Free Genealogy Resources

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What Locking Myself In Taught Me About Genealogy

This morning I did one of those things that are frustrating at the time, but funny in hindsight. I went in to straighten up my daughter's room and shut the door to keep our dogs out, completely forgetting the door has a malfunctioning doorknob. From the outside of the room, the knob works correctly. From the inside of the room, the knob turns but doesn't release the latch. Needless to say, since I was inside the room when I shut the door, I was stuck.

To make things even worse, my husband is out of town working right now. So it wasn't like I could call him to come home and let me out. Of course, I called him anyway, not because I wanted him to spend the day driving back to rescue me, but because I thought he might have an idea. Climbing out the window wasn't really an option because it's a pretty good drop to the ground and I'd then have to deal with being locked out of the house.

His solution: pop the lock with a screwdriver or butter knife. On the surface, this sounds simple, but there was a problem. Did you see it? I was locked in our five year old daughter's bedroom. I don't know about you, but I personally don't store items like that in my child's room. A screwdriver in my bedroom, sure, but not in hers.

While he was ~~pouting about my veto of his idea~~ thinking up another idea, I was searching the bedroom in the hopes of finding something I could use. In the top of the closet, I found her microscope case so I decided to check it to see if it had anything I could use. I found a small plastic spatula.

It was thin enough to do the job, but I was concerned about it breaking in the process because it was pretty flimsy. Since I was stuck in a room with no food or drink and a rapidly dwindling cell phone battery, I gave it a shot. About the time my husband came up with an alternate idea (having a neighbor pass me a screwdriver through the window), the lock popped open and I was free.

So what does all this have to do with genealogy?

As family historians, sometimes the tool we need to get information just isn't there. Registration of vital records may not have been implemented yet. The record may have been lost to fire, natural disaster or time. The records may be hidden away in a closet just waiting for someone to find them.

Just because the record you need isn't available doesn't mean all is lost. You have to look to alternate sources. Just like the flimsy plastic spatula worked in place of a screwdriver, you may be able to use another record source to get the information you seek. It may not be as strong in terms of evidence, but it can work in a pinch.

I've listed some suggested alternate sources below.

Births
Birth announcement
Obituary

Family Bible
Draft record
Pension record
Headstone
Baptism/christening record
Marriage record
Death record
Social Security Death Index

Marriages
Marriage announcement
Obituary

Family Bible
Headstone
Pension record

Deaths
Obituary
Spouse's obituary
Family Bible
Headstone
Cemetery/funeral home record
Pension record
Military record
Will/probate record
Social Security Death Index

Parents' Names
Records for younger siblings
Marriage record
Death record
Obituary
Social security card application
Headstone

Maiden Names
Vital records for children
Marriage announcement
Death record
Obituary
Social security card application
Headstone

Are you stuck because you're only looking for the record that traditionally has the information? What other alternate sources have you used for your genealogy research?

Gearing Up for the 1940 Census

In just a few more months, the 1940 census will released. It won't be indexed, although I'm sure several genealogy websites will begin immediately. Unless you're satisfied waiting until indexing is complete, it's time to start preparing so you can extend your lines.

Make a list of individuals you wish to find in the 1940 census. This should include people that you found in the 1930 census that should still be living as well as anyone born between 1930 and 1940. Don't forget to include female children from the 1930 census who may now be married. If you haven't check to see if they're married yet, now is the time to do it..

Determine a probable location. In families that tended to stay in the same place, this will be easier than with families or individuals that frequently moved. For frequent movers, check city directories, WWII Draft Records, and records of vital records or immigration that occurred close to 1940. This can help narrow down possible locations to search.

Find the enumeration district. If the person appeared in the 1930 census and you're relatively sure they didn't move by 1940, you can use Steve Morse's Census ED Converter. If you have an exact address from another source (aren't you lucky?), you can use the ED Finder or ED Definition tool at the top of that page.

Make your list. Put it in whatever format you prefer-a handwritten list, a Word document or a spreadsheet. I would suggest grouping individuals by location to make your search a little easier when the census is released. It's more efficient to locate all wanted individuals in a single area rather than jumping back and forth.

A final note. If you haven't yet volunteered in the genealogy community, this is your chance to give back in a big way. FamilySearch is seeking volunteers to index the census.

7 Mistakes that Are Holding Your Genealogy Back

Genealogy is much like a Rubix cube.You search through endless combinations before you hit on the right one that will enable you to complete the puzzle. A mistake in making a move can set you back, causing frustration and lost time while you struggle to get back on the right track. Are you making mistakes that are holding your genealogy back?

Mistake #1-Not Citing Your Sources

There's a reason professional genealogists cite every source of information they use in their research. While it lends authenticity to your work, there's another more important reason to cite. It leaves a trail for you to backtrack through if you hit a wall.

If you've been researching merrily along and suddenly hit a solid brick wall, one of the first steps to try is retracing your steps. This helps you to find details you may have overlooked at first glance. It can also show you where you may have made a mistake.

Mistake #2-Relying Only on Online Sources

It has been said that only a tiny percentage of existing genealogical material is online. If you're relying only on what you can find at your seat behind the keyboard, you may be missing out on valuable clues to your ancestors' lives.

When a brick wall pops up, the answer to solving it may be hiding away in a courthouse basement. Take some time to go back through your research. If the only sources you have are ones available from your computer, it's time to step back from the keyboard and seek out other record sources.

Mistake #3-But Grandma Said...

While it's good to talk to family members for clues on your ancestry, it's important to verify everything you hear through other records. Information can be wrong for a variety of reasons-a fading memory, hiding less savory aspects of family history, wishful thinking or an informant not having the correct information to start with. Even if the informant doesn't intend to give you misleading information, it can and does happen.

