Genealogy on the Internet

+++ Genealogy on the Internet. My California sister sent me a copy of the article “Digging For Roots -- Is the Internet a genealogy genie?” from the Fall 2001 issue of Earthlink’s magazine. I was very impressed with the obviously extensive research done for the article which has no author named, and that Earthlink (an Internet Service Provider) would provide such good info for their subscribers. The phantom author begins in the beginning......suggesting that tracing your genealogy is like piecing together a puzzle, and advising genealogists to set goals for their research, keep things organized, and start with what you know and work backward. Experienced researchers will agree with him/her to pick the brains of your family (eldest first), use census records and the Social Security Death Index, and check for others’ completed work on your lineage (books, libraries local to your origins, LDS’s Ancestral File, and FamilyTreeMaker’s website) so as not to re-invent the wheel. In the order that makes sense for a beginner to search on the internet, these URLs were suggested:

www.genuki.org.uk/gs for getting started.

www.kbyu.org/ancestors the companion site to the PBS series Ancestors.

www.rootsweb.com/~genclass free online class taught by professional genealogist.

www.rootsweb.com for other features.

the search engine Surname Helper for surnames.

www.ancestry.com several data bases can be accessed.

www.familysearch.org LDS (Mormon) site.

www.genealogy.com big, & links to:

genforum.genealogy.com a good message board.

www.ellisislandrecords.org emigrants thru Ellis Isl. 1892-1922.

istg.rootsweb.com another passenger registry search site.

www.cyndislist.com Topical Index is a good place to start on Cyndi’s huge site.