What is on this page: Search Engines,
Family Search and the Mormon Church, e-mail lists, Cyndi's List, Rootsweb and Ancestry Sites, Facts
ETC!
(this is very much a work in progress - any suggestions are welcome)
Search Engines
Use a search engine - like www.google.com and check
out occurences of the surname you are looking up - or be specific and look up a specific
name or look up the geographical area you are interested in. There are lots of other
search engines too - like lycos, yahoo, etc. By spending time looking through the
"hits" in these search engines you can also find many family tree websites that
may well mention your family - you will be amazed!!! Another good search engine is www.ixquick.com. back to the top
Family
Search and the Mormon Church
Use the site managed by the Mormon Church www.familysearch.org
and check out the names you are looking up - it is a good starting place for finding out
where some of your ancestors may have been born, married or buried. This site must
only be used as a guide because many submissions to it are from people that may not have
checked out all their sources. Also on this site you can get a FREE program called
Personal Ancestral File to keep all your family history information - including photos,
and videos.
There is also a great deal of how to look up stuff on this site and history of various areas - so look around the whole site when you have a chance. back to the top
e-mail Lists
Join an e-mail list. What is an e-mail list? - it is a place for people to share
information, ask questions, and become friends all via e-mails.
A good place to look for them is John Fuller's site. John
keeps sites on his list through various e-mail places such as Rootsweb. There are
Surname lists, ship lists, county lists, state lists - you name it there are probably
thousands available.
On Rootsweb e-mail lists you can choose to be in list or digest mode - If it is a busy
list it may be better to be in digest mode - you get a number of e-mails all at once and
then you can just scan the subject line to see if there is one you are interested in.
I personally like list form because some of the e-mails don't have good subject
lines and I feel I could be missing out on good information but I do end up with a lot of
e-mails each day to look through.
When you write into an e-mail list it is usually called "posting". Tips
for posting queries include:
1. Write surnames in CAPITALS.
2. Type a clear subject line - those receiving digest form only look at that not the
message.
3. Be specific when asking questions if you can - also if you already have
information from a census or birth certificate and you are looking for other pieces of
info be clear about that too. There is no point in someone looking up your person or
family on a census if it has already been done.
4. A really important thing to do is: if someone answers you
and especially if he/she gives you some information - PLEASE thank them - at least on the
list if not privately. Many people will refuse to look up more for you if you don't
say thank-you. Some people do a wide thank-you on the list if there have been a
number of responses - but it is better to do private thank-yous.
I have had a great deal of success with lists and found many contacts and quite a few
cousins. back to the top
Cyndi's List
This is a wonderful site for finding other websites. Go to www.cyndislist.com and due a search for your surname,
or area of interest - maybe a ship your ancestors travelled on or an area they lived in.
Chances are there will be something there. Cyndi also has lots of other
information on the site like how-to's including how to build a family website.
E-mail lists are listed on Cyndi's site as well. back to the
top
Rootsweb and Ancestry Sites
Rootsweb.com and Ancestry.com
are both excellent sites for doing research, some may cost money on the Ancestry site -
but there is a lot available for free. You can simply type in a surname or even a
full name and get a number of "hits". One major possibility of hit is a
Message Board for your surname - check those out you may find some "cousins".
Be aware if you get an ad from Ancestry.com for a 14 day free trial - BEWARE - you have to
give a credit card number and the toll-free number to cancel does not work from
Canada! back to the top
FACTS ETC!
What is a Third cousin Twice Removed?? back to the top