This also applies to published genealogies or online family trees. The person researching for the book or tree may have gotten bad information at some point and unknowingly passed it on. If you're taking their word without looking for yourself, you will be passing it on yourself.

Mistake #4-Not Looking at Less Reliable Sources

A core element of the Genealogical Proof Standard is a reasonably exhaustive search. While this is generally assumed to mean reliable sources, to exhaust all possible sources means you need to look at the less reliable ones as well. Just like a broken clock is right twice a day, unsourced trees and books can hold kernels of truth.

When exploring an undocumented tree online, take a minute to send a polite message asking where the tree's creator got their information from. You may be surprised. The creator may have something that you don't such as a family Bible or other record.

Mistake #5-Disorganization

If you find yourself constantly hunting for where you filed a document, whether in paper or digital form, it's holding you back. Wouldn't that time be better spent on actual research?

Take some time to research organization systems and commit to one. There are a variety of systems available, all good in their own way, but the best is the one that works for you. After a few years of trial and error, I've settled on a combination of systems, modified to fit my needs.

Mistake #6-Needing Concrete Evidence

Genealogy is much like a police investigation. Except in rare cases, police generally don't see a crime in progress. They have to gather the evidence, analyze it and piece together who did it based on what they have. Sometimes in genealogy there is no concrete evidence of a relationship. If vital records weren't recorded in your ancestor's state until 1900, it's a waste of time and energy searching for a birth certificate for an ancestor born in 1800.

Look for clues in other areas. Have you researched siblings? The name of your ancestor's parents may be on a younger sibling's death certificate. Have you looked at wills from the area for people with the same surname? It might list your ancestor as a child of the deceased.

Mistake #7-Not Resolving Conflicts

Going back to the Genealogical Proof Standard, another core element is resolving conflicting evidence. When there is conflicting evidence, it's generally a sign that something isn't right and you need to take a closer look at the evidence.

If you've run across conflicting evidence in your research, take the time to see if you determine why there is a conflict. Is there a reasonable explanation for the variation? A woman may have claimed to be older so she could get married without parental consent. Are you positive you're tracing the right person? It's not unusual to find people with the same or similar names in an area.

Links to Help with the Genealogy Research Process

Most of the posts here at Free Genealogy Resources show you where to find data on your ancestors. However, we haven't talked much about how to go about finding the information you seek or how to deal with it. The other day, I came across a blog post at Susan's Genealogy Blog that gives a great step by step guide to research from starting with your objective all the way to filing your results.

While the guide is geared towards genealogists researching at libraries and archives, it still has some good information that even the at-home budget genealogist can do.

If you need help developing a research plan, check out Ancestry's Learning Center article, Plan Your Attack.
The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) has an excellent article by Elizabeth Shown Mills in their skill building section under Analyzing and Reviewing Published Sources that will help you perform a thorough analysis of your findings.

If you haven't yet implemented a filing system for your genealogical data, there's plenty to choose from. DearMyrtle has an excellent series on organization. Legacy Family Tree Webinars has a webinar by Karen Clifford on Organizing for Success (about halfway down the page at the time of this post. Kimberly Powell, the About.com guide for Genealogy has written a good article on Organizing Digital Genealogy Files.

Planning a Genealogy Research Trip

Many genealogists, at some point or another in their research, make the decision to travel to the area where their ancestors lived their lives. For some, this is to gain access to records that are only available in that area. For others, it's an effort to better understand their ancestors. Whatever the reason, if you decide to take a genealogy research trip, preparation is key to having a successful trip.

Tip 1-Research the places you want to visit

These days, most places have information available online. Be sure to check the days and hours places are open. With frequent budget cuts, many libraries and archives have limited hours that they are open. You don't want to arrive ready to research only to find out a particular repository isn't open when you visit.

If information is available on the holdings of a particular place, be sure to research that as well. Make a list of books, record groups, etc that you want to look at. This will help cut down on unnecessary and often fruitless searches.

Take some time to see if the information you seek is available closer to home. Your local Family History Center may have the information on microfilm. If you can get it at home, you free up time on your trip for things that aren't so easily accessible.

Most of us probably don't check the weather before we take off on a trip, but it's a good idea. You don't want to drive a long distance only to find that you can't do cemetery visits because of the rain or a snow storm has closed down all government offices and libraries.

Tip 2-Make an itinerary

By making an itinerary, you have a basic framework for your trip. It also helps reduce the likelihood of getting home and realizing you've missed out on visiting somewhere that was high on your list.

Be sure to schedule some free time in your itinerary. You never know when you might hear about a resource you weren't aware of. Searching records may take longer than you thought it would. By scheduling free time into your itinerary, you have leeway to continue your genealogy research without missing out on something else you had planned.

Tip 3-Gather your supplies

If taking a digital camera, make sure you have your memory card and a way to power it. Depending on how much you plan to use your camera, it might also be a good idea to bring spare batteries or a charger, and possibly another memory card.

Put together a folder with information on the individual(s) you plan to research. This can include pedigree charts, a family group sheet or a research checklist. That way if you need to doublecheck a fact to make sure you have the right person, it's easily at hand.

If you plan to save or copy books or documents you find, come prepared. Pack a mobile scanner, thumb drive and/or change so you have these when you need them. Keep in mind that policies can vary widely between places. While one place may allow you to scan, others may only allow photocopies due to policy and, in some cases, capabilities.

