Evaluation of Family History Websites

British Heraldic Archive
www.kwtelecom.com/heraldry
This site from the British Heraldic Archive provides only a small selection of articles on topics like the "Livery Companies of London" and "Heraldry in Scotland". The site is currently undergoing refurbishment and some pages have been relocated to Heraldic Media who sponsor the site, but the page link was not operational when I tried to access it. I managed to access the pages by trying www.heraldicmedia.com. There are other heraldry sites that are much better for someone with an interest in this area, such as www.college-of-arms.gov.uk and www.heraldrysociety.com

British Isles Genealogy
www.bigenealogy.com
A U.S.A.. site with no indication of the provider of the informaion,but it is free which is very generous of someone. The site mainly provides links to other relevant websites and to on-lines transcripts of various books and documents.How the links have been selected seems a bit hit and miss, but they are all good e.g. P.R.O /Society of Genealogists /Cambridge University Lib.Cat.,Ancestry.co.
They provide a LOOK UP service for data that they have been unable to place online.[1 form per day free of charge] They can provide information from the following
1881 UK census
1881 Scotland
1851 Devonshire/Norfolk/Warwicks.
I would not particularly recommend this to UK enquirers but would suggest that colleagues have a look at it. Despite its limitations and unsophisticated format,it contains much useful information.

British Isles Genweb
www.britishislesgenweb.org
British Isles GenWeb Project,part of the World GenWeb Project Website.Created in 1996 with the goal of having each country in the world represented by an online website dedicated to providing genealogical /historical records and resources. All participating researchers live in or are familiar with their relevant country.
non profit making/volunteer researchers
The strength of this site must be that it must be unique. Information for the British Isles is arrnaged by county with a 'host' for each county. Main sources of information [e.g. Record Office] provided for each county rather than specific information. Links are provided to Genuki/Rootsweb etc for family history research. There is an archive section that provides on line transcripts but little was available for locations I looked at.
A HELP DESK and a QUERIES PAGE are provided.
This site seems to be looking for volunteers. Perhaps interested librarians could get involved to improve/add to the quality of their county page.

Cyndislist
www.cyndislist.com
Audience & purpose:
Family historians and researchers. Purpose stated to be a 'card index' to the 'books all over the library floor' in the genealogy section of the Internet.
Management:
Personally managed by Cyndi Howells, who will tell you just how she does it in the FAQs. New and updated links are clearly indicated for 30 days. Dates of update are generally indicated.
Ease of use:
Friendly approach; it feels personal but professional. There are a variety of indexes and a search engine. Easy to navigate and find Home.
Content:
Well organized in categories, and very wide-ranging. Though the site is American, it still proves to contain plenty for other researchers. The links I followed proved to be to genuinely useful sites.
Links:
Cyndi's second priority of the day is maintaining links. She gives a statistic for the number of broken links she found last time she ran her program. I didn't find any.
Design:
Easy on the eye with clear layout and comfortable background. A few well-chosen graphics brighten it up but don't affect download time.
Interactive features:
High interactivity. Mailing list allows users to find out what's new. Allows submission of new links.
Advertising:
Discreet banner advertising, but not obtrusive.
Unique to the web?:
Yes
Would you recommend it?:
Yes, wholeheartedly. Even a complete beginner could get something from it, and there is plenty for even the most experienced researcher.
Overall comments:
It is good to find this site as good as its reputation. I had a fascinating half hour exploring it, and will be back!

Familysearch
www.familysearch.org
This is the huge flagship site for the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints What would we do with out them?
The site is attractive and very easy to navigate, features include information about the Church of Latter Day Saints, and good useful information about getting started on family history. Following the information on the front page results in a very logical progression to finding information about families from the IGI (International Genealogical Index).  However to obtain more than a listing of a name which may or may not be a family member a subscription is required. There are useful links to other family history websites. It is too huge a site to describe and analyse - try it!
I found the "Whats New" feature very useful as a description of sources of information and this clearly indicates recent updates.

Gendex
www.gendex.com
Acts as an index to pedigrees on personal web sites (20 million names). Also has information about software to put your pedigree on the net - I didn't understand this section. Can be searched for free but by paying a fee you can do more sophisticated searching. Able to search by individual, surname and database but some entries are marked as "Private" and cannot be viewed fully. Possible to locate the owner of some entries. As the entries are
submitted by individuals the content and accuracy may be variable. Large percentage of American pedigrees but may be useful if your ancestor emigrated to the USA. Site support details are provided and the site has been given awards by family history magazines. Overall, I felt that the site would be unhelpful and confusing for a beginner to family history.

Genealogy.com www.genealogy.com
U.S.A. based site, a subsidary of A/E Television Networks
'finding ancestors is virtually guaranteed,immediate access to 300 million names'
I would imagine that this is a very useful site to Americans and those with American ancestry.It contains a mass of information on sources of information within the U.S.A [+elsewhere] It was interesting to see a site not obsessed with British ancestry.
There is a free surname/first search though access to all the benefits of the site are by subscription [14 day free trial available]

Genealogy Toolbox
www.genealogytoolbox.com
Audience & purpose:
Family historians – to provide a categorized approach to material on the Web. American bias limits its use for UK researchers.
Management:
Husband and wife team. Didn't notice any details of dates updated, but there are some 2002 copyright dates.
Ease of use:
Very text-heavy approach makes it rather daunting for all but the most committed.
Content:
American bias. Stated commitment to concentrating on more obscure records. Good for users with U.S. relatives. Search engine across categories.
Links:
Weakest part of the site. I found seven broken links in 20 minutes use.
Design:
Rather old-fashioned with very few graphics or helpful layouts. Unappealing sludgy background. I found it difficult to get Home from some pages.
Interactive features:
Allows sending of comments and submission of useful sites. You can also add yourself to a mailing list, but I didn't test this out.
Advertising:
Not that I came across.
Unique to the web?:
Certainly quicker for some of the information. I imagine much of the U.S. information is not available for U.K. users in any other form.
Would you recommend it?:
For U.K. information there are other more user-friendly sites available. For those researching U.S. ancestors this would undoubtedly be useful, if not 'fun'.
Overall comments:
Reasonably useful, but won't fire the imagination!

Gengateway
www.gengateway.com
Offers a series of subject gateways - beginner, ethnic, family, surname.
After selecting a gateway you are offered a list of options mainly relating to North American sources, some of which look very obscure. A surname search links you to www.surnameweb.org, which takes most of its information from the USA census. Too much advertising on the site. I would not recommend the site - too American to be of much help.

Genhomepage
www.genhomepage.com/communication.html.
This site as the book tells us is simply a listing of forums for discussions and newsgroups re genealogy matters, such as surname queries.
The link is a direct line to the site and we are provided with a little information about the content of the site.
It is useful to note that these discussion sites are available.
However it should be noted that the site was last updated 27 3 2001 therefore it is not very current.

Local History.co.uk
www.local-history.co.uk
Bear in mind that it is a commercial site for Local History magazine, who also publish local history books.  Local History Societies section is about 3 yrs old and needs some updating, it is not comprehensive.  Probably best for the Nottingham area, as that is where they are based.
'Latest News' section was interesting
'Getting Started advice is basic, but sound (first thing to do is 'Visit your Local Studies Library'!)
'Local Courses' doesn't take you to actual courses, but gives weblinks to course providers, e.g. Nottingham University Centre for Local History - still useful.