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Balance Traditional and Electronic Research
HOW TO…
This is the best of times for genealogy research. It hasn’t been that many years ago that genealogy and family history research was essentially a print-based process. Researchers visited libraries and archives to check books, periodicals, and other holdings to determine what evidence might be located in other places, and then they would write letters to request look-ups and copies. They would travel to courthouses and other repositories to locate, access, and view original documents. They might also have visited a nearby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Family History Center (FHC) to consult the catalog of the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, and identify potentially helpful records that had been microfilmed. They would ask the volunteers at the FHC to order the microfilm or microfiche from Salt Lake City, pay a rental fee, and then use the microform materials at the FHC. The other alternative was to physically travel to facilities where records were held or where evidence might be found. In addition, a researcher might have sent a written query to a genealogical publication, such as Everton’s Genealogical Helper, to broadcast his or her interest in locating information about a specific individual. This kind of research was time consuming and potentially very expensive. The wait for responses to letters and inquiries and the arrival of microform materials seemed interminable. As a result, the pace of the genealogical research progress was very slow.
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The term “microform” refers to microfilm, microfiche, and sometimes other formats. It is an archive and storage medium that uses photographic images of documents and other media in a reduced format. The images are reduced about 25 times and stored on a high-resolution photographic film stock. Microfilm consists of images stored on reels of film; microfiche consists of many images stored on film sheets; and ultrafiche is an exceptionally compact form of microfiche or microfilm. Special machines are used to read, and sometimes print, the images from the film. Digital reader/printer machines are available to capture digital images of microform images. Microcards are an obsolete form of microfilming in which images were stored on cardboard cards and read using a magnifying reader.
Be a Modern Genealogical Researcher
The availability of personal computers slowly improved the process of conducting genealogical research. The early Bulletin Board Services (BBSs) in the late 1970s and 1980s facilitated some electronic communication between genealogists. Time passed and online services such as CompuServe, Delphi, GEnie, Prodigy, and America Online were introduced, and each of these services hosted a genealogy area to provide an online meeting place and reference resources to subscribers. Online lectures and chats were conducted using real-time typed exchanges of dialog and comments.
The LDS Church released one of the first genealogy database software programs, Personal Ancestral File (PAF), as a tool for documenting and organizing data. Users, particularly LDS Church members, were encouraged to use PAF and to submit data files to the LDS Church for inclusion in a large database. Over the years, many other genealogical database programs and utilities have been published.
The introduction of email and the World Wide Web (“the Web”) to the public further accelerated the communications technology and promoted the online information explosion. Soon, most commercial companies had a presence on the Web. Further, the introduction of browser software and the inclusion of graphics in web pages made the Internet the most important source of information available.
Genealogists quickly adopted the Internet and began using email mailing lists and online message boards to publish queries about all things genealogical. Websites were created that were devoted to genealogical research. Among the earliest of these were RootsWeb (www.rootsweb.ancestry.com) and the all-volunteer USGenWeb Project (www.usgenweb.org) and WorldGenWeb Project (www.worldgenweb.org). These sites provide free how-to information and access to data transcribed from original sources by volunteers. The LDS Church established a website, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org), to make indexed information available, as well as access to an electronic catalog of its holdings and downloadable PAF software.
Online genealogical subscription services have proliferated on the Internet. These include Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com; see Figure 3-1), Fold3.com (www.fold3.com; see Figure 3-2), WorldVitalRecords.com (www.worldvitalrecords.com), findmypast (www.findmypast.co.uk), and many others around the world.
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FIGURE 3-1 The Search page at Ancestry.com
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FIGURE 3-2 The main page at Fold3.com
Libraries and archives have kept pace with Internet technology. Almost every library or archive has a website that provides access to their electronic catalog, descriptions of holdings, policies, and other information. LibrarySpot.com (www.libraryspot.com) provides a place to begin locating libraries’ and archives’ websites around the world. OCLC, the Online Computer Library Center, hosts WorldCat (www.worldcat.org), another excellent tool for locating specific books and other items in libraries.
