Genealogy How-To Resources

Where do I turn for Genealogy “How-To's”?

Part I

You can approach genealogy in one of several ways:

• Just Jump In!
• Start by asking your older relatives for information.
• Look under the bed for shoeboxes of photos or in attics for dusty old trunks.
• Record in a notebook or on a word processor what you find.
• Visit your local library and talk to the librarian.
• Ask A Friend
• Ask a friend if they know anything about genealogy, or...do they know someone who is into genealogy.
• Find out if there is a local Family History Center at the local LDS church. (Phone book or look online)
• Local genealogy societies often advertise their meetings in the newspaper.
• Go Online. The information highway is full of information!
• Wikipedia.com
• Google.com
• About.com
• Various other websites will lead you by the hand...there is information at the FamilySearch.org/wiki. There is help at Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and so forth and so on.

Here are some of my favorite web sites to go, no only for genealogy news, but for genealogy guidance.

• I love genealogy “blogs”. Real people talking about stuff they know. Although even large corporations have blogs, now, you can still get educational and technical instruction at a blog. Remember the “two heads is better than one” axiom? I frequently get inspiration from a blog on new ideas to try with my research. New tools are often introduced, new resources, and new technology are discussed, as well.
• Genealogical Societies, educational institutions, newspapers online---there is literally no end to what you can find, online, to help you get started or help you break down those brick walls.

Be sure and read past blogs of mine for more information and Part 2 of this discussion will reference specific online websites.

The Ancestry Insider: RootsMapper: Another FamilySearch Family Tree Extension

The Ancestry Insider: RootsMapper: Another FamilySearch Family Tree Extension

Rootsmapper is a free web site that can connect to your Family Tree at Familysearch; it shows on a map where your ancestors were from--all this, of course, according to what you've put in the program already.  Found out about this from "The Ancestry Insider" (see link above).

Here a screenshot of my first four generations:

Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos

Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos

No, I haven't gone nuts.  Showering you with a gift about "breaking news updates" and a link for "Latest News Headlines" isn't my idea of a great genealogy find.

However, genealogy and family history are in the news all the time; have you noticed that newspapers carry stories relative to the topic at hand?  And if I subscribed to all the newsletters about genealogy, and read them thoughtfully, I wouldn't have time to teach a class.

So, I am going to tell you that, (guess what?!!), there are entities on the Internet, perhaps even the NSA (National Snoops Association), who are interested in what you're interested in.  Actually, I think that governmental agencies will have to take a back seat to business, mercantile, and shopping corporations, who are driven by their need/desire to know what you're interested in.  They want your money and they are very clever about finding ways to entice you to spend it. 

This being said, should we all drop out of the system, the connected generation, the mighty and wondrous super highway of information?  Should we encrypt our e-mails, quit clicking, and go to bed? 

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
― Marie Curie

Make yourself knowledgeable about the facts of Internet Security, trust your own instincts, and know that you are not a fool for trying to locate your ancestry on the World Wide Web.  I've spoken about Dick Eastman and his online genealogy newsletter.  He is wise and learned, not just about family history, but also about technology.  Read his newsletters.  When you have an opportunity to get hold of a computer magazine at the doctor's office (Wired is an excellent example), choose to read it instead of other more familiar magazines and become more savvy about computers, web sites, and security.  

Follow bloggers in the genealogy community who also know something about how to search safely without worrying about  "Big Brother"; you don't have to spend a lot of time worrying about this or even becoming educated.  It's something we need to be aware of and be moderately cautious about, but take a lesson from those who mine the Internet for nefarious reasons: Teach yourself or gain knowledge from others on how to mine the Internet for Family History.  That will be one of the things we want to discuss on Friday at the last class at the Center for LIfelong Learning--for this session--and for the class I teach, Beyond Basic Genealogy.

War of 1812 Pension Application Files - Fold3

War of 1812 Pension Application Files - Fold3

FamilySearch just donated $250 K to this project; these files are some of the most requested in our country.  As the files are digitized, they will appear on this site.

Google Redesigns News Archive, Makes Searching Through Newspapers Easy

Google Redesigns News Archive, Makes Searching Through Newspapers Easy

A tip that just might help genealogists is worth looking into.  [Recommended by "Susan"  aka "Sunny" Taylor-Colby at LinkedIn Group, Genealogical and Historical Research].  Thank you, Sunny and thank you Google!

Baldwin County Genealogical Society getting started guide

Baldwin County Genealogical Society getting started guide

I like short lines at the grocery store (and other places) and I like simple straightforward instructions when learning something new.