For travel in foreign locales, if you're not familiar with the language, be sure to pack a language dictionary or translation device. It might also be a good idea to visit FamilySearch to print out a genealogical word list. Even if you have a basic understanding of the language, it doesn't hurt to have these in reserve in case you come across a word you're not familiar with or need to say something that wasn't covered in your high school language class.

Tip 4-Talk to the locals

Locals are an invaluable resource in a number of ways. They can offer directions to places not found on modern day maps. They can tell you about local resources you may not have known about. Last, but not least, they may have stories about your ancestors. Just because a story is passed down through someone else's family doesn't mean the story doesn't have clues about yours.

Don't be surprised if you find that one of the locals fits in your family tree at some point. In the years I've been researching my genealogy, I've ran across cousins I didn't even know about. I found one when I sent a lookup request to a volunteer that lived in the area my ancestors did. Another I met while visiting a cemetery where family was buried.

Tip 5-Visit the local historical society, museum or library.

In addition to giving you a better understanding of the area your ancestors lived their lives in, you may be surprised what you find. Some genealogists have found pictures of their ancestors, allowing them to put a face to the name. Others have found items that once belonged to their family.

Using Family Events for Genealogy

I recently attended the funeral of my paternal grandfather. I hadn't planned to ask any genealogy questions so I didn't take my big research book with me. Surprisingly, though, I still learned some things about my paternal side that I didn't know before.

Family get-togethers, whether holiday dinners, weddings or funerals, can be a valuable resource in your family tree. Even if you don't learn any facts to put in your tree, you can still unearth stories about the people. For me, genealogy is about more than just names, dates and locations. I want to find out about the people who preceded me-who they were, what they were like, etc.

While sitting around after the funeral, conversation turned to the loved ones that had passed before. It was then that I learned that my paternal 2nd great grandfather had a habit of going outside to sit in the swing under the trees every morning while his wife, my 2nd great grandmother, would fix breakfast. One September morning in 1974, he didn't come when she called him to breakfast so she went out to get him. She found him still in the swing, having passed peacefully.

The next day, the stories were still flowing and I learned that my maternal grandmother and her brother had been given a cow when they were younger. When their younger sister came along, the person who had given them the cow didn't give her anything. They decided that wasn't fair so they would share the cow with her. However, it's apparent that my grandmother and great uncle had a mischievous streak since they allotted the tail end of the cow to their baby sister.

After returning home from the funeral and looking through the condolences on my grandfather's online obituary, I learned something else I didn't know. One of the people that left a condolence mentioned how many would be forever grateful for what my grandfather and another guy had did for the sport of truck/tractor pulls in central Florida.

When I mentioned it to my mom, she told me that my grandfather was one of the pioneers of the sport in Florida. While I knew he and my dad had did the tractor pulls when I was little, I never knew how important my grandfather was to the sport.

Papa and Fancy Free (the pulling truck), 1980s

Of course, whenever my dad's side of the family gets together, you hear the infamous story of my dad and the cow. One morning he set off in the field beside the house. When he came back later, he was wearing only his boots and hat. His story was that the cow had ate his clothes. Whether the cow did or didn't, the clothes were never found.

I even heard stories about when I was little. While I was old enough at the time they had happened I should have remembered them myself, I'd forgot them over the years. Hearing them again reminded me. My daughter was with me so she heard the stories as well and I hope she remembers them.

There's no place in any genealogy software or family group sheet for these stories. If they're not told, they will be lost to future generations. So the next time you're at a family event and tempted to whip out your notepad with questions for older relatives, put it away and just listen. You may be surprised what you learn.

Genealogy is a Lot Like Gardening

Most people that know me know that I'm not big on gardening. Up until a few years ago, I could look at a plant and it would start to die. Then my mother-in-law bought me an aloe plant. Unfortunately, I over-watered it and it died. Never one to give up, I bought another one. Surprisingly, it has thrived..The plant has more than quadrupled its size and been repotted multiple times.

Since the aloe did so well, I decided to add another plant, an African violet. When it also did well, I added a few more. Now my indoor garden consists of an aloe, an African violet, a pothos, a miniature peace lily and a miniature tree ivy.

Last year, in an effort to save money on groceries, I took a leap and started a small garden. It wasn't much, mainly salad stuff and herbs. My daughter helped me.

I have to admit I was shocked when it did so well. Other than the radishes, our garden flourished. We had more than we could eat so we even ended up sharing some with family and friends. The prize of our garden was a 14.5 inch cucumber.

There are a lot of things about gardening that can be applied to genealogy.

Take our radishes. The tops like crazy, but when you dug in the dirt for the actual radish, nothing was there. When we look at the work of another genealogist, whether a family member that's also tracing your roots or a family tree found somewhere on the internet, it's important to look below the surface. Where did they get their information? Are their sources reliable?

My first aloe died because I gave it too much water. With my second aloe, I experimented with the water level until I found the best one. When searching a database for information on your ancestor, you probably want to put everything you know into the search boxes. Sometimes, you end up with no results. Try experimenting with the amount of data you put in the search to see if the results are different.

For a successful garden, you need to keep an eye out for things that can harm your plants such as weeds and pests and get rid of them. You should look at your family tree the same way. If you have erroneous information in your tree, you need to prune it. If you leave it, it can affect the direction of your research. You don't want to find out months after building an ancestral line that you have been chasing the wrong family the whole time.

Gardening is a learning experience. Genealogy should be as well. The more you know about what you're doing, whether it's planting a new flower or tackling a new research problem, the better your chance of success. Genealogy classes, webinars, conferences, blogs, books and articles are all excellent source for improving your genealogical research skills and learning new techniques. Ever if you are on a budget, there's plenty you can learn for little or no money out of pocket.

Happy gardening!

