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Internet Life mind history

Genealogy

  BY CYNDY BATES   

To find your family roots, you still have to search the old-fashioned way, but the Net can help you cut some corners. You can't call up the National Archives and search census records, but you'll find lots of suppliers, archives, libraries, and government offices you'll need to access. We found genealogies and family histories for sale, family associations, and scores of people whose research into their own families is admirable. Most sites are plain, and many are downright ugly, but because there are so many documents to sift through, you'll want a fast modem to speed you through your surfing.



Many genealogy sites are housed at institutions and government agencies not famous for their graphic design. We're talking pages upon pages of plain text. But as we expected, The National Genealogical Society veers delightfully from the norm. You'll see cool colors and snazzy graphics. In addition to the obligatory welcome from (and picture of) the president, you'll find the NGS library, research services, and home study course. Other gems include Richard Cleaveland's listing of genealogy bulletin board systems (searchable by area code or state), and George Archer's compilation of genealogical computer interest groups. The latter doesn't have a cool map like it should, but it will help you find other people interested in computers and genealogy in your state or in other countries. He's also compiled a huge and amazing hierarchical set of links to other sources. If you look at only one genealogy site, this should be it.


The Root Diggin' Dept. is one of our favorites because it shows what an inspired mind can create with a lot of free time. It's colorful, whimsical, and interesting, and it doesn't take long to load, as many creative Web efforts sometimes do. It's jam-packed with genealogy resources and information, including a fairly complete listing of basic Web resources, an ethnic genealogy section (mainly Swedish, German, Italian, and Polish), some of the best information we've seen regarding adopted and missing persons, and links to sources including book dealers and newsgroups. The sites's creator finds missing people for a living, and she hangs a shingle here, but her ad is not primary.


Ah, the longed-for genealogical database on the Web! The GenWeb WWW Genealogy Demo Page showcases the future of on-line genealogical research. If you're burning with a desire to wade right in to the searching, try the 20 or so family databases at Tim Doyle's GenWeb Database Index.

No family search would be possible without a visit to the National Archives. Home to the Federal Census Records, military and war records (including Korean, Civil, and Revolutionary Wars), and immigration records, it'll inspire regular visits to your local branch. (The Regional Archives section tells you where to find the branch nearest you.) But before you go, be sure to visit CLIO--The National Archives Information Server, where you can do preliminary research. Learn about the Archives' holdings and how to use them. CLIO's no looker (gray backgrounds and no graphics), but it gets an A for content.

Everton Publishers is one of the biggest and best-known suppliers of genealogy books, supplies, and research. Everton's Genealogical Helper, in addition to being a virtual book outlet for these books, will help you get started. You'll see Genealogical Helper Online, an electronic version of the magazine that no genealogist should be without; resource lists (libraries, U.S. and foreign archives); listings of local Family History Centers (mini-libraries); and research outlines of genealogical information in each state. Be warned that Everton will try to sell you something at every turn: census indexes on CD-ROM, books, chart forms, and research services that are good aids when you get stuck.


Genealogy Online, based in Santa Cruz, California, offers a wide and varied set of links to relatively obscure resources such as the Association for Gravestone Studies and Illinois' Public Land Sale Archive. Many of the better links lead to plain but informative text pages, such as the Polish Genealogical Society and the Fairfield County Ohio Genealogical Society.

The Genealogy Home Page contains links to extensive libraries and archives, ethnic and geographic sources, newsgroups, and several genealogy databases. You'll find yourself downloading frequently from the adjacent gopher site, with its guides and software. If you're looking for a genealogy program file, you'll find it here.


The Library of Congress doesn't have a copy of every book in existence, but it comes darn close. It's an excellent source of genealogical information, including published genealogies, regional histories, and U.S. cultural exchange. The Newspaper and Current Periodicals section lists the magazines and newspapers it currently receives, plus past issues stored on microfilm. Got Southern ancestors? The LOC has copies of the Atlanta Constitution dating to June 16, 1871. The LOC has published numerous articles about the Genealogy Reading Room, including suggestions for researching the library, donating family histories, and borrowing microfilm since the books aren't available for loan. Most of the LOC isn't genealogy-specific, but it is an impressively dense and important site.

Dott's Genealogy Home Page holds a dictionary full of legal, Latin, and other terms you may come across in your family tree tracings. Did you know that Hibernia was another name for Ireland? The pages are informative and really fun to look at.

If you're tracing Jewish ancestors, you should know about Jewishnet, one of the best listings of resources around. It lists Israeli Web resources, Jewish libraries and collections, and Jewish resources by location. Listings can be found in the Virtual Shtetl, but if you're Jewish and looking for where to go next, check this out.

GenServ is a huge database of family files submitted by researchers worldwide. To search them, though, you must submit your own family file. The required format is GEDCOM, and you'll need a genealogy program to create one. Once you submit the file, you'll have the ability to search over 600,000 names, places, and dates. The big downer here is the wait: about a month between the time you submit the file and the time you get rights to use the database.

New York State Archives and Records Administration files contain state census records; newspapers; and birth, death, and marriage certificate indexes. Like many institutional sites, it jumps back and forth between http and gopher formats, so use a browser that can handle both. Pretty much everything a genealogist will need to find is here. If you've got relatives in New York, visit this site.

For a genealogist, all roads lead to Salt Lake City, where the Mormons have the ultimate collection of records. Until that collection's on-line, though, the closest we can get is Brigham Young University's Family History Technology Laboratory, which lists genealogy resources. BYU may not have the genealogical depth you're looking for, but it's technically savvy. Definitely a site to watch.

At the Census Bureau's genealogy page, you can discover how rare or common your family surnames are. You won't see a huge amount of genealogy-specific material, but the searching and map building are way cool.

The Allen County Public Library is one of the best sources of family history information in the Midwest. This Indiana library boasts its own Historical Genealogy Department where you can scan lists of its federal and state census holdings, immigration passenger lists, city directories, and land grant applications: Everything a family tree tracker could want at her fingertips. The site is well-organized, well-designed, and easy to navigate. You'll want to visit this site once, then visit the library itself.

Family reunions are a big part of summer fun, and if you're looking for tips, check out Reunions Magazine . It's not a huge site, but you'll see several articles from each issue, along with the table of contents to tempt you into subscribing. You'll also see links to several other reunion resources on the Net that will come in handy when planning your reunion.

If you're having a family reunion, be sure to add it to the database at Reunion Net. Check out the listing of family, school, and military reunions before making those summer plans. This site is fairly new, but it's one to keep an eye on.

Most genealogical databases aren't on the Web yet, but the Royal and Noble Genealogical Data on the Web lists several that are currently available on the Net. Most of them aren't very easy to use.You can search them, but since you generally only search by the main family name, you won't gain any idea of collateral family lines. Kind of like flying blind.

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QUICK CLICK!
The National Genealogical Society

Root Diggin' Dept.

GenWeb WWW Genealogy Demo Page

GenWeb Database Index

CLIO--The National Archives Information Server

Everton's Genealogical Helper

Genealogy Online

The Genealogy Home Page

The Library of Congress

Dott's Genealogy Home Page

Jewishnet

Virtual Shtetl

GenServ

New York State Archives and Records Administration

Family History Technology Laboratory

Census Bureau's genealogy page

The Allen County Public Library

Reunions Magazine

Reunion Net

Royal and Noble Genealogical Data on the Web