A Brief History of FH

Family Tree (two words), FamilySearch (one word), family history, genealogy; “Who Do You Think You Are?”  Going back thousands of years, the ancient Hebrews’ genealogies, such as I Chronicles chapters 1-14 in the Old Testament, comprise a ton of family history – evidently of vital importance to them.  In “History of Genealogy”, Donna Potter-Phillips “looks at the early development of genealogy.  Since earliest times, man has thought to leave a record of himself.”
– familychronicle.com

"The restoration of the sealing authority by Elijah in 1836 was necessary to prepare the world for the Savior’s Second Coming and initiated a greatly increased and worldwide interest in family history research."
– David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, October 2011 general conference, "The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn."

By 1920, the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU), started in 1894 in Salt Lake City, "had won a permanent and prominent place in the official programs of the [LDS] Church.  …  The Great Depression of the 1930s provided, in one respect, an unexpected stimulus to genealogical work; many who were out of work took the opportunity to do some long-neglected family research."  – James B. Allen, Jessie L. Embry, Kahlile B. Mehr, Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894-1994 (BYU Studies, 2012)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints created the International Genealogical Index (IGI), a family history database which “was first published in 1973 and continued to grow through December 2008.  It contains several hundred million entries” ... from two sources: “personal family information submitted to the LDS Church, [and] vital and church records from the early 1500s to 1885.”  – FamilySearch.org

“May 1998: FamilySearch/GSU begins digital imaging of records.   About August 1998: Decision is made by LDS Church leaders to build a genealogical website.  May 1999: Website first opened to the public.  …  Oct. 1999: Surpassed 1.5 billion hits.  … Nov. 1999: 240 million names added, bringing the total number of entries to 640 million.  2001: Work began on a replacement website … (Later named New FamilySearch …)”  – Wikipedia.org

"FamilyTree: New FamilySearch Service Promotes Collaboration.  FamilyTree is the successor to New FamilySearch, which [has been operating] for the past few years ...  [FamilyTree] is live to the general public as of March 5."  – Church News, 11 March 2013
[It later changed to two words: Family Tree.]

“FamilySearch.org is a nonprofit family history organization dedicated to connecting families across generations.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the primary benefactor for FamilySearch services.  Our purpose is simple – help people connect with their ancestors through easy access to historical records.  FamilySearch believes that families bring joy and meaning to life.”  – FamilySearch.org/about