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Resources

Today's free genealogy resource is Lancaster History. The site endeavors to educate visitors on the history of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and promotes the preservation of items related to the area, including President James Buchanan's home, Wheatland.

Clicking on the Collections tab will take you to a page from which you can access the various collections available through the site. The main part of interest to online browsers is the online Lancaster County newspapers. This includes the newspapers The Lancaster Examiner & Herald (1834-1872), The Columbia Spy (1830-1889), The Intelligencer Journal (1848-1871), The New Holland Clarion (1873-1950) and The Lancaster Farmer (1869-1884).

Hidden within the newspapers is another jewel for genealogists, the Lancaster City and County Directories from 1843 to 1900. You can also access Pennsylvania Civil War Newspapers from the same page a little further down.

Clicking on the Guides tab will take you to a page with research and genealogy guides. Select research guides in the right hand column to return a list of guides on immigration and naturalization, birth and baptismal records, land records and more. The other resources link in the right hand column will give you a page of other resources including organizations, online newspapers and more.

Using Social Networking as a Genealogy Tool: Twitter

This post is the third in a series on using social networking sites as tool for genealogy. Keep an eye out for future posts in the series.

Social networking sites can be a helpful resource to have in your genealogy toolbox. If you haven't already read the first two posts in this series, be sure to go back and read about using Facebook and MySpace for genealogy.

Twitter, the microblogging platform that limits users to 140 characters, is another social networking website that can be helpful in tracing your roots. Getting started is easy. Just register for free and fill out your profile. Follow people who tweet about the things that interest you. For instance, you can follow Free Genealogy Resources to stay up to date on recent posts and other genealogy information of interest.

Other great genealogy folk to follow include @geneabloggers, @footnoteMaven, @dickeastman and @FamilyTreeMag, just to name a few. Once you start looking, you will find plenty more people to follow for genealogy updates.

If you blog about your research into your family tree, you can leverage Twitter to get more people to your blog. This increases the odds that a visitor may visit and hold the key to your genealogy mystery.

If you've been on Twitter, chances are you have saw hashtags, even if you weren't aware that they were called that. Hashtags consist of a pound sign (#) followed by a word or phrase (without spaces). They are a way of grouping tweets into categories. Clicking on the hashtag will return a list of all tweets with that specific hashtag.

#genealogy is the most frequently used hashtag for genealogists on Twitter. It can be used for all genealogy-related tweets. Use it on your tweets and take the time to occasionally scroll through other tweets using this hashtag.

Other hashtags you can use include #brickwall and #famhist. The brickwall hashtag is self-explanatory. Use it when you are tweeting about your brick wall ancestors. The famhist hashtag can be used interchangeably with the genealogy hashtag. However, since more people use the genealogy hashtag, you're better off using genealogy. The famhist hashtag can be added to make sure you're covered completely.

Participate in genealogy-related Twitter memes. Surname Saturday is the main one you want to participate in. Simply tweet about one or two surnames in your tree and add the hashtag #surnames. Some users also include the #genealogy hastag as well. Several Twitter users have connected with family members via this meme.

Tips for Making A Genealogy Conferences A Good Experience

My recent trip to the 2010 Atlanta Family History Expo was a learning experience in more than one way. Since I had never before attended a genealogy event, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Hopefully, the things I learned will be of help to you when you attend one yourself.

1. Make a list of everything you want to take with you and check things off as you are packing it. I can pretty much counting on leaving at least one thing out of my bag whenever I pack to travel away from home. On my recent trip, however, my brain must have been on vacation while I was packing because I forgot several things. I ended up having to go shopping when I arrived in Atlanta to replace the items.

2. If you plan on driving from your hotel back and forth to the conference location and time allows, do a test run the day before the conference is scheduled to begin. I was late the first day of the Expo, partially because I got stuck in traffic and partially because I had to backtrack after missing an exit. If I had done a test run the day before, I would have had an opportunity to get familiar with the route and would have been aware of the fact that they were doing construction along part of my planned route, which added to my travel time.

3. It's handy to have something to carry stuff in. You will get all kind of stuff while at the genealogy conference from vendor goodies to handouts and items you purchase. Having something to carry it all around in frees up your hands. If you will be carrying a lot of stuff like your genealogy notebook to compare notes with other genealogists or a laptop for taking notes, you may want to consider a bag with rollers on it. I took a backpack and while it was handy for holding everything, my neck and back were sore at the end of the day from the weight.

4. If you have the option of printing a syllabus before you get to the conference, make sure you print out the outline for all sessions you are considering, not just your final choices. A session may run out of seating before you get there, you may begin a session only to find out you don't like it or you may decide you want to try a different session than you originally planned. Whatever the reason, if you don't have an outline of the session, you may have trouble keeping up or get a cramp in your hand writing down everything that was already provided.

5. Consider what research resources are nearby and plan your trip accordingly. Many conferences are held near major genealogy libraries or record repositories. For instance, the Georgia State Archives and the National Archives Southeast Region are both near where the Atlanta Family History Expo was held. This can be an excellent opportunity to not only expand your knowledge of genealogy, but also get some research in on the same trip.

6. If you don't want to go broke eating at the conference, consider packing foods and drinks in a cooler or leaving to get something to eat. Convention centers typically have vending machines and/or concessions, but they can be expensive, not to mention offer a limited selection.

7. Don't be shy. You never know when the person sitting beside you might have the key to your long-standing brick wall or have access to a resource you don't have. This is something I really had to work at. By nature, I'm not really talkative unless I know someone. Then I've been told I'm hard to shut up. This weekend, it was hard for me to walk up to strangers and introduce myself, but because I did, I met some really great people.

