Have you tried FamilySearch's experimental Full-Text Search? Exciting!

Question

While still experimental - and limited to only 2 collections (but "US Land and Probate Records" is one of them!) - this Labs product led me to a contemporaneous Ohio deed record from 1817 naming the heirs of Isaac Zane on my first search pass!

If you use FamilySearch for historical records searching, check out https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text for a new way to search records before they are indexed.

Comments

(And Robert, you've done a beautiful job with that profile!)

---

Thanks, Jillaine! I'm so grateful for all the invaluable guidance from both you and Kathie. And this full-text search is a game changer for remote records sleuthing!

---

Just tried to go to that URL and it bounced me to familysearch.org

---

On my FS home page there's a box that says "FamilySearch Labs" where it lives...or try this:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/labs/ 

---

That worked. Thanks, Robert.

---

I've been using Family Search AI text search for the past week and it is a WOW! Have found so many "missing" documents. They say it is limited to only 2 collections but I have been getting responses from many other collections. Be sure to check out the filter options in upper left corner for location, date, etc. Double click United States to get list of states and click state to get counties. Same for other options. And don't miss the download option - the tiny arrow above the OCR transcription.

Answer 1

WOW!

I just searched for Robert Sanders, my 6th great grandfather who died in Fauquier County, Virginia. At a quick look, it appears to have pulled up every deed he witnessed or was party to. It took me several years hunched over a microfilm reader to extract those. This will be fun!

Answer 2

I have been using it this past week. Even though it clearly needs additional work it has already opened up some exciting possibilities and uncovered some previously unknown connections since the scanning technology picks up names and locations not included in other compilations and transcriptions. I suspect this is just the “opening salvo” in a process that’s going to radically transform the way serious researchers work (not only in genealogy but in academic history as well!).

Answer 3

I found a bunch of land deeds from an ancestor who "established" a town in Ohio in the early 1800s.

Answer 4

Here's a link to another explanation of the new FS AI tools:

https://dna-explained.com/2024/03/11/rootstech-2024-paradigm-shift-familysearch-knocks-it-out-of-the-ballpark-with-full-text-ai-search-transcription-indexing/