Session 2 – July 30, 2026
Session 2 picked up right where Session 1 left off: turning names on paper into real, connected accounts. The goal for the night was simple — by the time we finished, everyone’s FamilySearch and Ancestry accounts would be set up and linked together.
How Did It Go?
We opened with a quick check-in on the first assignment. No wrong answers here — whatever got done is progress:
- Did you write down names, birth dates, and birthplaces for your parents and grandparents?
- Did you create a free FamilySearch Account?
- Did you look at your FamilySearch tree to see if your family line was already there?
- Did you decide what you want to discover or preserve next?
Everyone’s starting point looked a little different, and that’s exactly how it should be.
Your FamilySearch Home Base
If you don’t have a FamilySearch account yet, it only takes a few minutes:
- Go to FamilySearch.org on your computer or browser: www.familysearch.org
- In the top right corner, select Sign Up
- Enter your name, email, and password to create your account
- This becomes your permanent, free family tree, shared collaboratively with the world
Already have an account? Skip ahead — we went deeper into the tree itself next.
Building Your Tree, Step by Step
Once you’re in, adding people is a matter of working one relationship at a time:
- Select Family Tree from the top menu to open Pedigree View
- Click Add Person on any empty branch spot
- Enter what you know: name, birth date, birthplace. Gaps are completely okay
- Before creating a new entry, use Find an Ancestor to check whether someone already exists in the tree, to avoid creating a duplicate
Start small. You don’t need every detail today; just get names into the tree.
We also spent time on research method: build a timeline for each ancestor, working backward from a death date or forward from a birth date, then lean on census records to fill the gaps. The 1950 census is the most recent one available, so working backward through 1940, 1930, 1920, and 1910 can show where a family lived, what they did for work, and who else was in the household. It’s worth opening the actual record image rather than just reading the index — details like a parent’s birthplace or a spouse’s maiden name often show up only in the original document. One caution: ages on older census records are approximations, so treat them as a clue rather than a fact.
One Family, Two kinds of Trees
A good chunk of the night went to making sense of why you might want accounts on more than one platform.
FamilySearch is a shared “world tree.” Everyone works from the same tree, so duplicate work gets merged and other researchers’ discoveries show up automatically in your line.
Ancestry is a private, personal tree. Only you, or people you invite, can see or edit it, which gives you room to research and experiment at your own pace.
Most people end up using both: FamilySearch as the free, collaborative foundation, and Ancestry as a private space to build out personal research.
Free Ancestry Access for Church Members
Here’s a benefit a lot of people don’t realize they have. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can subscribe to Ancestry’s premium online services at no cost, through FamilySearch’s Third-Party Access page.
Let’s Connect Your Accounts
Linking the two takes just a few steps:
- Sign in to FamilySearch.org
- Scroll to the footer, open Site Map, and select Third-Party Access
- On the Third-Party Access page, find the Ancestry card and select Join for Free
- Follow the sign-up steps and enter your Church membership number to link the accounts
- Confirm the connection: in Ancestry, check Profile, then Account Settings. It will display your connected status
A tip from the session: this process goes much more smoothly on a computer than on a phone. The mobile app is great for quick reference and photo scanning, but full account setup and linking is easier to manage in a browser.
Once You’re In, Here’s What Opens Up
A linked Ancestry account unlocks:
- Build Your Tree: import your FamilySearch info to jumpstart your personal Ancestry tree
- Global Records: search over 30 billion international historical records
- Ancestry Hints: automated leaf notifications when new record clues match your family lines
- AncestryDNA: explore ethnic origins and connect with distant relatives (a DNA kit requires an additional fee)
We also touched briefly on ThruLines, Ancestry’s tool for surfacing potential DNA cousin matches once your tree is built out. It’s a great way to find new branches worth researching, but treat its suggestions as leads to verify, not facts to accept outright.
More Free Partner Services
The Church’s Third-Party Access program isn’t limited to Ancestry. Also included, all free:
- MyHeritage: global records, DNA ethnicity testing, and direct sync with FamilySearch
- Storied: historical newspapers, stories, and print-ready books
- Newspaper Archive: search millions of historical newspapers for ancestor mentions
- FindMyPast: exceptional British, Irish, and Commonwealth record collections
- American Ancestors: deep New England and early American genealogy records
- Filae: comprehensive French genealogy records
- Geneanet: extensive European genealogy archives, especially strong across France and neighboring countries
You don’t need to explore all of these today. Just know they’re there when your research expands.
A Few Places to Start
- FamilySearch.org: your collaborative world family tree, 100% free forever
- Ancestry.com: free premium access for Church members through the Third-Party Access portal
- matttolman.com: Session 1 recaps and notes are live now, with future class materials posted weekly
- MyFamilyQuest.com: my own family history site, an example of starting small and thinking big
We’ll meet again in two weeks, same link. Have a topic you’d like covered in a future session? Send it my way anytime.
Want the Slids?
If you’d like the full session deck to reference or share, you can download it here: