Now, in order to expand your tree you will need to do some research. If you want one perfect source that has everything you need, then I'd better get off my Griffin and look behind the money-tree for that fiction that is the perfect genealogy research location. Sorry that I'm so blunt, but I started off with assuming that as soon as I started looking I would find all the answers. The reality of it was a wake up call. There are, however, many good places to do your research.
Your Homework for this week will be to start searching using one or more websites that I will provide you with. Before you get to this task or I give you the websites, I will give you some tips on Researching.
Tip 1: When you find something that you find pertinent, what ever it is, make sure you make a note of the information source. I didn't do this at first and have spent many tireless hours re-researching data that I already have just to find the sources.
1a) If you used the free ancestry account and tree, as mentioned in Step 1 then you can enter information about the sources of your data. Go to this screen:
Note: If anyone on my tree appears on yours, I would be happy to share my sources and information with you as long as you ask nicely, cousin.Hover over the name of the person that you want information on and then click view profile.
You should come to screen which would list details that you have entered about that particular person. Click on the brown "Edit this person" button under the name. Now you should be here:
You can edit names and suffixes, birth and death dates and details in the Vital Information section. If you click the "more options" button (1) on the right you can add a source and/or alternate information. Clicking on "add new life event" (2) will make a drop down menu with a list of options appear (3). Make sure to "Save Changes" (4). Also be sure to explore the other tabs: (5) Facts & Events; (6) Relationship Events; (7) Relationships; and (8) Notes.
1b) If you choose to use Genealogy.com for your simple tree you cannot add sources and will need to use another method of doing so.1c) If you choose MyHeritage than you can add source info by clicking on the "Family Tree" tab and then clicking "Sources".
On the right side of the "Sources" screen you'll find a big blue button labeled "Add Source." Clicking on it will give you a box where you can describe the source. Once you have a Source added you can cite it. Go to the profile page of the person whose information is found on your Source. From the options at the top of the site click people. Clicking on the person's name will bring you to their profile page. Scroll down the profiles until you see:
You can cite your source by clicking "Add Source citations" (in red).1d) Neither Rootsweb or Family echo will let you add citations
Tip 2: Keep in mind that some websites will assume a person's birth year based on their age. Some documents, such as immigration records, city directories, or censuses don't give a person's birth date, but rather their age at the time that it was written. For example when Julius Grahe, my 3rd Great Grandfather(see shorthand tip below), arrived in America in August 8 of 1855 he was listed as being 32 years old. If his birthday was between January 1st through August 8th that would mean that he was born in 1823. If his birthday was August 9th through December 31st than he was born in 1922.
Tip 3: Be willing to accept that what your family members told you or what you think to be true may be wrong. Sometimes people go by nicknames, or translated names, rather than their birth names so often that their true birth name doesn't appear on official documents. For example my Great Uncle Larry was never called anything but Larry, from my memory of him. I still have his funeral card, which presents his name as Larry. All records that I found of him in America list him as Larry. When I asked my Grandfather, he said that he believed that Larry was short for Laurenzo. Recently I found something that his father had written about his son Leucio. After much comparison of information and finding that my 2nd Great Grandfather was also named Leucio I have come to the conclusion that Larry was born Leucio.
Tip 4: Learn how to read your sources. Many sources will give you information on what their abbreviations represent. Here are some that at used often, but are not universal:
b. - born
d. - died
bur. - buried
bap. - baptized
m. - married
div. - divorced
gm - Grandmother
gf - Grandfather
inf. - infant
dy. - died young
exec - executer
fB - Family Bible
N.N. - not named/name unknown
chldn. - children
w. or wid. - widowed
ggm or 2nd Great Grandmother - Great Great Grandmother
gggf or 3rd Great Grandfather - Great Great Great Grandfather
ggggp or 4the Great Grandparent - Great Great Great Great Grandparent (You get the picture)
Tip 5: People are great resources. Use/join forums to get in contact with people who know more than you. (It would also be nice if you would share your research with others.) Like I said in my little note above, I will gladly share any of my research with anyone if it will help you. Future posts may include branches of my tree.
Tip 6: If you are having trouble, Google can often give you help.
Tip 7: Don't assume that what you find in one source is correct, even if it sounds right. Make sure you have multiple agreeing sources for the same information.
Now I think your ready. It's time to get some good sources. Most of the sites that I link you to are free, however some have parts or may link you to sites that may require payment. Don't pay for anything that you don't have to. If there is something that you really want and can't find anywhere for free, mention it in the comments section below and maybe someone can find you a free source.
Good Luck:
Ellis Island allows you to search for immigrants who came to the US and view original records
Castle Garden was the predecessor of Ellis island. It's records date back as far as 1820. No original records, but a transcription of them.
Census Online links section will send you to view info from US and Canadian censuses (can be useful, but it doesn't have all of the censuses, many links are broken and the originals are not available to look at)
Census Finder same as above but US, Canada, UK, and Native American Censuses
Family Search (My favorite source) Lots of information, some original docs. Some links bring you to pay sites. Most of the information you find will provide you with detailed citation. I trust most (not all) of the information on this site. I could, and probably will, devote an entire post to a site description and manual.
Distant Cousins Some link redirect you to Ancestry.com, but others are free. I make use of the surname research section. Not a lot of information available but there is some if you have somewhat popular surnames to search for.
Find A Grave is nice for finding birth and death dates. The dates represent those printed on the tombstones. Remember, just because the name matches someone on your tree doesn't mean that it is the person from your tree.
Regional Genealogy and Local History provides links to sites that have info on many many places. Not all the links are good, but some will help.
Italian Genealogy Group Half of my family tree is NY Italian and I found this to be pretty useful, but it might not be for all of you. If you have some Italian on your tree, try it.
Digital History This site has a lot of links, some are better than others. They all pretty much focus on American history.
US National Archives If you use this site your probably not going to find a lot, but theirs a chance you will get something, particularly if you had someone serve in the US military.
World Connect Project is based off of Rootsweb, but can show you the information from other people's trees.
Manifest Markings is not a research site but has some helpful information.
Digital Librarian & Linkpedium will link you various sources. Not all of them are note worthy, but others will be useful (some have world wide info)
Social Security Death Index (SSDI for short) gives b. & d. (see tip 4) dates for those who died in the USA in the past 20 or so years. It's good for double checking more recent dates.
Pre-Homework:
My local library has a number of research websites that their members can access. Some libraries require you to access their research pages from inside the library and others, like mine, allow access from home. My local library gives me free access to over 80 different databases. Not all of them are helpful for genealogy work. The three that I use most often are: HeritageQuest, Footnote, and WorldVitalRecords. Of the three I just mentioned two of them will let you search them without an account.
Try typing one of the names from your simple tree into either WorldVitalRecords' or Footnote's search bars. With some luck one or more of those names will yield a result. Both sites will tell you where they found results; they won't let you see the results but they will give you the source, which can be helpful in the future. In addition, they might connect you to various sources that happen to be free.
Your Homework:
Go to your local library and find out what is available to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment