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If you're not having fun adding fun facts to FamilySearch, you're not enjoying genealogy research as much as you could.
Do more than add only birth and death dates to the shared family tree. This blog post focuses on several places where you can add fun facts about your ancestors on FamilySearch.
Life Sketches
Life Sketches are great because they can give people a quick overview of their ancestors. They can also help people quickly know that other researchers are working on this individual and what they know about them.
I created one for Milby Townsend, FamilySearch Person ID: KN3V-S6C.
Milby served in Company K Regiment 133 with his brother William James Townsend.
In the 1860 US Census, Milby and his brother Perry live with Catherine Helsel. She appears as the head of the household with no husband and at least a son and potentially his wife and their two children. She is Milby and Perry's sister.
In 1860, all of Milby's siblings were in different homes. His mother died in 1857, and the siblings lived in various homes in the same county.
Notice this gives just enough that when you come to Milby's profile, you know:
He's a Civil War veteran.
Why is his family all over the place?
Who cared for him after the death of his mother?
Pro Tip: If you find a biographical sketch in a published book, do not copy and paste that whole biography into the Life Sketch. Instead, add a Source Citation to the printed text.
Watch this video about adding Fun Facts to FamilySearch to see how to add these details.
Additional Life Events to Generate Robust Timeline
Most researchers know to add details about the life events of birth, marriage, and death.
The fun happens when we add additional details about our ancestors to the FamilySearch profiles in the "Other Information Section."
The more information you add, the more we can know about the people in our family tree. The additional facts (with a date) appear on the Timeline Feature.
On the Timeline for Milby Townsend, you'll see:
his birth
birth of siblings
death of parents
residences as child
residences as adult
military service
marriage
birth of children
Anything we add to the "Other Information Section" and connect with a date can appear on the Timeline.
We can customize the Timeline by selecting whether to view other events, record hints, residence, occupation, custom events, and historical events. We can also include the birth, marriage, and death events of his spouse(s), children, parents, and siblings.
As we play with the items on the Timeline, we'll see the events plotted on a map. For example, I noticed that Milby started life in Ohio, moved to Indianapolis, and then to Illinois. I can also see where events happen in the lives of his family members.
Talk about fun!!!
Types of Additional Information to Add to FamilySearch Profiles
You'll see various options when you click "Add Information" under the "Other Information Section," including:
alternative name
affiliation
bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah
cremation
immigration
military service
naturalization
title of nobility
occupation
religious affiliation
residence
stillborn
caste name
clan name
national identification
national origin
no couple relationships
no children
physical description
race
tribe name
custom events or facts
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Clarify Parent/Child Relationships on the FamilySearch Family Tree
Next, I invite you to identify relationships, particularly if a relationship is not biological. This feature allows us to keep track of step-parents, foster parents, guardians, and the like.
FamilySearch.org: Life Sketch, Preferred Ancestors, Notes and More, I walk you through designating each parent according to their specific relationship to a child.
After specifying the relationship, decide which parental couple should appear on the family tree (the pedigree or fan chart).
I typically leave the adoptive parents as the preferred parents for my Grandma Louise on the fan charts. Since Grannie was adopted as a baby, her adoptive parents are the only folks my aunts and cousins ever knew.
However, you can change the preferred parentage at any time. For example, when I'm working on Louise's biological lines, I often switch the preferred parents for a short time before reverting to the other couple.
Caution: I really and truly hope your family doesn't battle over which couple to mark as preferred. Remember that the changes are often temporary, so allow sometime before you make a change.
Collect and Share Your Notes
Research Notes are something you should add to your family tree. While you might think, "Notes aren't Fun," I beg to differ. Notes are beneficial when someone new is starting to research their family tree and doesn't know everything you know.
On the Collaborate Tab for Emily Huldah Sprague, you'll see notes under "Biographical Sketch." Here's a sample of that note:
Her mother died when she was 4 years old (Lydia Barrus)
She and her sister Barbara lived with her grandparents until her father remarried (Mary Weatherbee)
She was baptized by her father, Festus Sprague.
Her father was a lawman. He was killed by a bandit when Emily was age 12.
In 1870, Emily was with her stepmother, Mary, 1 month after her father had died.
SOURCES: Family records of Edith Sprague Croft; '88 IGI
Notes for Emily Huldah Sprague: (from Scott Sprague)
Joseph W. Heward, "Marysville, Idaho People and Happenings," (Self Published, Ashton, ID, 1983), page 43.
While this should go in the Life Sketch, notice how it's not a narrative. These notes work better in the Collaborate section.
Feel free to leave questions you're thinking about or hope others might know the answer to.
Thanks for the Memories
My last fun thing to add to a FamilySearch profile is memories, memories, memories. It would be best if you shared memories. Don't hoard the memories. Share the memories
On Emery Barrus's profile, his memory section is incredible. You'll see:
Photos from family reunions with everyone labeled
Photos of property owned
Scans of hard-to-access documents
Items from home sources
The above fun things to add your ancestors to the FamilySearch family tree are the tip of the iceberg.
Feel free to share URLs to FamilySearch profiles where you have added or discovered fun facts about your relatives. By sharing these URLs, we'll all learn great things we can do to our profiles.