FamilySearch.org keeps adding new record collections, but an old standby—the International Genealogical Index (IGI)—remains one of the site’s most useful resources.
FamilySearch.org keeps adding new record collections, but an old standby—the International Genealogical Index (IGI)—remains one of the site’s most useful resources. The IGI contains more than 669 million family history records from two sources. “Community Contributed” records are submitted by researchers; they provide clues but contain many errors. “Community Indexed” records, mostly births and marriages copied from church registers around the world, serve as an index to reliable primary sources.
The Records search form on the FamilySearch.org home page covers many databases at once, including the IGI’s Community Indexed records. The
IGI page lets you search either Community Indexed records or Community Contributed records.