Mastering the FamilySearch Catalog: Records Nobody Has Indexed

A name search covers only a fraction of what FamilySearch holds. The catalog leads you to millions of digitized but unindexed record books, free. Here's how to use it.

3 min read

When you search FamilySearch by name, you're searching only the records that volunteers or computers have indexed. That's billions of names, but it's a small share of what FamilySearch actually holds. Millions of record books, including deeds, wills, court minutes, tax lists and church registers, have been photographed and put online without any name index at all. The way to find them is the FamilySearch Catalog.

Why it matters

Most of the records that solve hard problems were never indexed: the deed in which a father gives land "to my son," the court order naming a guardian, the tax list that shows when a man came of age. If you've searched FamilySearch by name and concluded "it's not there," you may simply not have looked in the right book.

Searching by place

The catalog is organized mainly by place, from largest to smallest. To find records for a county:

1. Open the Catalog from the Search menu on FamilySearch.
2. In the Place box, start typing the county. Choose the full form, such as "United States, Virginia, Augusta."
3. You'll see a list of topics for that county: Census, Church records, Court records, Land and property, Probate records, Taxation, Vital records and more.
4. Open a topic to see the record sets, with the years they cover and who created them.

Search each level. Records for an ancestor in a county might be listed under the county, the state ("United States, Virginia"), or a town within the county. State-level topics include records like state censuses, military records and land grants.

Reading a catalog entry

Each entry describes a record set, such as "Deed books, 1745–1901." Open it and scroll down to the list of film or image groups, each covering a range of volumes or years. Beside each one is an icon:

• Camera: images are online. Click to browse them.
• Camera with a key: images are online but restricted. You may be able to see them at a FamilySearch Center or affiliate library. See The Family History Library and FamilySearch Centers.
• Magnifying glass: the record is indexed and searchable by name.
• Film reel: filmed but not available online yet.

Browsing unindexed records

Browsing a record book online is like reading the original, page by page. Many record books have their own index, usually at the front or in a separate volume, so start there:

1. Find the index. For deeds, look for a "general index" to grantors (sellers) and grantees (buyers), often in separate volumes. Wills and estate files usually have their own index.
2. Note the book and page. The index will say something like "Book F, page 212."
3. Jump to the right image. Each digital film has hundreds of images. Use the image number box to jump ahead, then adjust. Page numbers usually increase steadily, so you can estimate where you need to go.
4. Save and cite. Download the image and record the catalog title, film or DGS number, and image number, so you or anyone else can find it again.

Film numbers and DGS numbers

Each set of images has a film number (from the original microfilm) and a DGS number (Digital Group Number). These are the best way to cite what you looked at and to find it again. Record both in your research log.

Other ways in

• Images search: FamilySearch also lets you browse and search record images by place and record type, which can surface unindexed images directly.
• Full-text search: FamilySearch now uses computer handwriting recognition to make many unindexed records searchable word by word. See FamilySearch Full-Text Search.
• Keyword and author searches in the catalog find books and periodicals, such as a published family history or a county's cemetery transcriptions.
• The Research Wiki often links directly to the catalog entries for a county's key records.

Tips

• Check the dates of county formation. If your ancestor lived there before the county existed, the records are in the parent county. See When the Courthouse Burned for related strategies.
• Read the notes. Catalog entries often explain gaps, lost volumes and odd arrangements.
• Don't skip "Court records." Order books and minute books record guardianships, estates, road orders and much more.
• Be patient. Browsing takes time, but every page you turn is a page most researchers never see.