Some libraries have digitized materials in their collections that are accessible through their website. The Library and Archives Canada website (www.collectionscanada.gc.ca) has digitized Canadian census records, and has produced an impressively informative set of how-to and reference resources in its Genealogy and Family History area at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html (see Figure 3-3). The diversity of digitized records that are accessible through libraries’ websites is phenomenal.
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FIGURE 3-3 The Genealogy and Family History page at the Library and Archives Canada
In addition to the websites maintained by libraries and archives, these institutions frequently subscribe to important database services. Some of these may be genealogy-specific while others, such as historical newspapers and obituary databases, may be fully searchable and provide access to invaluable information to help further your research. Many of these are typically accessible from your remote computer with the use of your library card number. Other databases may be accessible by visiting a university library.
Your favorite web browser software provides you with access to resources worldwide: digitized documents and photographs, newspapers, digitized historical map collections, cemetery information and transcriptions, online newsletters and magazines, and much, much more. We’ll explore these further later in this chapter and elsewhere in the book.
Understand Traditional Research
Traditional research was and still is the central form of genealogical investigation, and it is essential for acquiring documentary evidence. In Chapter 2, we discussed the concepts of primary vs. secondary information and original vs. derivative sources. The most reliable evidence of a fact is an original document created at or very near to the time an event occurred. It is not something transcribed or taken from a word-of-mouth account, because the details may have inconsistencies or may be incorrect. You saw examples of each of these types of sources in Chapter 2.
Traditional research entails looking for clues that direct you to concrete evidence. If you have watched any of the several CSI: Crime Scene Investigation series on television, you know that building a reliable case means searching for original evidence, studying it, evaluating it in relation to other facts or evidence, developing a hypothesis (or more than one), and substantiating the hypothesis with a strong body of original evidentiary proof. Does that sound complicated? Well, it is and it isn’t. Yes, your research should be done in a scholarly manner and must incorporate strong original evidence. However, this will quickly become second nature to you and soon you will be enjoying every aspect of “the thrill of the chase.”
Discover Documentary Evidence and Where It Is Found
Traditional research will always involve working with a wide variety of materials. These include
Books and Periodicals
Printed books will always be an important source of genealogical information in your research. You will find books that contain everything from how-to information, such as this book, to transcribed records, to published images of original records. Magazines and journals published by genealogical and historical societies, as well as commercial magazines, may provide details and/or case studies containing information about your ancestor or some facet of his or her life.
Some older historical books are being electronically scanned and indexed, and these are appearing at a number of online sites such as Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), HeritageQuest Online (available through many libraries), WorldVitalRecords.com (www.worldvitalrecords.com), the Family History Archives (http://lib.byu.edu/fhc; see Figure 3-4) of FamilySearch, the Hathi Trust (www.hathitrust.org), Google Books (http://books.google.com), and other websites. They are every-word searchable and can provide you with access to resources otherwise available only at a remote library or archive.
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FIGURE 3-4 The Family History Archives page from FamilySearch provides access to digitized and indexed family histories.
You will always want to invest time in researching the collections found in libraries, archives, and genealogical societies. Many of these organizations have also digitized and indexed materials and placed them online. These facilities can provide clues to guide you to the original evidentiary records that you want to examine in your research.
Manuscripts
Original, one-of-a-kind manuscripts and typescripts are seldom found anywhere but inside a library or archive. You can often find these cataloged by the library or archive in which they are held. An unpublished family history may contain a wealth of information and clues that can lead you to genealogical treasure. However, don’t expect a manuscript to have been microfilmed or digitized. While some have been digitized and others may be digitized in the future, you will more than likely need to travel to the repository where the manuscript is stored in order to access it.