That is why I needed to post this "Getting Started" Guide.  It is simple and sweet, straightforward and SHORT!

My third great grandfather, Samuel William Settles | GenQuestDiary

My third great grandfather, Samuel William Settles | GenQuestDiary

Here's another one of my blogs; sometimes I use a blog to try and work things out on paper; rewriting your research as a narrative gives you a great setting for doing just that.  Of course, some software programs will do that for you, but you usually can save that as a document and edit it.

Ancestry.com will also "write your story for you", in the sense that they take all of the information you have put in, including facts generated by the documentation you've added in the process of utilizing the web site.

But, I promise you, whichever method you use to accomplish this, telling a story about your ancestor isn't just a tool for reviewing the research you've done, it's the end result of what we want to accomplish.  All the charts and research and relationships have to come together on a stage, on the stage of life.  I can look now at my blog about Samuel W. Settles and see, already, that I am not there, yet.  It lacks a lot!  So, back to the drawing board, folks.  I'm hoping I can pull out a rabbit or two and get a better grip on who great great great grandpa was.

West Florida Genealogical Society March Meeting

West Florida Genealogical Society

"Understanding Your Y-DNA" will be presented by Bert Outlaw, President of the West Florida [Pensacola] Society.  The program will cover:

• Short Tandem Repeats
• Most Recent Common Ancestor
• Y-markers
• What is a match?
• Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor
• Using Ancestry.com and/or FamilyTreeDna.com and comparing results from different companies.

 Regular Meetings are open to the public and free of charge.  Meetings are held on the first Saturday of the month (except July) at 10a.m. at the West Florida Genealogy Library, 5740 N. 9th Ave., Pensacola, Florida.

RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project Global Search

RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project Global Search

Look for your surname here.

Old Ships A

Old Ships A

Guess which of these ships is the one that my mother's uncle served on in the War (World War II)?!  Because I was able to access a document at FamilySearch that gave the ship's name and had my relative as serving on that ship, my daughter was able to locate this site, which indeed does have the ship's image.

Census Online - Okaloosa Co., Florida Census Records - 7 Links

Census Online - Okaloosa Co., Florida Census Records - 7 Links

I found the information for my ancestor in the 1935 Florida State Census at FamilySearch, then clicked on "About this Collection" in the box where the image should have been.  

That took me to the FamilySearch Wiki, then at the bottom of that article was "related websites"--okay, it wasn't all the way to the bottom of the page.  It actually followed the "Known Issues with this Collection"  I clicked on the link and voila!  Up popped the Census Online page.  Cool, huh?

Actually, the link didn't provide the images for the 1935 Census for Okaloosa County; I went back to FamilySearch Wiki and accessed a link close to the top of the article on the topic. The link was right under the little inset box with the FamilySearch Logo; it said "Access the Records" and then there is a little link, 1935 Florida State Census.  This leads to a form at FamilySearch's "Search the 1935 Florida State Census", where you can search for anyone and everyone that should be in that census.  However, I was looking for an image of the actual page.  Unfortunately, or fortunately with limitations, I found---again at the bottom of that page, the information I was seeking:

View Images in this Collection Browse through 36,019 image

Source Information

"Florida, State Census, 1935." Index and images. FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org : accessed 2014.

Call it luck or serendipity, when someone stumbles across a genealogical treasure, he is at the right place at the right time!

Fred made a trip to the local Family History Center.  Through the special FamilySearch Portal, which offers access to a number of premium resources, he was able to bring up an "old" genealogy magazine which is now out of print.  The Genealogical Helper was an essential tool in the years before the development of the Internet, a place to post queries and sometimes, find other family members or potential collaborators.

In this resource, Fred found a reference to a a surname that was in his family files, a line which had become a "brick wall" in his research.  Amazingly, the person who posted the "ad" was still living, as Fred discovered via the Internet.  He has written this individual at the same address that he posted in the Genealogical Helper and will let me know if or when he gets a response.  There is a good chance that the man is his second cousin!

And now, Fred, for you, the lyrics of a song from the Sound of Music; I know it's a kind of love song, but I just feel like you must have been living good to receive this opportunity to link to your kinfolk.  At the very least, you had a genealogy angel watching over you!  It could also be argued that, occasionally, when you reach out for help, your investment of time and effort is rewarded in a big way!

