilySearch button on the name of an ancestor to search or review, or you can use the various options in AQ’s FamilySearch menu. Watch the tutorials to learn more.