Byu’s Relative Finder Helps You Find Famous Ancestors

BYU’s Relative Finder Helps You Find Famous Ancestors

Contributed By Ryan Morgenegg, Church News staff writer

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  19 FEBRUARY 2015
  

Current student Todd Wakefield (in color) poses with Brigham Young Academy’s faculty of 1888. Seated, left to right: Joseph B. Keeler, Ottilie Maeser, Karl G. Maeser, Laura Foote, N. L. Nelson; standing: E. B. Isgreen, A. L. Booth, Hyrum Anderson. Original photo from the Harold B. Lee Library. Photo courtesy of BYU Photo.

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ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

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  Relative Finder allows users to see how closely related they are to famous people and even their neighbors and coworkers.
  
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  Users are able to compare their lines to find relations with different groups, such as former General Authorities or presidents of the United States.
  

“Many people who have never logged in to FamilySearch are motivated to do so in order to find out who they are related to. Many other people have expressed astonishment and delight at finding they are related to General Authorities. It can also be a positive experience for a ward to learn how many relatively close cousins there are.” —Tom Sederberg, a leader of Relative Finder 

RELATED LINKS

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  Try the Relative Finder here.
  

PROVO, UTAH
When doing family history research, people often get excited when they discover that a relative or ancestor is someone famous. It’s also interesting to find out a coworker, spouse, or member of the ward is a relative too. The challenge is having enough time and knowledge to devote to research, but a 15-year project at BYU makes this type of relative finding a whole lot easier.
A BYU-developed website called Relative Finder enables users to find out how closely related they are to not only historical figures but also friends, neighbors, spouses, or even the mail carrier. “This website allows you, in three minutes of time and effort, to discover how you are related to all these people,” said computer science professor Tom Sederberg, a leader of the project. “It is fun and informative and can stimulate interest in family history work.”
In 2011, Relative Finder launched as a Facebook app that limited data to members of the Church only. Today, the website is certified by