We have launched a new Records & ArchivesSM feature in the Family Tree that is available for 23andMe+ Premium and 23andMe+ Total Health members.
This new tool leverages census records from the United States, Canada and the UK, and death records from the US. Enter a relative’s name and birthdate, and Records & Archives will search through historical documents to find matches and new information via ‘hints.’ While not a comprehensive records search, the new feature can help identify possible relatives in your family tree. We hope to add new functionality in the months ahead.
All customers are able to add to their Family Tree and see if there are record matches, but only 23andMe+ Premium customers in the United States, Canada and the UK can see details of those record matches and save them to their tree.
23andMe Ancestry Service or Health + Ancestry Service customers can go here to upgrade to 23andMe+ Premium to use Records & Archives.
Getting Started
To start adding Hints to your Family Tree, navigate to the Family Tree feature and follow these steps:
- Add a node to your Family Tree. Make sure to enter the name and date of birth and as much other information as you can. Click ‘Save’. Hints will load shortly after you click ‘save’ when entering or editing a node on your tree. Once the search is complete, a blue paper icon will appear by that node. (see image below)
- To view the hint, click on the relative with the blue paper icon and then select ‘View historical records’.
- Next you will view details of the record and confirm if this matches your relative. You can choose what, if any, data from the record you would like to update in the node annotation. Select ‘Update’.
- To go back and view saved, rejected or ignored hints, select the person with this hint on your Family Tree. Click ‘View historical records’ and you will see hints with tags labeled Saved, Rejected and/or New.
Common Questions
Why am I not getting any hints?
There are a few reasons why you may not be seeing any hints for a relative you’ve added. First, if you do not have family who would have appeared in these collections you are unlikely to receive hints. To appear in these collections, your relative had to have:
- Lived in the United States during the 1950s or have died between 1936-2012 (for US customers)
- Lived in the UK in 1901 (for UK and CA customers)
We recommend trying variations of names. Transcription errors can be common in census records. There could be misspellings or the person may have given a slightly different name from what you know them as. Try adding a married name or birth name. Whatever you know, the more info the better.
Will I keep getting more hints?
Yes! Anytime you edit a node on your tree and hit ‘save’ we will search for record matches. We will not continue searching unless you make adjustments to that node.
Can I share my hints with others?
No, hints cannot be shared with other 23andMe customers. Additionally, they will not be shown to connections you have shared your Family Tree with.
Can I search for a hint for a genotyped relative?
No, you cannot find hints for genotyped relatives. You can only search for hints for annotated relatives that you manually add to your Family Tree.
Which records are included in this feature?
Available to customers who purchased kits in the US: 1950 United States Federal Census and U.S. Social Security Death Index 1936-2012
Available to customers who purchased kits in the UK and CA: 1901 England and Wales Census