Maps
Geography is an integral part of genealogical research. It is essential to understand the location where your ancestor lived, where the geopolitical boundaries were, how the boundaries may have changed during and since your ancestor’s residency there, and what governmental body had jurisdiction of the area at a specific time. While many historical maps have been digitized and are on the Internet, most exist only in library collections, archives, university special collections, or the holdings of individuals or organizations (such as the Library of Congress, whose collection includes the map shown in Figure 3-5).
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FIGURE 3-5 Map showing Col. John Singleton Mosby’s route through Virginia and North Carolina during the U.S. Civil War. (From the Library of Congress collection.)
Indexes
There are thousands of published indexes to original records of genealogical importance. P. William Filby’s epic and ongoing publication, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, remains the most important reference for identifying information about immigrants to the American colonies and the United States. Germans to America is another important reference. However, there are indexes to original documents worldwide. The Civil Registration registers of births, marriages, and deaths for England and Wales, for instance, cover the period from July 1837 to 2005, and more recent registrations are accessible up to 18 months prior to the current date. Indexes to names in censuses, bride and groom marriage indexes, land and property indexes, military service records and awards, and hundreds of other record types have been published. These indexes provide guidance to direct you to the original records, and you can then order copies and examine the exact content for yourself.
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Local histories may contain mentions about your own family. A local history may actually provide the only evidence of your ancestor’s presence and activities in an area. If your family is not specifically mentioned, references to their ethnic or religious group may be included. At a minimum, these histories can convey to you what life was like in the area where and during the times when your ancestors lived there.
Histories
History books and other historical accounts, such as diaries and journals, may only exist in printed form or as a manuscript. Histories provide you with the context of a place and time in which your ancestor lived. In some cases, a local history may provide the only evidence of your ancestor’s presence and activities in an area. You can learn about the activities in which your ancestor may have participated and about events that may have affected your ancestor’s life.
Biographies
Biographies and autobiographies of individuals are important sources of information and provide clues to original materials. Typically found in library collections, you can use these publications as you would a history book. A biography or autobiography provides the historical context for a time period and describes people, places, locations, and events. For example, while your ancestor’s name may never be mentioned, a biography of a military leader under whom your ancestor served will likely provide a chronological account of military engagements and details about the living conditions. This information is helpful in understanding that portion of your ancestor’s life and the events that influenced him or her and other people.
Newspapers
A newspaper is a chronicle of a community, incorporating news and events about people from all walks of life. Original newspapers are not frequently retained in storage, for a number of reasons. They are certainly a fire hazard, but their physical content produces fumes and other by-products that can be harmful to your health. Finally, newsprint from the late 19th century forward is highly acidic in content, and the acid and lignin can contaminate other materials, causing them to discolor and deteriorate.
Many newspapers have been microfilmed before the originals were destroyed. This is excellent news for researchers. However, unless the newspaper has been indexed in some way, your research will depend on knowing dates or date ranges of issues; otherwise, you may have to comb through image after image on many rolls of microfilm or many sheets of microfiche. These microform records are often found in the library or in an historical archive in or near the place of publication. Copies may also be held in a regional, state, provincial, or national library or archive. You will need to visit that repository to access these records.
More recently, many newspapers are being digitized and indexed using optical character recognition (OCR), making them searchable. Tens of millions of newspaper pages are being scanned each year. Online subscription sites such as NewspaperARCHIVE.com (www.newspaperarchive.com; see Figure 3-6) and GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com) and digitized newspaper collections available through libraries and archives can provide access to indexed, digitized newspapers that can expand your genealogical research.
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FIGURE 3-6 NewspaperARCHIVE.com provides access to many newspapers in the United States and some areas in Europe.
A number of the larger newspapers in various countries have been digitized and every word indexed for complete searchability. The Times of London, for example, has been completely digitized. Others from across the United States have been scanned and made available at subscription sites such as Ancestry.com (see Figure 3-7). However, because of the varying quality of the microforms from which the digitized images were taken, and the limitations of the OCR scanning capability, there may be unavoidable indexing errors.
