Have you built up your family tree on Ancestry.com and are looking to enhance your experience? Then I’ve got the tool for you! (No, no webcams are involved.)
The Ancestry Family Search Extension for Google Chrome looks up information on Familysearch.org using the vital info from your Ancestry tree. The initial release was a nice addition on its own, but wasn’t able to look up maiden names for women in your tree, so was limited in its value.
However, version 2.1 was released a few weeks ago has added that functionality and some other nifty tweaks making it a <cue the echo> Must Have Tool </echo>.
For those not familiar with Google Chrome, it is a free web browser that can be used as an alternative to Internet Explorer, Firefox, and binoculars strong enough to peer into your neighbor’s window to see what they are surfing on the Internets. (For shame, Mr. Stanislaus, for SHAME!)
An Extension (sometimes known as an “add-on”) is a tool that adds some sort of functionality to the browser. There are many kinds of extensions. For example, I use password database program to keep track of my passwords and have installed a Firefox extension that allows that software to insert my passwords into forms with a simple keystroke combination. Thus saving me the burden of remembering the password 1yoPUhpTVU@:q(GEk. (Note to self: change password.)
Click on the image to see it full size.
If you click on the tree, the extension will pop open and immediately search Familysearch.org for records using the information of the person you have open in your Ancestry tree.
You can then fiddle with the options in the Name, Event, Relationship and Location dropdowns to zero in on long lost Uncle Ned.
The results are sorted with the most likely at the top, à la normal Familysearch results. If you find any you would like to investigate, simply click the result link and it will open in a new tab so you don’t lose your place at Ancestry.
Win. win. and… win.
If you are un-Chromed at the moment (I almost typed “Dull”) you can download Google Chrome here. Once you have that installed, visit the Ancestry FamilySearch Extension here and click the install button. Next stop: World Domination. But first: dinner.
