Researching on FamilySearch
FamilySearch is a free family history website with one of the largest collections of records in the world: births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, censuses and more. Our family also keeps a shared group tree there.
Getting started
Create a free account
Anyone can use FamilySearch for free. Sign up with one of these:
- Apple
- Church Account
Join our family group tree
There's a group tree for the Kauder / Loes families. Descendants of Eugene Loes & Elaine Meyer, James Agan & Mary Kelly, or William Kauder & Florence Dunn are welcome.
You may already be in the group: just choose yourself as the starting person under Group and Tree Settings on the right. Not there? Add yourself under your parents, then choose yourself.
Explore the tree
The tree has a landscape view (best for following one line back to its oldest ancestor) and a portrait view (best for seeing cousins and generations side by side).
Much of the Family Portal tree comes from FamilySearch, checked against other sources such as Ancestry, WikiTree and local records.
-
Search the records
Use Search → Records and enter a name with a birth year and place. Records from the 1800s to today are usually easy to read. Records from the 1700s are mostly accurate but can have misspellings or wrong links. Before 1700 it gets much harder.
Reading old documents
AI tools like Copilot or ChatGPT can help you read old handwriting, but they are not always right, and they tend to agree with whatever you suggest.
Never treat an AI transcription as fact on its own. Use it as a hint, then confirm it with other records. There are also websites made for reading old scripts, especially German handwriting.
Good to know
Living people are private
Living people in the FamilySearch tree can only be seen by the person who added them. That's why the list above skips living family.
Every person has an ID
FamilySearch IDs look like KHHY-7LF. Almost everyone in the Family Portal tree has one, and it's shown on their person page with a link.
Free help is available
FamilySearch centers and libraries offer free help, and their computers also give free access to some paid websites.
