Overwhelmed by the INTERNET?
Need some guidance,
direction and a few tips?Are you new to the Internet? the WEB? email? - a NEWBIE as we say - (nothing to be ashamed of). We were all once in your place. The Information Super Highway can be a little overwhelming and confusing at times yet exciting and amazing at other times.
Maybe you're not new to the Internet, but you are new to genealogy.
Sponsored by the Yancey Family Surname Resource Center
Your comments, suggestions, submission of links to include
would be greatly appreciated!
Need some help in understanding it all?
- Some Tips for Internet Newbies
- Stuff to know about the Internet
- Getting Started on the WEB
- Email/Internet Netiquette
- Some Tips on Web Browser use
- Mailing Lists - especially Surname ones like Yancey-L for example
- Dictionary of Internet Terms
- Guide To Effective Email
- How to Send an Attachment (Outllook, Eudora, Netscape)
- Dealing with Junk Mail
- Protect Yourself from Computer Viruses
- Dont make a fool out of yourself and pass on virus hoaxes, urban legends and chain letters.
- Information (both good, bad, true, false, misleading) flies at lightning speed around the internet - Never assume just because you read it that its good information.
- Acronym galore & Emoticon
- Internet Search Engines
- More Internet Topics
Are you just becoming familiar with genealogical and family history research? The Internet is a powerful tool for genealogical researchers.
Some examples of the Magic of the internet.
- Genealogy Portals
US GENWEB
RootsWeb
Cyndi's List
Family Tree Maker
Genealogy.com- Blank Genealogy Forms
Download for Free- Online Genealogical Databases (which have references to PRIMARY sources)
Grave Sites
Census Records
Obituaries
More Obituaries
Vital Records
Archival Documents
Immigration Records- Online Genealogical Databases (compilations of SECONDARY Sources)
(Submissions of data files from people around the world - use with caution - just because its posted on the web doesnt make it correct and valid information - How to evaluate genealogical data )
World Connect
Family Search
Ancestry World Tree
Family Tree Maker
Ancestry.com
Other Genealogical Databases
Some More Genealogical Databases- Genealogy Software
Why do I need a Computer?
Genealogy Software
PAF 4.0
The Master Genealogist
Brothers Keeper
Family Origins
Family Tree Maker- Learning about Genealogical Topics
Tips for Beginners
Genealogical Terms
The Best Place to start your research is with your own family
Learn about Genealogy
Getting Started - Genealogy on the WEB
Finding Genealogical Data using Internet Search Engines
How Many Ancestors Do I Have ?
Handwriting
Genealogical Scams- Genealogy Bulletin Boards
GENFORUM
Family History.Com
GENCONNECT- Genealogy Mailing Lists
Rootsweb- Automated Internet Search Agents
GenWatcher- Genealogy Humor
Tombstone Humor- Free Email
HotMail
Juno- Free Websites
GEOCITIES- Free Internet Access
NetZero.com- Free Long Distance Calling
Dial Pad- Free Automated Translation
Alta Vista
Some examples of the Magic of Genealogical Research on the Internet
- You just found an entire web site dedicated solely to your last name - and the history and genealogy behind it.
- You send a genealogical query out to a family surname mailing list like Yancey-L looking for info on a particular family - and within minutes you recieve a response from someone half-way around the world who has just what youve been looking for for the last few years.
- You have been able to contact more genealogical contacts in 1 years worth of Internet access - than in TEN years without it.
- You plan on making a trip to a large research library, spending the day xeroxing census entries (cost of time, gas, xeroxing etc.) - but within minutes you are able to get copies of the ACTUAL Census Schedules of a specific family - and you're sitting in your own bedroom at 1 oclock in the morning.
- You have lost contact with a fellow researcher who you beleive has a critical bit of data you need. Its been a few years since you heard from him - within a few seconds you locate him and his new address & phone at a site like www.infospace.com
- You are planning a trip to Sullivan County Tennessee - you want to know what to see and who to contact - within minutes of visiting the USGENWEB site for that county - you have names & numbers of various research facilities with hours & phone numbers and a list of places to stay in the area.
