Genealogy Info---Free for the Finding!

Free Genealogical Research On The Internet.

Nancy Brockhoff Dzierzawski

Brooklyn, MI

tgopwt@comcast.net

 

RESEARCH

 

v     Family Tree Computer Programs

§         Gensoftreviews.com

§         Roots Magic  http://www.rootsmagic.com

§         Family Tree Maker  http://www.familytreemaker.com

§         PAF  http://www.familysearch.org/eng/paf

 

v     Evaluate the Website

 

v     Cindislist:  http://www.Cyndislist.com

 

v     Linkpendium  http://www.Linkpendium.com

 

v     Family Search  http://www.Familysearch.org

 

v     Family Search Pilot http://pilot.familysearch.org

 

v     Googling your Ancestors

§         Google

§         Yahoo

§         Ask.com

§         Dogpile

§         Search engine comparison:

http://lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/SearchEngines.html

http://www.internettutorials.net/engines.html

 

·        Google Operands:

§         +Use a plus sign before a keyword so that it appears in your search results without stemming.

§         -Use a minus sign before a keyword that you do not want to appear in your search results.

§         -Use the tilde sign before words for search results that include synonyms. (genealogy, ancestry, family tree).

§         -Place a first name and last name between double quotes to search for exact occurrences of the name. Place location names of 2 or more words in quotes; i.e. "new york".

§         OR Use the OR operand to receive results that contain one of the query words or phrases.

·        Use the asterisk as a wild card; ie. for a middle name.

use a number range search to match any one year in a range of years, i.e. 1700...1750

 

·        Easy Google searcher  http://www.searchforancestors.com/google/searcher.html

 

v     Libraries & Organizations

·        http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/

·        http://www.swanton.lib.oh.us/

·        http://www.toledolibrary.org/

 

§          OhioLink http://olc1.ohiolink.edu/search/   is a statewide online catalog which mostly includes university and college library holdings from Ohio.

§          MeLCat, http://elibrary.mel.org/search  the Michigan statewide service that allows you to order books from hundreds of libraries and have them delivered to your closest participating library. 

§          Worldcat   http://www.worldcat.org/  is a national/international library catalog, now partially accessible from home.

 

§         Allen County Public Library:

 http://acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy

§         Family History Library in Salt Lake City:

 http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp

 

v                 Heritage quest info and where to find a library that has it.  http://www.eogen.com/heritagequestonline

v                 http://www.WorldCat.org

v     World Vital Records---Free stuff

  http://www.searchforancestors.com/worldvitalrecordsfreebies.html

§         New Databases New Databases are free for 10 days. See list of free recently added databases on lower left column.

§         Social Security Death Index:This SSDI not only includes name, birth date, death date, residence at death, plus a geomap from Microsoft Virtual Earth that maps the location of nearby cemeteries.

§         This Day in History: Almost 60,000 historical events to help create an ancestral timeline.

§         Free Newsletter: Learn about: Genealogy and family history industry news and updates WorldVitalRecords news and information

§         Ellis Island Passenger Arrival Records: (1892 - 1924) The Ellis Island Passenger Arrival Records contains details for more than 24 million passengers and crew who arrived through the Port of New York at Ellis Island between January 1, 1892 and December 31, 1924.

 

v     Rootsweb

§         Oldest and largest free internet site for genealogy

§         Most useful- World Connect and Surname List

§         Also databases, mail lists and message boards

§         Can put post-it notes in data bases

§         Has own search engine, but Google may be better

§         Get more results by:

§         Leaving post it notes when you find a relative in a database with your name, e-mail details or corrections.

§         Search freepages and maillist archives using Google

 

v     Footnote

·        Paid site with lots of free content

·        All of indexes are open and free to search. Find names of people, places and topics. Each search will return a list of documents and a small image of the document with your search term highlighted. Have opened up a select number of titles where you can view every document, annotate, comment and print for free. http://www.footnote.com/documents/

§         US Milestone Documents: Documents that have shaped American history. View images of the originals and learn where each document is archived. This collection provides a first-hand look at some of the nation's high and low points.

§         Project Blue Book: Nearly 13,000 government UFO reports. From Alaska to Arizona, from Florida to Labrador, UFO sightings were reported from within North America and even around the world.

§        Pennsylvania Archives: More than 100,000 pages from 1664–1880. If you're interested in Pennsylvania history and want information relating to historical events, facts about ancestors, or original documents to support a research paper, the Pennsylvania Archives is an important publication to explore.

§        Papers of the Continental Congress: Official records of the original colonies and the early United States. The First Continental Congress (1774) addressed "intolerable acts" by the British. The Second Continental Congress (1775-1781) created the Declaration of Independence and the first national government.

§        Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress: These are documents which were misplaced, overlooked, or found in private hands when the Papers of the Continental Congress were first arranged in 1834.

§        Constitutional Convention Records: Convened in Philadelphia in May 1787, the Constitutional Convention created one of the most important documents of the new nation - the United States Constitution.

§         Copy Books of George Washington's Correspondence: Explore events that preoccupied George Washington during his years as president through these letters. The correspondence includes items as simple as trip itineraries to more complex issues such as the conduct of the US in wars of other nations, and Thomas Jefferson's opinion of the constitutionality of the Residence Act in 1790

v     http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/

v     http://www.findagrave.com/

v      http://www.familytreemagazine.com

 

hg