FamilySearch’s homepage (https://familysearch.org) is the starting point for the free Mormon site, with a variety of options. New users should click “Create Account” and follow the directions to register for free, and then return to the main page and sign in.

The “Search” option appears at the top of the page and on many other pages within the site. Unlike searches on Yahoo! or Google, the site does not let you simply search “globally.” That is, you can’t enter just a surname, a keyword, or a phrase and find all references to it within the site. You must have an orderly approach to your searches, as in any scientific or technical research.

On the search page (https://familysearch.org/search), you’ll be prompted to “Discover Your Family History,” with search boxes to enter names, etc., of your ancestors. Beginners should resist the temptation to do so.

Searching for names may result in a number of people whose names look familiar to you, and who may be your relatives. You may even find a large family tree with familiar names. Until you learn more about identifying and confirming valid information, you may not recognize that the information and names you are viewing have not been properly “sourced.”

FamilySearch can’t keep others from entering erroneous information on its trees. Whether it’s done innocently or intentionally, assuming an un-sourced connection—say, to a famous historical person—can lead you to “bark up the wrong (family) tree.” You could spend many hours researching unrelated people.

Also, many records shown on FamilySearch are transcribed, rather than images of the actual records, which are more informative and may be found on other websites. Come back to this choice after you have more experience in genealogical research.

Bypass the “Person Search” and scroll down the page, where you’ll see a world map. On the left is a link to “Browse All Published Collections.” Again, resist that link, which can flood you with unwanted choices. Below it are several regions, listed under “Browse by Location.”

There, you’ll see links to browse records from: Africa, Asia and Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America, Continental Europe, Mexico, Pacific Islands, United Kingdom and Ireland, and the United States.

Choose a region, click on it, and you’ll see a list of locales in that region. Selecting “United States” will return a list of states; “Canada” will prompt a list of provinces, etc. “Continental Europe” will return a list of nations and a list of dates and collections (census, military, etc.). Pick a country, date, or collection, and you’ll then see an ordered list by date, country, and so on.

Using Italy as an example, clicking there will bring up a list alphabetized by province. Each list has a link to “Browse Images,” and then a list of towns appears. Clicking a town results in a list of types of record (in the language of the country searched); in this case, Nati (births), Matrimoni (marriages), etc., and the years for which those records are available.

The images that appear in these searches are versions of the Mormon microfilms that were photographed from the original records. As such, they are laid out like a microfilm, and paging through the images online is like rolling through a film on a microfilm reader.

The advantage is that you don’t have to start at the beginning of the film. If the site indicates, for example, that there are 1,237 images for a town’s civil marriage records covering the years 1880 through 1891, and you want the records for the year 1886, you can estimate the location of that year’s records, go immediately to image 600, and begin your search from there.

The disadvantage is that you must search image by image, and searching with a slow browser can be tedious.

Many original records include indices after each year or after a 10-year period. Search for these indices first. They will give the record number of the document for which you’re searching, making it easier to find a specific record.

In this example, Italian marriage records are displayed with two records per image. You can then count forward or backward by twos from any numbered record to find the document you want. Follow the on-screen hints to enlarge, reduce, or print the desired image.

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