Finding already compiled records
on families and finding others working on the same lines,
cuts costs and avoids duplication of effort. This "survey phase" of family history,
done thoroughly, will help the research work that follows go easier and quicker.
Your home and the home of relatives
should be checked for family bibles, photographs and diaries, letters, b m d
certificates, passports, naturalization papers, military records, funeral cards, etc.
Interviewing elderly relatives for memories that may prove useful is also a "home" source.
Collections of the LDS Church,www.familysearch.org
:
International Genealogical Index (IGI):
containing over 600 million vital records from all
over the world from the early 1500s t o early 1900s. Some entries' source is an original b/ch. or m. record.
Ancestral File:
consists of pedigree charts and family group records submitted by members of the LDS Church
(though not confined to members), with birth, marriage and death information on over 36.5 million
lineage-linked names. Submitters' contact information is provided.
Pedigree Resource File:
a database of families submitted through the internet from worldwide researchers
(not necessarily member of the LDS church). Master index may be searched on the web site; periodically
updated CDs are at local FHC (over 1.2 m. names submitted monthly).
Family History Websites
(Search>Web Sites, to view links to other family history websites).
Note: default "Search>All Resources" will search all the above databases, and more, at the same time.
Family Group Records Collection:
family group records containing over eight million names,
submitted by the members of the LDS church (microfilm only, available through local FHCs);
Library>FHLC>keyword Search>Family Group Records Collection, archive section.
Other internet websites for finding already compiled records:www.ancestry.com
One World Tree, an international collection of pedigrees and families; includes tabs for
sourccs (some with links to documentation), and for submitters' contact info; subscription. Free home use=awt.ancestry.com
for pedigrees/families submitted by Ancestry members. Recent indexing makes
census records easier to gather, free atwww.heritagequestonline.com
Free at FHC: Port Passengers lists, WW1 Draft Registration Cards,
some British Census.www.castlegarden.com
andwww.ellisisland.com
for passenger lists.www.itd.nps.gov/cwss
for Civil War Soldiers and Sailors;freebmd.rootsweb.com
for Civil British Registration 1837-1915.worldconnect.rootsweb.com
460m names submitted by site users; post family tree for free.www.genealogy.com
Over 200m names in World Family Tree; subscription free database; free trial. www.mytrees.com
submit a GEDCOM file to search, at no other charge, one billion names.www.genserv.com
Pedigree database for over 20m names; one-time free surname search.www.google.com
web: enter key words to locate family lines.> Images: search for photographs.
Create your own webpage
from Personal Ancestral File (PAF)>Tools>Create Web Page.
Published Family Histories, biographies, and autobiographies:
www.familyhistoryarchive.byu.edu
family histories online, every word index. www.familysearch.org
>Library>FHLC> Surname (or Key Word) Search, and FHLC> Title Search (or Author
Search), other web sites, or through published indxes to family histories; and published genealogies,
biographical dictionaries, and research directories.
Finding others working on same lines:
www.familysearch.org
>Share>Collaboration E-Mail Lists, and Share>Share my Genealogy; family history societies'
members' interest list provide names and addresses of others working on your lines.www.genforum.genealogy.com
for message boards. Prepare for research by joining
Family History Societies
www.cyndislist.com/soc-g.htm
and exploring
Guides to Family History Research
(www.familysearch.org
>Education>Publications>Research Outlines,Resource Guides,Reference Documents,
or>University Home Study), etc.)
-Sheila Winkelspecht
