Tech Forum

Subject: Who has some FamilySearch database statistics?

I would like to know something more about the important collection of data in the Family Search database.
1. For example, I have heard that the process started out with about 1.5 billion entries in the Church ordinance files, and that was reduced to 1 billion entries through some machine matching algorithms. Are those numbers approximately correct?
2. I assume there is quite a lot of duplication in those Church files, but I have never heard any statistical estimates. It would be interesting to know the estimated number of unique individuals that appear in Church files so one could make a guess at duplication rates.
3. I assume that a large number of the names that appear in Church ordinance files come from various forms of "name extraction" processes, which I assume includes the Online Indexing process. I am guessing that most of the "name extraction" names are not created with all the family connections that would be necessary to perform all sealings. Does anyone know how many names carry enough information along with them to allow family sealings, and how many do not?

You're asking for some fairly specific statistics, which as far as I (avid genealogist & FamilySearch watcher) know are not computed. I don't even know how you would arrive at some of the stats you're asking about. The 1940 census for example lists households, with relationship to head-of-house for each person, but gives no indication whether the 'wife' in the family is the biological mother of all of the children, or possibly a stepmother to some or all of them. So does the 1940 census alone carry enough info to allow family sealings? Many people would say yes, but in some cases you'd be sealing children to the right father, and the wrong mother.

The Ancestry Insider blog occasionally reports some FamilySearch statistics, as does the FamilySearch blog.
For example, see: http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/201 ... cords.html

While your questions have some technology behind them you may have better responses in you post on the FamilySearch Forums. There are more contributors there that are more intimately aware of the family history and databases used.

For responses 1 and 2, thanks for the information and references to other possible sources. I don't come here often enough to know all the different forums and wikis and how they divide up the information pie. Thanks again.