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FIGURE 3-7 Section of the front page of the Ironwood Daily Globe in Ironwood, Michigan, on 23 November 1963, from the digitized newspaper database collection at Ancestry.com
Documents from Many Traditional Locations and Sources
Your research for original documents or exact copies will take you to many places. This book will help lead you to specific repositories in various locations in order to access those documents. Among them are government offices, health departments, police records repositories, coroners’ offices, land and property offices, civil, criminal, and probate courts, churches and religious offices, military records storage repositories, cemeteries and cemetery offices, manuscript collections, libraries, archives at all levels, schools and universities, genealogical and historical societies, and many more. The documents will be unique unto themselves. You will learn more about many types of documents and working with them throughout this book.
Understand Electronic Research Materials
You will find that there are many different types of electronic research resources, and it is sometimes difficult to keep them straight. If you understand the difference between them and what they can provide, it will become easier to decide which resource(s) will be your best tool(s) to use for specific types of research. Let’s explore the major kinds of electronic resources you will use. We’ll cover all of these in more detail later in the book.
Email and Mailing Lists
Perhaps the most ubiquitous electronic tool in use today is email. It provides a rapid and inexpensive way to communicate with one or lots of people at once. Email allows you to send and receive textual communiqués and to attach files, such as word processing documents, spreadsheets, digital photos, audio files, videos, and data files, from many software applications.
Electronic mailing lists are a commonly used resource, allowing many people to subscribe and to send and receive messages sent by other subscribers. There are thousands of genealogy-related mailing lists, each with a specific topical purpose. There are surname lists, lists for specific geographical areas, lists concerning locating and working with specific record types, ethnic and religious lists, and lists on a wide variety of other topics.
Message Boards
Electronic message boards are similar to mailing lists, providing a means for exchanging information with others (see Figure 3-8). A message board, however, resides on the Internet, and you must proactively read it and/or post messages to it. The best genealogy message boards are those at Ancestry.com (http://boards.ancestry.com) and GenForum (http://genforum.com). (Some message boards also may be set up to notify you via email when there is a new message. However, email doesn’t play a role in posting to and working with message boards.)
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FIGURE 3-8 A message board posting concerning the Pattersons of Londonderry, NH; Ireland, and Scotland
Web Pages
Web pages on the Internet contain a wealth of information, and there are literally billions of web pages accessible by visiting web addresses known to you or that you read about. These may include personal websites, free websites, and subscription websites, as well as blogs, wikis, and other resources. (We will discuss blogs, wikis, and other social media and electronic resources at the end of this chapter and later in the book.) However, your favorite web browser allows you to connect with Internet search engines and to seek out web pages using site names, keywords and phrases, and other criteria.
Compilations and Indexes
There are many websites that have compiled various types of materials for your reference. RootsWeb (www.rootsweb.ancestry.com) provides how-to materials, access to mailing list resources, family trees submitted by other researchers, and a variety of online tools. Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet (www.cyndislist.com) is a compilation of more than 300,000 categorized links to genealogical sites on the Internet. It is the starting point for locating all types of research resources. Linkpendium (www.linkpendium.com) provides well over 9 million links to location and surname materials on the Internet. The USGenWeb Project (www.usgenweb.org) and the WorldGenWeb Project (www.worldgenweb.org) are two all-volunteer collections for United States and international genealogical information and resources, respectively. Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com) is a massive collection of more than 70 million records of cemetery and interment information from around the world that have been transcribed by individuals and entered into a free online database.
Search Engines
The compilations and indexes provide excellent information when you know what you are looking for, but the use of a search engine can exponentially expand your research. Experienced users of the Internet often have one or more favorite search engines such as Google (www.google.com) or Bing (www.bing.com). Fortunately there are genealogy-specific search resources. Mocavo (www.mocavo.com; see Figure 3-9) is the world’s largest free genealogy search engine. Mocavo provides genealogists access to the best free genealogy content on the Web, including billions of names, dates, and places worldwide. Mocavo seeks to index and make searchable all of the world’s free genealogy information. This includes message boards, blogs, and other free data on websites across the Internet. Ancestor Hunt (www.ancestorhunt.com) provides search engines for specific types of records used by genealogists.
