So I've decided to talk about my top 10 Favorite websites that I use for my own personal Genealogy research. These are in no particular order.
1. Google A General search engine, of course, is hand because I am always looking things up. I use it to look up words and medical conditions I'm not familar with, to find addresses for places to write letters to, sometimes I just do a search for the ancestor I'm currently researching, and then my own personal email is a gmail account. Some other features of Google that I really like is the mapping feature, the online google books and the ability to store files online.
2. Family Search I like Family Search a lot. I mostly use the Pilot website. I like to be able to see the images of the sources. Indexing isn't always perfect for a number of factors, old handwriting, clearity on the screen, typos, etc. I love the fact that this website is also free to use and supported by volunteers. Don't forget to include the website in your source citation! I also volunteer to help index the records on this website. It's because of people willing to help out and index the website that helps keep it free!
3. Ancestry I think every modern day Genealogist knows about Ancestry. Ancestry has given me a lot of information for my research over the years. And if you can't afford the subscription to ancestry, most public libraries have free access to the site as long as you are onsite at the library.
4. Find A Grave I love findagrave. Not only is it a good source for information, it is also a great way to get photos of your relatives and ancestors graves. Some people put a lot of work into their online memorials. One word of caution here, although Findagrave is a good resource, it is only as good as the person creating the memorials. I have a previous post on Findagrave from a geneabloggers challenge.
5. Random Acts of Genealogical Kindess This is another site that I love to use. If you've never used RAOGK I highly recommend that you check it out. People sign up based on Geographical location and list the Acts of Kindness that they are willing to do in those areas. For example, I am a volunteer in Leelanau and Grand Traverse Counties in Michigan. Under my listings are the following acts that I have said that I would do: "Public Records lookups and copying, courthouse & library. Obituaries. Gravestone pictures, Reimbursement may be required. I will travel to any cemetery in Grand Traverse or Leelanau Counties, weather permitting." If there's no volunteer in the area you are looking for, keep checking back, new volunteers come in all the time. Also don't forget to sign up to be a volunteer to help out fellow genealogists! Also please, please, please read the guidelines before making a request. I don't know how many times I've gotten requests that are something like "Looking for any information possible on the Joe Smith family in Leelanau County." Seriously?!
6. Genealogywise Another website that if you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend you do. This is a social networking website for genalogists. There you'll find people brand new just beginning in genealogy to seasoned researchers, experts and professional genealogists. There are groups to join for just about every topic thinkable to genealogy from surnames to software programs. There's also a great chat room where there are chats almost nightly with different educational topics. I've also seen several members connect with other members of Genealogywise as genealogy cousins.
7. Newspaper Archive Old newspapers are a great source for genealogical information about our ancestors. They are also a great source to learn about everyday events in our ancestors' daily lives. Recently I was listening to a presentation by Karen Krugman about female ancestors with no surname and one thing she mentioned is when you are looking through the rolls of old newspaper on microfilm or microfiche is to browse the social pages. You never know who your ancestors had over for a dinner party....and who might be related to them. Recently I discovered quite a shock in the old newspapers about my ancestors (you can read about it under my last topic of Shocking family stories).
8. Footnote Footnote is fast becoming my most favorite paid site. It is great for military records. I have recently heard a lot of the documents that are in the National Archives are being put up on footnote! WooHoo. Fortunately I have a lot of family that had spent their time in the military. If you've never purchased a pension file or a compiled military file from the National Archives, you're missing out....well now you can get some of them on Footnote. I've found out so much information about my ancestors. Although some of the records I have come straight from the archives, and you pay a hefty fee for them, to me it was worth it for the family members that I have followed up on.
9. Seeking Michigan I think every state should have a 'Seeking' website. The newest and most valuable addition to the Seeking Michigan website is the addition of the 1897-1920 Death records. Yes, that's right, the state held death certificates for your Michigan ancestors if they died between 1897 and 1920 are online with images of the original documents. I have found so many of my Michigan relatives on there it's crazy! The best part is the site is free!!!!! So if you have Michigan relatives it's worth a look.