8. If you're on a budget, be sure to check back with the exhibitors on the last day of the event. Many mark down items the last day so they have less to carry back with them. However, don't wait too late in the day as many vendors will be packing up to leave by the time you get there.

9. If a vendor or presenter is selling a book that would be helpful in your research, but you can't afford the price, jot down the title and author. When you get home, check your local library for the book. If they don't have it, they might be able to get it through inter-library loan. My public library also has the option to fill out a purchase request for books they don't have in their collections. If there is enough interest in the book or they feel the book would be of use to other patrons, they buy a copy.

10. Check the syllabus, class handouts or business cards of presenters to see if they have additional resources that may be helpful in your genealogy research. By doing this, I learned that Arlene Eakle, the presenter of two of the sessions I attended, has a blog for general genealogy research, as well as ones for researching in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.

More Free Genealogy Classes

Genealogy classes can be an invaluable tool to furthering your research into your family tree. These free genealogy resources range in subject from general how-tos to more advanced research techniques.

FamilySearch has a number of free genealogy classes available. These include the England Beginning Research Series, Germany Research, the Ireland Beginning Research Series, Italy Research, New Zealand Research, Poland Research, the Reading Handwritten Records Series, Research Principles and Tools, Russia Research, and United States of America Research. These courses cover everything from getting started to specialized research areas and everything in between.

They also have courses on accreditation, certification and professional presentations from the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) and the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen).

LearnWebSkills offers a free self-paced course called Researching Your Family Tree: An Introduction to Genealogy. Even if you're not a beginner, it's worth checking out for the section on citing sources, which includes several examples including citations for vital records, webpages, interviews and more.

Ancestry is well-known as a subscription site for genealogy research. But did you know that they also offer some freebies? Visitors to the site can view previously recorded webinars on a variety of topics. These include Coming to America: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors, Avoid Traps in African American Genealogy, and European Research: Tips and Tools for Success, just to name a few.

What can you learn from these free genealogy resources?

Using Google Alerts for Genealogy: A Step By Step Guide to Setting Up Alerts

Search engines can be a genealogist's best friend when it comes to tracing a family's ancestry. Putting your ancestor's name into a search engine can sometimes yield details that you never would have found using only traditional record sources (census records, vital records, etc). You may come across the individual's name in a published history, a personal website or blog documenting the person or family, newspaper articles, photographs, or other data.

However, unless you search your ancestors' names on a regular basis, you may miss out on data that was recently added. This is what makes Google Alerts a free genealogy resource. With Google Alerts, you set up a search to be performed at certain intervals. If something new pertaining to your search is added to the internet, you get an alert via your email or RSS reader.

To get started, go to Google Alerts.

The first field asks for your search terms. If your ancestor has an uncommon name, you can search their name only. However, if like most of us, you have an ancestor with a common name, you will need to make your search more specific with advanced techniques.

Putting quotation marks ("") around the name will return only the results with that exact name. For instance, if you search John Smith, you will get results that have John and Smith, not necessarily together. Searching "John Smith" will return only results that have the exact phrase.
To exclude certain words, use a minus sign (-). Returning to the John Smith example, you could search John Smith -Pocahontas to eliminate all John Smith references that include Pocahontas.
A plus sign (+) can be used when you want to be sure the search is performed exactly as you have spelled it. If your ancestor was named John Sith. you would want to use the search terms John +Sith to ensure you got the correct spelling.
You can also designate specific sites to be searched or excluded by using the site operator (site:). Going back to our John Smith, if you wanted to search only .edu sites, you would use the search John Smith site:.edu. To exclude a site, add a minus sign in front of the site operator (-site:). In the John Smith example, but now excluding .edu sites, the search would be John Smith -site:.edu.
To narrow the year range, use two periods (..) between the years. To narrow our John Smith down to only those that mention 1790-1820, you would use John Smith 1790..1820.
The OR operator can be used if you're not sure exactly what name your ancestor is using. If you know that John sometimes went by Joe, you use the search John OR Joe Smith to find results with either name variation. Make sure that you capitalize both letters in the OR operator. Otherwise, it does not work.

The second field asks what type of information sources you are looking for. You can choose from everything, news, blogs, updates, video or discussions. I like to use the everything option since it gives you the most flexibility in finding your ancestor.

The third field allows you to designate how often you want to receive alerts. Your options are as it happens, once a day or once a week. It's up to you to decide how often you want alerts. If you find you get a lot of alerts, though, it might be best to limit your alerts to once a week to prevent your inbox from filling up.

In the fourth field, you can select the volume of alerts. Selecting only the best results will limit your alerts. The other option is all results. You may need to experiment to find the right setting for you.

Finally, the last field is for your email. If you are already logged into Google, this field will probably already be filled with the email associated with your account. Logging in also lets you choose to get your alerts via a RSS reader.

Click on the create alert button and your alert is now set up.You can set up as many alerts as you like, up to a maximum of 1000. If you aren't signed in to Google when you set up your alerts, however, you will have to go to your email to click the verification link for each search. Otherwise, you will only be able to have 10 alerts.

I love free genealogy resources like Google Alerts. They take care of some of the time-consuming work so you can focus on other areas of your family's genealogy.

Things Learned on a Recent Genealogy Trip

I recently had to go out of town due to two deaths in the family. Since the area I was traveling to was where one branch of my family had lived since the early 1800s, I decided to make time for some genealogy research while I was there. I learned a few things along the way.

