 Obtain information from family members.  Living family members (immediate and extended).  4 generation pedigree chart starting with yourself.  Back to the first line of deceased ancestors.  Obtain birth, christening, marriage, death, burial, LDS ordinances each individual.  Due: When you attend your first lab

 PAF 5.2  Ancestral Quest  Roots Magic  Legacy  PURPOSE: manage your own records, add/delete/source information, perfect information before submitting to the church.

 The Common Pedigree  New FamilySearch (new.familysearch.org)  Family Tree (labs.familysearch.com)  PURPOSE: connect all family lines and link all of God’s children back to Adam.

 Personal Ancestral File  Database used to organize family records  Free from familysearch.org

 Names need to be as complete as possible.  Names are recorded in spoken order.  Use "or" to indicate an individual was known by more than one name.  Martha or Patsy Dandridge  These abbreviations: Jr., Sr., III, etc. go after the Surname.  If known, use the wife's maiden name.  "Mrs." is the only title that should be used when identifying an individual.

Do not:  Place titles in name fields.  Sir, Mr., etc.  Place occupations in name fields.  farmer, doctor, shipwright, etc.  Use other descriptors in name fields.  twin, a year, place, etc.

 Dates need to be as complete as possible.  Dates should be written as day, month, year.  Use three-letter abbreviations for months.  3 Apr 1836

 Entered as city/town, county, state, country.  Use commas to separate localities  Farmington, Davis, Utah, United States  Do not use two letter abbreviations for states.  ID

 Try it yourself!  Create a PAF file using the PAF tutorial as your guide found at and enter in as much information as you can.  From your ward clerk:  Obtain you confirmation date  Obtain your LDS membership number  (Both of these can be found on an Individual Ordinance Summary that you can get from your ward clerk)