At first the society consisted of a few people who worked in a small office in Salt Lake City, Utah. All of the records that were gathered were stored in books in the Society's library. The first library was located in the office of the Church Historian at 58 E South Temple Street in Salt Lake City, Utah. As the record collection grew the library was moved to other locations in Salt Lake that had more room. A library patron could read the records, then record the birth, marriage and death data on paper sheets called family group sheets and pedigree charts. The family groups sheets could then be submitted to the Temple Department so the temple ordinances could be completed.
In 1938 the GSU began to film government and church records from countries around the world and save them on microfilm. Those records could then be read using a microfilm reader in the library. In 1944 the GSU's name was changed to the Genealogical Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In the 1950's it was decided that the Society needed a permanent facility to store and protect the records. It was decided to store them in a vault in Granite Mountain east of Salt Lake City. The work creating the vault began in 1958 and it was completed in 1965. It now houses the world's largest collection of genealogical records (more than 3.5 billion images) including a vast collection of family history microfilms and microfiche. For security reasons, there is no public access to the vault
The images in the Granite Mountain Records Vault are collected through agreements with archives, libraries, and churches from more than 100 countries. Copies of these records are given free of charge to the record custodian and on occasion, additional copies are provided to replace records that may have been lost in a natural disaster or fire.
The Granite Mountain Records Vault
In 1970 the Society began building family history centers in various parts of the world where patrons could do research by reading the microfilms from the Granite Mountain Records Vault.
In 1976 the Society became the Genealogical Department. In 1985 the Genealogical Department built the current library west of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. In 1987 the Society's name was changed to The Family History Department of the Church.
In 1999 FamilySearch.org was launched as the internet arm of the Family History Department. Since that time it has undergone many changes and added new features.
After years of improving on various methods of recording the family information, and with the arrival of new technology, FamilySearch is the instrument currently being used to record this vast information and make it possible for each individual to participate in the saving ordinances of the temple. It contains images and indexes of government, church and other records.
Family Tree is the part of FamilySearch.org that displays generations of your family and has information about those people. In Family Tree, you can see how the generations fit together. You can also see specific information about an ancestor, such as his or her name, family members, vital events, photos, and stories.
Now Family Tree is the place to submit family names to have the ordincanes completed. Family Tree also keeps track of the names you have submitted and tells you when the ordinances are complete.
When you are signed in to FamilySearch, the system can display a landscape pedigree chart with you in the main position. Your ancestors are on the right; your descendants are on the left. You can also view your tree in as a fan chart, which can display as many as seven generations at once and also displays different pieces of data.
Family Tree is a collaborative tree, which means everyone is contributing to the same tree. When someone adds or changes information, it changes information on your tree, and everyone can see the changes.