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FIGURE 3-9 Mocavo is a search engine that searches for free genealogy-specific information.
Subscription Internet Sites for Genealogy
There are many subscription genealogy sites on the Internet, all of which combined provide access to literally tens of thousands of databases. These databases include indexes to records, digitized and indexed original document images, scanned and searchable books and newspapers, and a host of other great resources. Leaders in this area are Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), Fold3.com (www.fold3.com), findmypast (www.findmypast.co.uk), and WorldVitalRecords.com (www.worldvitalrecords.com), among others.
Blogs
Blogs are journals published online about many topics. Two great places to locate genealogy-specific blogs that might be of interest to you are GeneaBloggers (www.geneabloggers.com; see Figure 3-10) and Chris Dunham’s Genealogy Blog Finder (http://blogfinder.genealogue.com). There are blogs about national and ethnic origins, religious information, genetic genealogy, software programs, news and events, and many more topics.
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FIGURE 3-10 The GeneaBloggers website is a great place to find blogs for all areas of your genealogy research.
Podcasts and Videocasts
Podcasts are audio programs that are recorded and published on the Internet. You can listen to them at their website, download and listen to them on your computer or MP3 player/iPod, or burn them to a CD. I am co-host, with my partner Drew Smith, of The Genealogy Guys Podcast at (http://genealogyguys.com; see Figure 3-11). Other genealogy podcasts include the Genealogy Gems Podcast (www.genealogygemspodcast.com) and the Irish Roots Cafe (www.irishroots.com). Each of these (and others) provides news, research tips, interviews, book reviews, and/or other features.
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FIGURE 3-11 The Genealogy Guys Podcast site
The video equivalent of a podcast is referred to as a “videocast” or “vodcast.” You will find genealogy videos at YouTube (www.youtube.com) by searching for keyword genealogy.
Webinars
Webinars are live seminars presented on the Internet, and they are often recorded for later download and enjoyment. Genealogy webinars are presented on a wide variety of subjects. Ancestry.com presents webinars about using Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker database software, and past webinars have been recorded. RootsMagic (www.rootsmagic.com) offers webinars about its product and about research topics. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (www.fgs.org) presents a free webinar each quarter to the public and monthly webinars for its members that concern genealogy society management topics. Genealogy webinars also are being offered by the leading genealogical speakers and by some genealogical societies. More and more of these are being offered each month.
Live Online Radio
Live genealogy radio programs are becoming popular. These are broadcast on the Internet at a scheduled time and you can listen to them live. They also are recorded and stored online so that you can also access them later. One program is GeneaBloggers at www.blogtalkradio.com/geneabloggers, which broadcasts on Friday evenings at 9:00 p.m. Central Time (U.S.). Another is My Society at www.blogtalkradio.com/mysociety. It is produced by the Federation of Genealogical Societies (www.fgs.org) and focuses on genealogical societies’ issues and includes interviews with leaders in the genealogy field. It is broadcast on Saturday afternoons at 1:00 p.m. Central Time (U.S.).
Integrate Traditional and Electronic Research Findings
The overview I have shared with you in this chapter is sure to have piqued your interest in the many kinds of resources that are available. Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the differences between so-called “traditional” and “electronic” resources. If you thought, “Wow! I can do it all on the Internet!” you would be completely wrong. While there is a great deal of material on the Internet, there is much, much more that is not there. Your research must incorporate and combine traditional research and resources with electronic resources.
This chapter has prepared you to learn about each of the resources discussed throughout the book. Chapter 14 will expand on this chapter, and you’ll learn all about social networking and a wide variety of currently available electronic resources that can also enhance your research. You’re already well on your way to building the solid foundation for effective genealogy and family history research that will serve you well on this journey of discovery. Read on!