Using Memories FIND

Dennis J Yancey

Using Memories FIND is a great option for finding items uploaded to FamilySearch Memories by others and yourself.

https://www.familysearch.org/photos/find

However PLEASE be aware of the following which is NOT obvious.

1) if you use Multiple terms such as Family Bible - be sure to do one of two things. a) either use quotes around the words "Family Bible" or use the AND operator ( Family AND Bible ) but be sure and enter the AND in upper case (lower case will not work as expected.)

2) Realize there is not a whole lot of intelligence in the search. As an example - people often just assume that if they type in a name of some close relative with a name like James Carter that they will magically see the photos of their relative James Carter. actually there is NO search functionality based on who the item is attached to. You might see some photos you are looking for - BUT it will be based on the fact that James and Carter may be names in the description or title of the item. (and there may be numerous items that you are totally missing that ARE attached to your relative James Carter that dont have his name in the title or description. and unless you put James Carter in quotes OR with the AND operator - again you would have got a lot of "noise" results. if you want to see the photos for your "Uncle James Carter" best to navigate to his person record and see his memories tab.

3) For an item that has not been marked as "private" Realize that whether or not an item is linked to a living person or a deceased person - it is still findable by the keywords in the title or description. (though the link to the living person will not be viewable by anyone other than the user who added the living person) This can be either good or bad depending on the perspective. If you DONT want an item to be found by others . . . leave off any title or description or use only words that the normal person would not use. OR you can mark it as "private" - but if you do mark it as private - even the people you do want to see it wont be able to see it. And in the event you die - - chances are all your "private" items at that point in time will for ever be in a black hole never to escape. Because FamilySearch will comply with your request for them to be private - EVEN AFTER you are dead.

Cedar Kedar

Thank you for adding this to the Wales Group. There are many hidden gems in memories.

ifyerhappyanduknowit

@Dennis J Yancey

I took a class at RootsTech years ago that was done by the assistant CEO of Google on how to do internet searches. I love things like this! We all need to know those tips and tricks to fruitful searches for our family history research. Thanks for sharing this!