10. USGen Web Another free website with information compiled by volunteers. It is broken down by State then county. The amount of information is variable by each location. It really depends on how much the volunteers of that county have put onto the website, but not to be discouraged because I have found some good information on the website, in fact I recently found a bunch of information on my GrGrGrGrandpa's brother's family, like birth dates, death dates, marriage dates, and where a bunch of people are buried.
Showing posts with label Meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meme. Show all posts
Monday, August 23, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
10 Genealogy things I can't live (or research) without!
Fellow blogger Elyse Doerflinger wrote a Meme titled "10 Things I Can't Live Without", related to genealogy of course! After reading her entry I was inspired to write my own Meme of my 10 Genealogy things that I can't live/research without! Thanks for the inspiration Elyse!
1. My Laptop. I have an Acer Aspire that I just love! The nice thing my laptop affords me is that I can pretty much take it anywhere! If I can't take my regular laptop I have a mini that I can just toss into a tote bag or my purse to have a computer with me. It's nice to have my master file on hand when I'm out researching because I frequently like to go off on research tangents.
2. Legacy. I love my Legacy program. It does so much for me that I want to be able to do with my files and my information. It has some great forms and reports that I can print out and take with me to places where laptops are not allowed. For more info on legacy you can check out my post on Software Comparision or on Legacy's Website.
3. Forms. I love genealogy forms! I guess there isn't a Genealogist who doesn't love forms. They are our most basic tool for gathering information. I have even designed several of my own forms, which I will share when I figure out how to upload them here.
4. The library. I love going to the library. Our local public library is on a lake and our genealogy collection is in the back corner on the second floor on the lake side of the building. The library has huge work tables that I am able to spread out on when I'm working. Plus what a view! (photos to come in a future post). The local library also offers free access to Ancestry.com I also like the Family History Center in my town. There is a lot of information there on our area and some of my roots run deep here locally.
5. The Post Office. Yes the good old United States Postal Service! There is so much information on the internet to be found, but there is so much more that is not online. For a long time I abandoned my letter writing skills and focused primarily on just researching on the internet. For some reason, really unknown to me, I just decided to start writing letters and sending in requests for research. My efforts have paid off tremendously!
6. Pretty Pens and Highlighers. I was teased in nursing school by my fellow nursing students about my pretty colored pens and highlighters. I just love my colored ink pens and my highlighters. I also do use them to color code my research and untangle confusing areas of the family tree.
7. My Genealogy "Tool" kit. I have a hard pencil box with a few goodies in it that I always carry with me. Inside I have a book light, sticky notes, a mini stapler and staples, paper clips, a few rubber bands, a calculator, a correction tape runner, a roll of scotch tape, and a scanning pen. These are the things I was always forgetting, and of course would need, when I would go somewhere to do my research. Now I have them all in a handy box that I keep in my tote bag.
8. Family Search. Or more specifically the Pilot Site with all the online images. I love that fact that Family Search is free and supported by volunteers. I have spent lots of time on Family Search and I also volunteer when I have time. I feel that every little bit helps.
9. The internet. I am always on the computer it seems. At home, at work, genealogy, scrapbooking, facebook....the list goes on and on. The internet has really changed the way the we research our genealogy! There is so much information available on the internet. With websites like Family Search and Ancestry we have access to the records that hold our ancestors information that we spend so much time searching down! If the information isn't online search engines help us find addresses to write those letters, contact genealogical societies or find cemeteries that we are looking for. Again the list goes on what we can find on the internet related to our searches.