Maria:
Perhaps I had a wicked childhood
Perhaps I had a miserable youth
But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past
There must have been a moment of truth

For here you are, standing there, loving me
Whether or not you should
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

Captain:
For here you are, standing there, loving me
Whether or not you should

Maria:
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

Maria and the Captain:
Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could

Maria:
So somewhere in my youth
Captain:
Or childhood
Maria:
I must have done something . . .
Maria and the Captain:
Something good

Read more: The Sound Of Music - Something Good (Maria And The Captain) Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Use case studies to become a better family history and genealogy researcher - Springfield genealogy | Examiner.com

Use case studies to become a better family history and genealogy researcher - Springfield genealogy | Examiner.com

How can using case studies help you to become a better family historian and genealogist?  Class activity and discussion will center on this topic on Friday, the 21st.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Family Tree - A Genealogy Case Study

Laura Ingalls Wilder Family Tree - A Genealogy Case Study

There are many case studies available that take a particular person and show you how to step-by-step research their genealogy, using a variety of methods.  See how this plays out with Laura Ingalls Wilder and the people in her life (she is a real historical person, but her life didn't necessarily follow the character in the book all the time).

Start with what you know or can find out online at wikipedia, for example.  Then using this information, go out and find some kind of evidence for the facts.

There are case studies that have been done the "wrong way" as well as the "right way"; what kind of story can you reconstruct about your ancestros, using family tradition, the census, the clues?

John Philip Colletta: Genealogist

John Philip Colletta: Genealogist

He wrote "They Came in Ships" .  If he'd never done anything else, that would put him in my heart!  I've heard him speak and if you ever have the opportunity to do that, you'll love him just like I do!

 

Check out his website!  

Ethan Stiefel Makes a New Zealand Ballet Troupe His Own - NYTimes.com

Ethan Stiefel Makes a New Zealand Ballet Troupe His Own - NYTimes.com  

Who, in your family, sacrificed comfort and close proximity to family members, for a higher calling?  How generous Mr. Stiefel is to share his vision with the NZ Ballet Troupe!  I'll just bet he has accumulated a lot of sky miles, going back and forth to the U.S. of A.

I think of our military serving, sometimes, thousands of miles from home.  Not only is it their sacrifice that must be noted, but those of their families, as well!

Back to the Ballet:  Maybe there is little about the art of dancing on your toes to compare with what the men and women in uniform do, but I do believe that there are occasions when the easy choice is not always the right or best choice.  I've found that the dreams that you pay for with sacrifice are dreams that bless your family and posterity and perhaps the fight for world peace.

My son lives in New Zealand.  He chose to be there where he could make a living in the field in which he received formal training.  He chose New Zealand, also, because he liked it.  Do we miss him and wish he was closer to "home"?  All the time.  However, he is broadening his horizons in several areas, starting a new family, and making a contribution. 

Our ancestors didn't stay, (some of them), in the same place all their lives.  There was always that one that chose a different life, a less traveled path.   Hopefully, they enriched their lives, the lives of their family, and the lives of those around them.  Hopefully, we can document the footprints of their "beyond the blue horizon" walk and bring them back, at least on paper, to back to the memories of those who stayed behind, or rather, to their descendants.

Kaylee, born a year ago in Auckland, New Zealand.  My son, living and working there, married a lovely girl from the Republic of China, and voila!  I am the grandmother of a sweet new branch on our tree.

A Grave Interest: Cemetery Statues of Hope

A Grave Interest: Cemetery Statues of Hope

Learning more about graves and cemeteries extends our understanding of the culture of the past.

Scientists find 800,000-year-old footprints in England | Fox News

Scientists find 800,000-year-old footprints in England | Fox News

If you are a genealogist and get back this far, I'll give you this blog!

Sunset Bayou Cemetery records, Eglin Field, Okaloosa County, Florida (Microform, 1956) [WorldCat.org]

Sunset Bayou Cemetery records, Eglin Field, Okaloosa County, Florida (Microform, 1956) [WorldCat.org]

We learned in our class at the Center for Lifelong Learning, "Beyond Basic Genealogy", how to utilize WorldCat for locating genealogically interesting records.

A Work in Progress

What is a "Blog"?  One of the things it isn't: It isn't static.  In fact, you might consider it as a body of work that is in progress. 

EOGN (Eastman Online Genealogy Newsletter) has several facets to it.  One such facet is an encyclopedia of genealogical terms and information.  I love that this particular addition to the Encyclopedia is information about a Texas genealogical society.  So, have you explored this resource to find a society that is in the area where you're researching?

If you're wondering how Dick Eastman can accumulate so much information for his blog, it's really no secret that he accepts submissions for the Encyclopeida of Genealogy.  Has your historical or genealogical society submitted their information?