GPS Navigation Systems

Since my dad was a long haul trucker for over 30 years, I always ask him for directions before I travel anywhere. As added security, I also borrowed a GPS navigation system from another family member. In theory, it was a good idea. However, the GPS and my dad didn't agree on the directions so I spent a good chunk of the 7 hour trip hearing the GPS tell me I needed to turn around to get back on the track it had decided I should go. I also ran into problems with the system not recognizing some of the small country roads I needed to go down.

Things learned: If you already have directions and are just using the GPS as a backup, it pays to figure out how to program your pre-planned route in. Also, if traveling in remote areas where the system may not know the roads and they don't show up on an atlas, it's a good idea to ask a local for directions.

Cemeteries

Before I left for my trip, I made a list of the cemeteries I planned to visit and the headstones I wanted to photograph. I also looked up directions and/or addresses. For some, this was a surprisingly easy task. For others, mainly older lesser known cemeteries, I ran into problems. From experience, I can tell you that driving randomly around a town in the hopes that you will locate a sign pointing to the cemetery is a frustrating experience.

I also learned that some cemeteries had more relatives in them than I knew. In fact, at the first cemetery I visited, I bumped into a second cousin twice removed I didn't even known I had.

Things learned: For lesser known cemeteries, you will save gas and frustration if you stop in town and ask directions. It also pays to talk to other people in the cemetery if they're visiting graves of people in your family tree. Last, but not least, if your research trip is a good distance away and you may not be visiting again soon, consider photographing other headstones with the same surname or others buried around family members, even if they're not familiar. You may find out later that they are related.

Memories

I was lucky enough to get to spend my grandfather's last few days with him. During that time, he talked about some of the things we had did together through the years, many of which I had forgotten about until he brought them up.

Things learned: Memory is a tricky thing. If you have some good memories of loved ones, take some time to write them down before they're lost forever.

Pictures

My grandfather was an avid picture taker, especially if family was around. If you asked, he could tell you who everyone was, even in older pictures, including how they attached to the family tree. Unfortunately, very few of his pictures were labeled so now that he's gone, we don't know who some of the people are.

Things learned: Label your pictures. At a bare minimum, write down the name of the persons or places in the picture. If you have converted all your pictures to digital, add a Word file to the folder or disc listing what or who each picture is of. You can also right click on the photograph and open properties to include this information in the comments box on the summary tab.

Libraries

While visiting the town where my great great grandparents had lived, I saw a sign for the library so decided on the spur of the moment to stop in and try to get more information on them. The library did have a small genealogy room. I didn't have a lot of time so I tried to look at as much as I could while I was there. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anything before I had to leave.

Things learned: Local libraries should be researched prior to a genealogy trip and time allotted to visit them. These days, most libraries have an online catalog. If I had looked into what was available before I visited the library, I could have focused my search and had a better chance of finding the information I was looking for.

Why Knowledge of History is Important for Genealogists

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, but I've had company non-stop for the last few weeks. Yesterday I was talking to my mom and we started talking about how you need to be knowledgeable about history in order to succeed in tracing your ancestry. I decided to expand on our conversation in a blog post here on Free Genealogy Resources in the hopes a reader might find it helpful.

If you know when wars were fought, you can determine which ancestors lived during that period and might have served. This opens the door to finding enlistment records, muster rolls or discharge papers, all of which can yield information on not only your ancestor, but also their family. After the completion of service, there may be additional records to be found in pension applications by the veteran or his widow. If you didn't realize that a war had occurred during your family's history, you might miss all of these records.

It also helps to be aware of health epidemics that occurred during history. If an ancestor disappeared from all records during certain periods of time, it's possible they fell victim to smallpox, yellow fever, cholera or one of the other diseases that struck through the years. For instance, the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic struck world-wide, killing more people than World War I did. BJ's Genealogy Site has a nice list of epidemics that occurred 1628-1918, including ones that were only in specific regions of the US.

Land boundaries also change over time. Many disappearing ancestors didn't actually go anywhere between censuses, the name of their location may have changed. Knowing historic boundaries can be helpful when tracing family through the years. If I didn't know that Cook County, Georgia was formed from Berrien County in 1918, which was formed from pieces of the counties of Lowndes, Coffee and Irwin in 1856, I would have had trouble tracing my maternal line in Georgia. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries can be a helpful resource for seeing how lines changed through time.

Knowing about disasters can be helpful as well. A fire, earthquake, flood, hurricane, tornado or other event can be the reason behind an ancestor's death or the family's move from an area. There is a nice table of US Disasters on Wikipedia. It's not sorted by year, but is still worth taking a look through to see if you can link one to someone in your family tree.

Free Photo Printing

Photographs are as much a part of genealogy as the numerous records we dig through looking for hints about our ancestors. Through pictures, we can put a face to a name and, in a sense, bring to life a person we knew only as a name.

Chances are, you will come across relatives or other individuals who hold photographs of your ancestors. A few will be generous enough to let you have them; others will not. One way to get the picture for yourself without the other person having to give it up is by scanning it onto your computer and then having them printed.

The cost of printing these photographs can get high if you have a large number. Thankfully, there is a way to lower the impact on your wallet. Today's free genealogy resources are photo printing sites that offer free prints. Your only cost is shipping.

50 Free 4x6 Prints

PhotoMama
CVS Photo Center
Shutterfly
Winkflash

40 Free 4x6 Prints

Clark Color Labs
York Photo

Other Deals

ArtsCow-New members get 100 free 4x6 and 50 free 5x7 credits per month. It doesn't appear that the credits roll over.

Free Genealogy Resource for Deciphering Old Death Records

If you have looked at older death records for ancestors, chances are you have come across a disease that you did not recognize. Some of the terms used were catch-all terms when the doctor wasn't sure exactly what the illness was. Others illnesses may be referred to as something different now.

