On the FamilySearch Home Page you can click on the Genealogies TAB and gain access to the International Genealogical Index. This database was frozen a number of years ago and moved around a lot. It is one of my Go-To databases because of its make-up:
- Mega-millions of entries with 80% of the total carefully controlled extraction by trained extractors and 20% submitted by Family History Library patrons, most of them members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Majority of entries are from the British Isles–52% extractions from parish registers and other churchbooks , mostly Church of England records. Entries also include Non-conformist records and sources.
- Other entries include 15% from the Scandinavian countries–Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Isles of the Sea.
- 12% from the states of North America including Canada.
These percentiles roughly coincide with the overall membership concentrations of ancestry of the Church.
What is often overlooked with these concentrations is that they are not selective. The records extracted include all of the entries from the sources used. As a result, this database represents the ancestors for everyone. I recommend that you search this database first, before any other record. And read down through the entries, screen by screen. Use the filters that provide powerful search engines to comb the data for entries that match what you know about your ancestors.
You may be pleasantly surprised to discover that close relatives who lived in the same places as known ancestors can also be found in these entries. Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://arleneeakle.com.
PS Stay tuned. I have some more information about this remarkable database and how to use it to best advantage.