Discover Research Opportunities with the Find-A-Record App

If you really want to know about the condition of your ancestral lines in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree, then the Find-A-Record App will likely give you something to think about. The icons on the FamilySearch.org Family Tree Descendancy view graphically show you problems with your lines, but it takes some time to locate all of the problems. Here is a screenshot of some serious data problems as shown by the red icons in the Family Tree:

Those red icons represent problems such as birth before father could have children, person over 120 years old, married before 12, and other such issues. Needless to say, this is a mess. You might notice that there is the ubiquitous "green Temple icon" reigning over this mess and yes, I could immediately request and do ordinances. Except here is the problem. If there are so many problems, how do I know anything here is correct. You might also notice that the "green icon" is adjacent to a purple one that indicates that there are "no sources attached." In short, there is no support for any of this information at all and it could be fantasy. As a matter of fact, there are serious data problems even before I get as far back as the supposed "Capt. Richard Morgan." Here is a screenshot of his descendants in the Landscape view:

Perhaps it isn't obvious, but the two generations before we reach the green icon both have serious data problems. These are supposed to be my direct line ancestors. The John Morgan, b. 1734 has a father, Jacob Morgan, born in 1723 when John Morgan was 11 years old and Jacob Morgan, b. 1723, got married when he was two years old.

I am almost certain that the ordinances might have been done for Capt. Richard Morgan notwithstanding the problems except that the opportunity is now accompanied by a huge warning as shown here:

Now, back to Find-A-Record. Rather than blindly clicking through the Family Tree, this program gives you a nice, organized list of all these problems starting with those closest to you in time and relationship. Here is a screenshot of the list:

This set up with only four generations and there is quite a long list of data difficulties with my own Family Tree. Some might find this a little discouraging, but I think it is a really good way to organize the issues with the Family Tree. Some of these issues cannot be resolved at this time due to the limitations still imposed by the connection to the new.FamilySearch.org program, but most of them can be addressed. I could jump back to the infamous Capt. Richard Morgan, as shown in this screenshot:

There are some limitations in the Find-A-Record program. The suggestions for where and how to solve the problems are not very helpful. In short, it does a good job of showing the problems but does not offer very workable solutions. But if you think that your family history is all complete, I suggest a quick review and more serious consideration of the problems demonstrated by this free app.