Dec 07 2008
Help for Genealogy
So have you decided to pick back up the long lost incentive of tracing back your family tree? Good for you! Hopefully I can help you not hit that wall again that will bounce you back into your seat in front of the television.
First off, I would like to say that Geni.com has been a blessing in my sister Linda’s and my search for long gone relation. What Geni has done is give genealogy more of a “myspace” persona. All of our family with an email has been invited and has been able to upload their family pictures into their albums, update all their information, etc - so pictures of Great Great Aunt Lucy that have been stuffed away in a back closet for many years are now in a folder on Geni for relatives across the country or even over the ocean to view and admire. The interest of the family with Geni has been a great incentive to keep moving forward. Oh and best of all, it’s free!
FamilySearch.org is another great utility in digging up old family roots. They also may have a Family History Center near you to get print outs and extended help in your research. Many thanks to the Latter Day Saints for providing this great and free asset!
Then of course is the pay site Ancestry.com , you will usually be offered a free trial. Give it a shot and see if it’s worth your time to pay for the subscription. Rootsweb.org is a part of the Ancestry community and I was able for free to find a relative doing research close to my own. Her email was posted, I then emailed her, and invited her to Geni.com where she could view and collect the information that we had compiled. It worked out very nicely.
Google Image has found us many pictures of our ancestors that we didn’t have, it has been quite a godsend as has Google Books where we have found many great pieces of literature written by our descendants. Also of use may be the Free Genealogy Search Help for Google.
Looking for old documents during your search? Census records or war pensions to confirm rumors or beliefs? A great site for this is Footnote - it also comes with a free trial.
More Resources:
| ♦101 Ways to Research Your Family Tree for Free by About.com | ♦Progenealogists 50 most Popular Genealogy Websites |
| ♦Ancestor Hunt Free Genealogy Search Engines | ♦Family Chronicle Top Ten Genealogy Websites |
| ♦Gen Dir the Genealogy Directory | ♦Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites |
| ♦The Olive Tree Genealogy | ♦My Heritage.org |
| ♦Genealogy.org | ♦Super Surname Search |
Happy Hunting!
Cryptic Muse
fixyourcomputer.today.com
I love Geni.com. It’s such a great resource.