FamilySearch link to originals?

Question

WHAT has FamilySearch done? I can no longer go from their new "pretty" page to see the original in order to check it.

"Check Image availabity". Pfff...

I reckon that as many as one in ten of the transcriptions of Welsh records are incorrect. One this morning said the place was Neath, Montgomeryshire (a place that does not exist) where scrutiny showed it should be Usk, Montgomeryshire.

Merely relying on FamilySearch without confirming the record propagates FamilySearch's errors and gives us no chance to correct them.

If anyone knows how to lead me out of this nightmare please do so, and to avoid the "I'll think you'll find..." posts, yes I know it's behind a paywall, and I am a subscriber.

Surely someone in Wikitree has some influence within FamilySearch?

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGNM-WQQ

Comments

Maybe their contract changed.

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Steve - sometimes I get the old-look and sometimes the new (ack-ptui). I found that when I get the new look, it is generally attached to an entry in a Pedigree File. Lots of clicking, but - go to the entry of the person the record is attached to, click the sources for that person, click the entry that corresponds to the one you were looking at a couple of clicks ago and you should get the old-look page that allows you to clickthrough to the actual image of the record.

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Thanks Liz,

A very helpful answer.

Steve

Answer 1

Giving an answer to my own question.

1. From the new design page
2. Click ATTACH TO FAMILY TREE
3. Near the top right "View: Record |  Image"
4. Click on Image

YEAAHHH!

If it's still available why make it so obscure to find.

Steve

Comments

This was what I was saying last night. Now I need to see if the change will affect how I can add census records to WikiTree.

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This didn't work for me.  It just took me to a sign-up page.

Answer 2

I also have Familysearch membership, but I know of no cost associated with  it. Are the special areas that you must subscribe to? I don't know. I know you can register for an LDS church account (without becoming an LDS member) whereas you would have access to a bit more material. Maybe then you could have a bit more input. I don't know. Hope you can get the situation resolved. No site is perfect and maybe they have some correcting to do.

Answer 3

If you're talking about accessing the FindMyPast images (I can't see anything else missing from the "pretty" view), you can either search directly through their website or access through the normal FS link when you actually attach to your tree (go in to the person's Sources tab and click on "View Source" then click the link as normal.

Answer 4

I already replied on Discord, but here it is again:

"Can't see anything on their 'pretty page' that says 'Check Image Availability'. Just a box which says 'View original Document'."

Comments

Did you click on the link in Steve's question? When I click on that link I see a transcription in the middle, a button on the right saying "Attach to family tree" and on the left is a greyed-out image with the text "Check Image Availability". I don't see a box anywhere that says "View original Document".

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Yes, I clicked on Steve's link.  I still don't see a box with 'Check Image Availability' - only the box with 'View Original Document'.

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Strange. Do you have something other than the basic free membership to FamilySearch?

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Clicking the check availability pops us  

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@Paul - I probably do, as I am a member of the Church.

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I get the same as Melanie and Steve. And I'm a contributor (I helped index the 1940 Census and some other random documents from time to time), but not a member of the LDS.

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I actually had to go to Ancestry to get the image. I tried FMP, but even with a basic account, I wasn't allowed to see their images.

If you want, I can drop a snippet of the 2 lines from the Census onto a page as an image - that should constitute "fair use" under that clause.

Answer 5

Steve you need to go to attach the record and then you can access a link to bring up the image.

Answer 6

It looks like FamilySearch’s contract with the content provider has changed.  Despite those records being public domain, the digital images are copy-written by the company that created it. For many of the digital images on familysearch, the copyright owners only allow free access if an individual is accessing it from a family history center.  The “check availability” link and map will help you find a family history center near you.  In my area, both the lds church library and public library are family history centers.

 Is it inconvenient? Yes.  Is it free? Yes.

Comments

They aren't public domain. They are Crown Copyright, they can be transcribed and published without a licence but the images are copyright. No images of the UK censuses are available on FS. That's not new. There are images on subscription sites which pay licence fees to the National Archives.

It depends where you live as to whether LDS centres are a viable option.In some places there may not be an LDS family History centre nearby (in the UK they also tend to have very limited opening hours.) But public  libraries are often a good alternative,  many have access to Find my Past and or Ancestry.

Answer 7

I believe that there have always been some records that you had to find at a Family History Center Library.  It doesn't seem to me that it's related to the "pretty view."  That view is what comes up if the person has a FamilySearch tree and family data pages.  Click on the person's name in the view you get, and it should lead to that additional information.  Certainly is distressing when you cannot get to the actual records you need.  Most Family History Libraries are currently closed to in-person visits.

Answer 8

I have found 2 errors in original census reports. I email one of the government sources and got no answer. The first one I had referenced it years ago and had found my grandad and his adopted family. In 2021 the government had not referenced in its search engine.

Early records sometimes have two family members remembering dates, etc. differently. Family Search relies on volunteers. Ancestry apparently has paid workers. Last week I found a report that linked one of my relatives with a person with the same name but lived in a different area and then to a unrelated family in America. It was listed as Public Family History. Yet it needed a lot more honesty.