Recently I found a nice free genealogy resource called Old Medical Terminology. The page is organized alphabetically starting with abscess and working its way down to yellow fever. In many cases, a brief description of the illness is given. Synonyms for the disease name are also given.

Six Things You Can do to Aid Those Looking for Free Genealogy Resources

Many of the free genealogy resources available today are the result of hard-working volunteers. Without them, the only way you would have access to genealogical material would be to join a subscription site or pay someone else for the material. Even if you don't have a lot of time on your hands, there are ways that you can contribute as well. With your help, the amount of free genealogical material available will grow and help others for years to come.

Find A Grave

Find A Grave was began in 1995 as a way to register and memoralize the final resting places of those that are no longer with us. Since that time it has grown by leaps and bounds and today contains over 47 million grave records. The records are not limited to only the United States, but other countries as well.

There are over 500,000 contributors to the site. These individuals volunteer their time to visit local cemeteries and record the names of the individuals that are buried there. While Find A Grave's original purpose is not for genealogy, many contributors do include biographical and genealogical data. This makes it a good free genealogy resource.

In many cases, the volunteer also photographs the headstone. In the case of older headstones which have eroded or disappeared over time, these photographs may be the only record of their existence. For listings that do not have a photograph, users have the option to request one. When possible, members that live nearby fulfill the request.

How you can help: If there are cemeteries in your area that have not been documented, visit and transcribe the graves. Check for photo requests in your area and take photographs for entries that don't already have them.

USGenWeb

The USGenWeb Project began in 1996 as a way to compile genealogical data and resources for the state of Kentucky. Once the idea caught on, other states joined and the project grew to include every county and state in the United States. Today, there is also a WorldGenWeb Project which provides genealogy information for countries world-wide. It is one of the more wide spread free genealogy resources available online today.

Things you can expect to find on USGenWeb Project pages include volunteer-submitted census transcriptions, cemetery transcriptions, vital records, photographs, newspaper clippings, military records, court and probate records, family trees, biographies and more. Some sites have sections to submit queries or request lookups from resources the volunteers have on hand.

Each county site is ran by a volunteer coordinator (or group). These volunteers are responsible for keeping the site updated. In cases where the volunteer is no longer able to maintain the site, the county may be up for adoption. If someone is interested in leading one of these counties, they can submit an application through the state genweb site to become the coordinator.

How you can help: If you have genealogy data that a local genweb site does not already have, consider submitting it for inclusion. Volunteer contributors can help make these free genealogy resources even more valuable through the addition of information. If you are familiar with a certain county that is up for adoption, you may also want to consider volunteering as a coordinator.

Family Search

Family Search is a service provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It offers users free access to a number of genealogical resources available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Records provided through the site include census, pedigrees, family trees, vital records and more.

How you can help: If you have a GEDCOM file of your family tree, you can share it through the Family Search website. Once it is loaded onto the site, it will show up in searches if someone is looking for a person found in your family tree.

If you scroll to the bottom of the main Family Search page, you will find a link to help provide free public access to US census indexes. Once you sign up, you will be given access to digital images, which you use to transcribe the records. The information you transcribe is then put on Family Search where others can view it for free.

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, RAOGK for short, is a website that connects those seeking information with volunteers willing to lookup information in resources they have available to them. This may include visiting local courthouses, genealogical societies, libraries or cemeteries. Some provide copies of court, census or newspaper records.

Volunteers do not charge for their work, but may request reimbursement for expenses they incur while fulfilling your request. Copying fees, film, parking fees and postage are all expenses that you may be requested to pay if your request requires them.

How you can help: If you access to a local genealogy resource, consider signing up as a volunteer with RAOGK. In some area, there are no volunteers available. The more people that sign up, the more likely it is that someone seeking a lookup will be able to find help.

Blogging

There are a growing number of genealogy-related blogs on the internet today. Many family historians are using blogs to share their journey into researching their family tree. This serves a couple purposes.

Researchers sharing information they have found are helping provide free data for others that are searching the same names. In the case of brick walls, it gets the information out there, improving the likelihood that someone will come along with the information the blogger is looking for. Bloggers that share their ups and downs are also offering details on how to overcome many genealogical problems.

How you can help: Consider starting a blog to document your genealogy research. Make sure to include your brick wall ancestors, problems you have faced and solved, and any other details that may be helpful for others researching the same family. There are several places you can blog for free. Blogger and WordPress are two of the more popular ones.

Free Genealogy Resources

If you're here, you know that this blog can be a help to those trying to trace their family tree on a budget. Whenever I have the time, I comb the internet looking for additional resources to share.

How you can help: If you are aware of a resource that I have not featured in this blog, let me know. I will share it on the blog so other readers can use it and give you credit for letting me know about it.

Interviewing Family Members

Living family members can be one of the best free genealogy resources at your disposal. While odds are a single person may not know all of the information you seek, you can usually put pieces from several people together to get a full picture. Even if someone doesn't know exact dates, they may know other facts that can help you narrow the gap.

Things to consider when interviewing family members

1) It was not unusual for children to be named after a favorite relative of the parents. My maternal grandfather is named for both of his grandfathers, Thomas for his maternal grandfather and Walter for his paternal one. When interviewing family members, ask if they were named after anyone.

2)If someone is unsure on a date, ask if they can remember anything that might help narrow the range. When I interviewed my grandfather in an attempt to get more information on his grandparents, I was able to determine that his paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother died before his birth and his maternal grandfather died after he was born but before he graduated. Since I knew that the two that died prior to his birth were alive when the 1930 census was taken, it narrowed the year of death for them to an eleven year range.