10. My husband. Besides the obvious reasons that he is on this list..he loves me, he's my biggest fan, he shares in my big and little discoveries, etc...my husband is my research buddy. He proof reads letters for me, helps me understand military records, he's great at finding headstones in cemeteries, he'll go with me just about anywhere that I want to for research purposes and he drives there too! My husband goes to genealogy society meetings with me and he helped me write my Power Point for my very first meeting presentation. He's also the reason that I an in genealogy so deeply. When we met I found out that his mom is into genealogy just as much as I am! She is the one that showed me Family Tree Maker and the records contained within the companion CDs! She also showed me Ancestry!!!! My husband bought me my first copy of Family Tree Maker for Christmas the first year we were dating!
1. My Laptop. I have an Acer Aspire that I just love! The nice thing my laptop affords me is that I can pretty much take it anywhere! If I can't take my regular laptop I have a mini that I can just toss into a tote bag or my purse to have a computer with me. It's nice to have my master file on hand when I'm out researching because I frequently like to go off on research tangents.
2. Legacy. I love my Legacy program. It does so much for me that I want to be able to do with my files and my information. It has some great forms and reports that I can print out and take with me to places where laptops are not allowed. For more info on legacy you can check out my post on Software Comparision or on Legacy's Website.
3. Forms. I love genealogy forms! I guess there isn't a Genealogist who doesn't love forms. They are our most basic tool for gathering information. I have even designed several of my own forms, which I will share when I figure out how to upload them here.
4. The library. I love going to the library. Our local public library is on a lake and our genealogy collection is in the back corner on the second floor on the lake side of the building. The library has huge work tables that I am able to spread out on when I'm working. Plus what a view! (photos to come in a future post). The local library also offers free access to Ancestry.com I also like the Family History Center in my town. There is a lot of information there on our area and some of my roots run deep here locally.
5. The Post Office. Yes the good old United States Postal Service! There is so much information on the internet to be found, but there is so much more that is not online. For a long time I abandoned my letter writing skills and focused primarily on just researching on the internet. For some reason, really unknown to me, I just decided to start writing letters and sending in requests for research. My efforts have paid off tremendously!
6. Pretty Pens and Highlighers. I was teased in nursing school by my fellow nursing students about my pretty colored pens and highlighters. I just love my colored ink pens and my highlighters. I also do use them to color code my research and untangle confusing areas of the family tree.
7. My Genealogy "Tool" kit. I have a hard pencil box with a few goodies in it that I always carry with me. Inside I have a book light, sticky notes, a mini stapler and staples, paper clips, a few rubber bands, a calculator, a correction tape runner, a roll of scotch tape, and a scanning pen. These are the things I was always forgetting, and of course would need, when I would go somewhere to do my research. Now I have them all in a handy box that I keep in my tote bag.
8. Family Search. Or more specifically the Pilot Site with all the online images. I love that fact that Family Search is free and supported by volunteers. I have spent lots of time on Family Search and I also volunteer when I have time. I feel that every little bit helps.
9. The internet. I am always on the computer it seems. At home, at work, genealogy, scrapbooking, facebook....the list goes on and on. The internet has really changed the way the we research our genealogy! There is so much information available on the internet. With websites like Family Search and Ancestry we have access to the records that hold our ancestors information that we spend so much time searching down! If the information isn't online search engines help us find addresses to write those letters, contact genealogical societies or find cemeteries that we are looking for. Again the list goes on what we can find on the internet related to our searches.
10. My husband. Besides the obvious reasons that he is on this list..he loves me, he's my biggest fan, he shares in my big and little discoveries, etc...my husband is my research buddy. He proof reads letters for me, helps me understand military records, he's great at finding headstones in cemeteries, he'll go with me just about anywhere that I want to for research purposes and he drives there too! My husband goes to genealogy society meetings with me and he helped me write my Power Point for my very first meeting presentation. He's also the reason that I an in genealogy so deeply. When we met I found out that his mom is into genealogy just as much as I am! She is the one that showed me Family Tree Maker and the records contained within the companion CDs! She also showed me Ancestry!!!! My husband bought me my first copy of Family Tree Maker for Christmas the first year we were dating!
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