> What is new about Family Search?
I'm not a spokesman or expert, but I am a **very** happy user of
FamilySearch's newish beta-test site, which is up and running, and
open to the public through free registration. They are trying to
work on the 'next generation' of web genealogy research and
searches, and it is already amazing! The search capabilities, and
flexibility, are incredible!
I have already found a great many documents that I haven't found
before, even in searches within very similar databases, and I have
not explored all sections of the site yet, by a long shot. They
are testing out the new systems, and finetuning.
Go to http://labs.familysearch.org
. There are several subsections
that you can register for individually.
But at http://search.labs.familysearch.org
are the currently
available databases..... I have spent a lot of time here, and it
has been very well-spent.
So far, they have the 1850, 1880 and 1900 censuses, with
trancriptions and images, and a number of other more specific
databases, beautifully searchable and with images, there as well.
More in the future.
For an antique system like mine, it can be *very slow* downloading
on dial-up, and I still have big problems saving images, although
all the view manipulations and print functions work fine. I really
look forward to the progress they are making! And be patient.
They're testing things out. And sometimes the site, or ****tions of
it, is down, while they upload changes and improvements.
> Did they join up with Ancestry (as I once read)?
If you mean some sort of 'merger', not a chance. No way at all.
They did ""partner"" with Ancestry some years ago, so far as
FamilySearch already had the searchable transcribed 1880 census, and
Ancestry had the available images, so FamilySearch agreed to place
the Ancestry link to the actual images on their site. When you get
to the FamilySearch data, there is a link at the bottom that says
"View original image for a fee at Ancestry.com". There may be some
other databases that had the same arrangement.
They seem to be forging ahead beyond that.
LindaS
leoandlinda <leoandlinda@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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