Thanks so much to those of you who offered your suggestions for our
project. Many have asked for a HIT, so here it is. The original message is
included followed by the responses I received.
Original Message:
Our 11th graders are working on a family history report. I am looking for
good, user-friendly (free!) websites and resources to help them research
their family history and construct family trees. I have some resources
already including:
www.ancestry.com
www.genealogy.com
www.rootsweb.com
www.usgenweb.org/
www.familysearch.org
I would greatly appreciate any other resources you would recommend, esp.
public databases (cemetary records, birth records, etc.) and family tree
templates. Ancestry.com has a free family tree maker that you have to
download and my computer started acting a little buggy after I loaded
it. Genealogy.com has an online tree maker, but if you know of any others,
please share. I will post a HIT if I receive enough responses. Thanks!
Responses:
-------------------------
Absolutely the first place to stop is Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on
the Internet at
http://www.CyndisList.com/
---------------------
Check out
familysearch.org
where you can see if anyone has already done research on a specific name.
---------------------
Your list pretty much has the best that is out there. On the familysearch
site there are free downloads of an organizational program called PAF
[Personal Ancestral File] along with several other worthwhile searchable
data bases that are helpful. The usgenweb is great for the US, it is run
by volunteers and the information available varies from state to state and
county to county depending on who is hosting the page and what has been
donated. I would also like to recommend http://www.cyndislist.com/ she has
thousands of links to genealogy information sites. It is probably beyond
the scope of this report, but PLEASE caution your students that the
information found on the net for family history are clues, if an
authenticated family tree is desired, all facts needs to be documented with
primary sources and documents.
----------------------
You might want to check the Latter Day Saints website. They have many
things that are hard to find (or not available) on the other sites that
you've listed. The website to search is at:
http://www.familysearch.org/
Also, the Ellis Island website is a great place to search for family members
who might have immigrated from other countries through New York. The
website there is: http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/
One site that I've browsed for my parents' who are searching for family
members is USGenWeb Project at: http://www.usgenweb.org/
For Jewish Genealogy you might want to try: http://www.jewishgen.org/
NARA also has a great website that might be beneficial:
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/
To find out where to locate vital records--birth, death, or marriage
certificates--(some may request a self-addressed stamped envelope and
process the information through snail mail) go to:
http://vitalrec.com/index.html
Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild might be useful. It's at:
http://vitalrec.com/index.html
The National Genealogical Society has some good information that might be
useful. It's at: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/index.htm
One website that might be overwhelming but is also a great way to get
started if you're just bouncing around and hoping to locate something from
only a few pieces of information is at the Barrel of Genealogy Links at:
http://www.cpcug.org/user/jlacombe/mark.html
If the students know social security numbers, names, and locations they can
usually find many family members. I've been searching (for and with my
parents) for relatives on both sides of the family. We've found family
members dating back to the 1700's, with my great-great-great grandparents
serving in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and a few "minor wars"
over cattle and women in the "wild west." (It's amazing that I'm alive!)
Hints that I've found: Search for names as they were told to you. If
nothing shows up, search using initials of the first and middle names with
the last name. Then try variations of the names (i.e. "May Elliott" could
be written "Mae Elliott" or "May Eliott" or "Mae Eliot"---changing the name
spelling has opened many doors in the online databases available for
researching family members.) Also, begin with current family members and
work backwards, remembering to document the information (print out website
information--and date it...the website may not be there next time!!)
--------------
The August 2002 of Family Tree Magazine had an article 100 Best Websites
for geneology research. If you can't locate the edition, it may also be
available at their website: www.familytreemagazine.com
One of the sites that you and your students might find especially
interesting is the passenger list site (1800-1959) that lists people coming
into the country. It's at: www.nara.gov/geneology/immigration/immigrat.html
--------------
Family tree maker
http://www.kindredkonnections.com/cgi-bin/genealogy/new/download?-1+0+000000
+English+0-0
Michelle Walker, Librarian / Technology Coordinator
Hamilton Union High School
Hamilton Union Elementary School
P.O. Box 488 / Hwy 32 & Canal Street
Hamilton City, CA 95951
(530) 826-3261
mwalker@glenn-co.k12.ca.us
http://www.glenn-co.k12.ca.us/ham-hs/library.html
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