Internet for the Beginning Genealogist
The
main purpose of the Internet in genealogy is to look for names, check for prior
research, communicate with other people, and examine records. Don’t buy the hype that everything you want
is already packaged and done for you.
It
is a great thing to have the Internet available as a resource, because there is
so much information and help available.
The selection is huge; no one person or place can possibly be the one
best source for information.
What can you find online?
·
Historical sites with
information about the times and places where your ancestor lived.
·
Pictures of towns where
your ancestors resided.
·
Information about how to
use computers and the web for more advanced research.
·
Large numbers of
libraries and archives have browseable online catalogs.
·
There are electronic
publications with genealogical information.
·
A place called search
engines which can help you find specific sites and topics.
·
Information that
formerly required a visit to a location, near or far, now can be done from your
desktop.
The
Net is like a huge library holding both books by respected sources and wishful
thinking by confused contributors.
Everyone can be a publisher, and there is little control. In October 2000, a conservative estimate of
the total number of genealogically related web pages alone would now be at
least 20 million pages.
Remember everyone started out at sometime as a beginner,
even the experts.
Guidelines: Some Do’s and Don’ts of Internet Genealogy Research
1. Do use the free resources available to gather
information—town histories, biographical information, and actual secondary or
even primary data.
2. Don’t make the mistake of using just one or a few
sources. Search using several search
engines; search multiple sites for original sources—census, cemeteries, and so
on.
3. Do use your online time to make connections to see
what information is available so that you can do in-person research at
libraries, courthouse, etc.
4. Don’t post questions online unless you have taken time
beforehand to do the basic efforts.
5. Do share your data with others; do it intelligently,
such as offering a well-designed web page.
6. Don’t believe everything you see or read online. There are a large number of incompetent
researchers.
7. Do a little bit of thinking as to what you want. Try to work on separate items, one at a time
and don’t hop around from family to family.
8. Don’t just live online; use your local library’s
resources.
9. Do be a thinker and a good consumer. Don’t be naïve enough to buy the concept
that just because the Internet is available, that everything that you want is
there and is free.
What can the Internet really
be used most effectively for?
·
Exchanging electronic
mail.
One
of the positive concepts is that essentially data and messages can be sent
around the world for free and with extreme speed. One of the negatives is that responses are not always well
thought through, and may include incorrect information, which also spreads quickly
and widely.
·
Sending data via file transfer.
Putting
information on a web site can be quite useful.
Remember to always consider the accuracy of the information.
·
Searching collections of
libraries and archives.
How
do you find such useful sites? Use the
search engines—Google and Yahoo.
·
Searching “good data”
which has been scanned or digitized.
Scanned
and digitized data can be found on sites—such as Family Search site and the
Rootsweb site. Searching other
collections is a major ability of the web.
Some county clerks have put their databases of records on line to be
searchable for free. There is also
computerization of library catalogs.
What is “good data”? Good
examples include scanned records or censuses, bibliographies by qualified
preparers, national genealogy organization web sites, and more.
·
Communicating with
others who are interested in the same thing.
Don’t
do research that someone else has already done and may be able to help you
with. Subscribe to mailing lists and
post queries on the Genforum or Rootsweb.
·
Using jumping off spots
to learn more and find useful information.
Some
web sites will have links that refer to other web pages; use them, they will
have similar types of information.
Some people are afraid of using the Internet. They think that they will be charged for
using other’s services. There are pay
sites on the Internet. They cannot
charge you unless you give them your credit card number.
Good places to start:
·
Ancestry.com—Available
at the Family History Center for free.
·
Family Search—The Church
genealogical site.
·
Cyndi’s List—A website
with 73,000 links to other sites.
·
Heritage Quest
Online—can be accessed through the Uintah County Library Site. You must have a library card.
·
Genweb sites—This site
was created by a volunteer group which has organized genealogical data and
referenced it to geographical locations.
·
Rootsweb—an extremely
useful start spot. This site contains
mailing lists, query groups and web pages with extracted information.