3) Most families have skeletons in the closet. Some relatives will talk about them and others won't. If you are interviewing someone and they suddenly clam up, don't push the issue. Change the subject to something more innocuous and note the question down to ask someone else about. If you push the issue, you risk the family member refusing to answer any other questions you may have, not to mention blocking access to other family members who may be able to give you answers.

4) Ask about religion. While some families stay with a specific religion, it's not unusual for others to change. Church records can be an invaluable resource when trying to trace genealogy. You don't want to waste your time digging through the records of the wrong church.

5) If you have information from your research, ask about it. It may trigger a memory. When I asked my mother about her grandparents' siblings, she could only remember a couple names. After doing some research in census records, I went back to her with a list of names. Once she heard a name, she remembered the individual and could tell me about them.

6) Come prepared with some questions, but don't be afraid to follow the interview where it goes. Having questions prepared will help prevent gaps in conversation. The flexibility to let the interviewee choose the direction of the interview may yield some interesting finds, which may include answers to questions you hadn't considered.

7) Be courteous. Ask before you show up with your notepad in hand. Keep the interview brief, no more than one to two hours. If you have limited time to spend with the relative, make sure you take frequent breaks. Thank the person for their time and any photographs or mementos they give you or allow to scan or copy.

8) Consider recording the interview if the person agrees. If you are jotting down information by hand, you may miss something or inadvertently get something mixed up. It also distracts the person being interviewed. Using recording equipment allows you to focus on what the person is saying and interact in the conversation. It may also help the person being interviewed feel more at ease.

Free Language and Translation Tools

If one of your ancestors came from another country, chances are at least some of the records will be in a language other than English. When contacting look-up volunteers or records repositories in other countries, there is also a possibility that they will not speak English. These free genealogy resources can help.

Babelfish-A service of Yahoo!, Babelfish allows users to paste up to 150 words in the box for translation. Just below that box is an option to translate a webpage.

ForeignWord-This site offers multiple translation tools for you to use. For single word translations, they search over 265 online dictionaries that cover 73 languages. There is also an option to translate short texts. Finally, they offer a free software called Xanadu. Xanadu is a language and translation wizard.

Italian Form Generators-This site offers several letter generators including initial requests, followup if no response and letters requesting additional information.

Italian to English Vocabulary for Genealogy-This site offers a nice lists of Italian terms you may find in your research. The English translation is given as well with additional details that may be helpful to know.

Foreign Name Equivalents-Many immigrants Anglicized their names when they came to the US to aid in assimilation. This tool gives you the equivalent of the name in other languages. Free genealogy resources such as this one are helpful if you are having difficulty locating an ancestor's information prior to their immigration. You will need Adobe Reader (free) to view the files.

Your Dictionary-This is one of the larger collections of language dictionaries and tools available. Please note that some of the linked resources on this website may require payment.

Dictionary of the Scots Language-This is two very nice dictionaries in one- the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue and the Scottish National Dictionary. The search tools are on the left side of the page.

German Occupations-This gives you the old name, current German name and the English translation of occupations. Helpful when translating German records.

South African Genealogy Words-This gives a nice list of Afrikaans genealogy terms. The site also gives contact information for individuals who can translate from Afrikaans to English. It does not say whether the translation is free so keep that in mind. Please note that the email addresses include the number 1 after the @ sign in the email addresses as a spam prevention method. You will need to remove it to send your email.

Foreign Letter Writing Guides-From FamilySearch, it includes guides on writing letters in Czech and Slovak, Finland, French, German, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish. Guides cover information you need to know, gives details about the resources available, offers translations of common phrases and what to expect. It even offers a sample letter that you can use to build your own.

Genealogy Word Lists-FamilySearch also offers genealogy word lists in Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Latin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish

Genealogy Form Letters-From Genealogy.com, from letters to a family member or institution in French, German, Italian or Spanish. Just fill in the blanks using the link at the top of the form letter's page

Polish Letter Writing Guide-By the Polish Genealogy Society of America, this is another nice guide for writing for Polish records. It covers basics such as how to address your letter and sending money. One nice feature about this guide is that it gives several salutations instead of the all-purpose Dear Sir so you can tailor your letter to the individual who will be reading it. Also included is twenty-five common sentences you may be using and their Polish translation.

Free Research Guides

If you are new to genealogy or even stuck on a certain individual in your family tree, research outlines can be helpful. Research outlines can vary depending on who organized them. Typically, they point you in the right direction to find the records you seek. Some may also list regional resources.

Family Search Research Guides-Most people familiar with Family Search as a genealogy tool fail to realize that it also provides a good number of research guides. To access the research outlines, just click the first letter of the state or country. Then scroll down until you find the guides for that place. The research outline not only provides a listing of the library's holdings for that area, but also where to find church records, court records and more. Be sure to check out the other guides as there is a wealth of information to be found.

Research Outline for German Genealogy-Lots of great information on this page. Resources are broken down by category so you can easily locate what you need.

Catholic Genealogy Research Guide-If ancestors were Catholic, this research guide is not to be missed. It explains the type of records you can find and how to go about finding them. If your Catholic ancestors came from other countries, scroll down until you see the world map and click on the link for their region. On the next page, click the link for their country and you will get links to Catholic records there.

Genealogy Research Guide for England and Wales-While this free genealogy resource does not directly link you to the resources you need, it does give a lot of information that will help in your search.

Guide to Irish Genealogical Research-This started out as a study group project in 1997, but has turned into an excellent tool for those doing research into Irish ancestors. It covers Irish history, tells you where to find records, shares some donated transcriptions and more.