- You are considering placing various genealogical queries in the Genealogical Helper Magazine. Each one will cost about $10. Your hope is to be able to contact people researching a specific rare surname. You visit the Roots Surname List - and make various contacts within a day - and you didnt spend a cent.
- You're grandson across the country just had his birthday - you couldnt attend - but you see the photos his dad took of him - minutes after - posted on the family website.
- You have a local LDS family History Center - from which you can order various microfilms of parish records from England. But when you go there the computer which has the database of available microfilms is always busy. You go back home, look up the LDS site - and find reference numbers for various parish registers (or other primary source records) that can be sent to your local family history center for viewing - you also find out that you have another FHC that is much closer to your house.
- You find an old family photo in your attic - you scan in on your computer, post it on a web site - and ask the cousins to look at it - within a day someone has identified it and tells you of other photos they have of the family.
- You are going to visit a recent genealogical contact you just made in Los Angeles - you have no idea how to get to his address - you go to a site like Yahoo Maps and within a few seconds have both a map and a ROUTE on how to get to his address.
- You log on to a Cemetery/Grave Database - and within a few minutes find an actual photo of your great-grandfathers tombstone.
- You want to obtain information concerning your father from his Social Security Records - you log on to Ancestry.com and within seconds find it along with his exact death date and place and other info.
- You plan on a trip to a county courthouse over the summer to xerox some county court records concerning some of your ancestors. You go to the USGENWEB site for the county - and find out someone has already transcribed them for you.
- You want to send a cousin of yours a copy of your family genealogical album (over a hundred pages). Xeroxing/postage/binding is expensive. You post your data file on World Connect - and your cousin downloads the datafile (GEDCOM) into his computer and prints out a report in Book/Register format - you didnt spend a dime, he didnt either - and your cousins didnt do any data-input for a single person.
- You are a member of the US Military stationed in Germany. You have no direct access to ANY US records or ANY library with US resources - but you can easily a mass a large store of info via a web browser and email at hours that most people in the US are sleeping.
- You visit the Library of Virginia web site - and see that they have a copy of your great-great-grandfather's Family Bible.
- You have an old family photo that is beginning to fade and its the only copy known of. You have the photo scanned, post it on your web site - you never have to worry about losing quality with aging - and now everyone in your family, living across the country, can view, download, and print the photo.
- You are considering sending out a family genealogical newsletter - you have the addresses of over 100 cousins. Envelopes, Postage, xeroxing cost $$$$. You set up a Family Mailing List and send it out to all your cousins - and you dont spend a dime. They in turn respond and soon you have the entire family sharing information, almost instantaneously and free of cost, via email.
- You are considering having your family research published - you go to a printer and he gives you some horrendous price for the publication. You have a friend who shows you his genealogy software - prints out his entire family tree in book format with PAF 4.0 which he downloaded for FREE - it prints out in very professional format, including photos, biographies etc. and all he had to pay for was the paper and a simple binding done at Kinkos.
- You want to set up a family web site - containing all the data you have entered into your computer database - but you havent a clue as to how to code HTML or setup a website - With some very basic insructions you are able to automatically generated HTML web pages of your genealogical data - and you post it on a FREE web site at a place like GEOCITIES.
- You would like to make contact with a good buddy from High School that you havent seen in 20 years - you find him registered at ClassMates.com and you send him an email.
- You are maintaining your family genealogical data in a computerized word processor. You have been working on an "Ancestor Report" - now you want to start working on a "descendants chart" of a common early ancestor. You dont want to have to RETYPE in all the data that you used in the first report - and "cutting and pasting" can take forever. Someone shows you their genealogy software where you can print Family group Sheet, Pedigree Charts, Descendants Charts, Wall Charts, Photo Charts etc. without ever having to do any duplicate data entry.
- You woud like to order various Genealogical Forms - including U.S. Census recording forms - you find that you can find most of what you need on the Internet and print them for free.
- You find a genealogical document in Spanish, which you dont understand, but are able to get it translated within minutes at: http://babel.altavista.com/translate.dyn
- A cousin calls you up asking about your genealogical research - he lives across the country - but says he is able to call you FOR FREE using his computer.
