Professional Genealogy Services:
The process of genealogy and family research is rewarding, fascinating and fun. As with any other endeavor, there are times when even the most determined researcher must enlist the aid of a professional. Professional genealogists and genealogy services are often necessary when a family researcher is trying to certify the eligibility of their family in certain historical organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), or if you wish to have your family genealogy archived by either the Family History Library or a genealogical society.
As the LDS church has the largest collection of genealogical materials in the world, so to they have some of the finest in family research and genealogy services available. Here are a few:
Lineages, Inc. is a professional genealogy research service based in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to professional surname research services, Lineages offers a wide variety of records searches including United States Census, Civil War Pension Applications, Probate Records searches for selected states and others.
Everton Publishers, Inc.
publishes "Everton's Genealogical Helper" magazine. This is an excellent
resource for online genealogy sources and services. Online surname
research, getting started with genealogy research on the Internet, listings
of personal genealogy related homepages are some of the services they offer.
Internet Genealogy & Research:
The Internet offers almost unlimited possibilities for the Genealogist and Family researcher. The number of Internet sights dedicated to Genealogy is almost overwhelming. With such a vast array from which to choose, just about everyone from the seasoned professional genealogist, to the curious person just starting out can find useful information in a wide number of areas of the Internet.
Those who are just starting out may want to simply observe when surfing the Internet for Genealogy sites. I find a helpful question to ask is: "What are the popular sites of those who have been around?" If you see the same site listed in three or more separate genealogy related sites, there's a good chance that site has something to offer. But this is not always the case either. Regional sites are excellent as well. Since regional sites cater to a more narrowly defined area, they often will not be listed on popular genealogy sites because of their narrow regional and/or geographical focus. Regional sites can however be invaluable for this very reason. They should not be overlooked. County historical societies and probate jurisdictions (i.e. county courthouses) are a good example of this sort of regional site.
State archives and records repositories are maintained by every state
that I have researched. As with anything else, some are better than
others. Resources at the state level are particularly helpful for
birth, marriage, and death certificates. Such documents are essential
for establishing the lineage of your ancestors, and help establish spousal
linkages to other family lines. Prices for certified and non-certified
copies of vital documents vary, but generally are in the $8.00 to $25.00
range. Keep in mind that state archives are sometimes kept in different
locations depending on how old the documents in question are. Once again,
there is no hard and fast rule, but I find such divisions, when they do
exit, generally occur around the beginning of this century, and record
prior to that time period. A good example of such a division is the
state of Massachusetts. If your researching in Massachusetts and
need to find a marriage license, those issued after 1901 are located in
the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, while records prior to 1901
are located in Archives of the Commonwealth which is in an entirely different
location. Many states keep probate records at the county level in
the county courthouses. Some states, such as Maryland and New York
have forms for ordering copies of records that can be printed directly
off the Internet. While most states have websites, some states have
better genealogy related sites than others.
Message Boards, Mailing Lists & Servers:
Mailing lists and servers represent one of the best means of information dissemination for genealogists and family researchers. Thousands of lineage connections have taken place as a result of mailing lists and servers.
Among the best of these is the Roots Genealogy Cooperative at http://www.rootsweb.com/ The RootsWeb project has two missions:
1.) To make large volumes of data available to the online genealogical community at minimal cost.
2.) To provide support services to online genealogical activities such as USENET newsgroup moderation, mailing list maintenance, surname list generation, etc.
Source: © Mount Pinos Webspinners --Webspinner@rootsweb.com
The Roots Genealogy Cooperative offers a vast array of goods and services to family researchers. One of the best are the Surname based mailing lists such as the WHITAKER mailing list at WHITAKER-L@rootsweb.com
The Roots Genealogy Cooperative has other lists for other surnames.
They also administer the Roots Surname List (RSL) and the Roots Location
List (RLL), which links researchers by the region of the world they are
researching. The Roots Surname list has been particularly helpful
to me in my research. Many fellow researchers have contacted me via
my postings on the Roots Surname List.
Software Manufacturers:
Sometimes I wonder whether I would have ever taken up my family research as seriously as I have if it were not for the Personal Computer and the Internet. My unprofessional opinion is that the Personal Computer and the Internet have been among the best things to happen to the field of Genealogy and Family research in a long time, and I think the reverse is true also.
Among the reasons for this is the availability of software applications that have enabled thousands of people to enter the fascinating world of genealogy and family research. Applications now exist that enable a researcher to enter information as easily as a word processor and instantly produce Family Group Sheets, Pedigree Charts and Ancestor/Descendent Trees.
Those interested in purchasing a genealogy software program should, as with any software application ask: "what do I want to do with this software?" This is important because while all genealogy software applications will store and document your family information, it is important to keep in mind that different software applications will do this in a slightly different manner, with a different focus for the finished product. Researchers shopping for a genealogy software program will benefit from a little product research before buying. Such research will ensure the maximum return on your investment, and that your family research will be productive and fun.
I have listed some of the popular genealogy software programs available currently below, with a brief description of each:
Genealogy.com is a "one stop" genealogy research website that has grown out of the tremendous growth in genealogy over the last several years. At Genealogy.com, you can research for your family line, store your family tree, and buy the very popular CD's manufactured by Broderbund Software, Inc., a subsidiary of Genealogy.com. (See below). Another product of Genealogy.com is Family Tree Maker the largest selling genealogy software application in the world. It is manufactured by Broderbund Software, Inc.
Broderbund manufactures a wide range of CD's (Compact Disks) which contain a vast collection of information from many different sources. These CD's work with Family Tree Maker (v. 3.0 and later) to place thousands of names, dates, places and other information right at a researcher's computer screen. The numbers and types of CD's available from Broderbund is too extensive to list here, but the list is growing all the time. Prices for these CD's vary but (this is not an official quote!) range from $19.00 to $49.00 depending on which one. Some are double CD's due to the shear volume of information contained, such as the Social Security Death Index (CD 110) which contains something on the order of 55,000,000 names.
Millennia Corporation of Duvall, WA manufactures Legacy® 2.0. Currently, I have never had the pleasure of using this particular software, so I have no opinion. If websites are any guide however, this looks to be a solid piece of software for genealogy, at a very reasonable price.
Ancestral Quest is the only Genealogy Software program written for Windows to be built on the PAF 2.x database. The PAF (Personal Ancestral File®) genealogy program is an industry standard for DOS. Databases can be opened, saved and edited equally by Ancestral Quest or PAF 2.x. Add-on programs and utilities designed for the PAF database can be directly used by the data from AQ. Ancestral Quest does not, however, require the PAF program. This program is for the professional genealogist who requires the ability to handle large amounts of family information. This software's ability to import/export GEDCOM files makes it a powerful informational tool for the demanding genealogist. Ancestral Quest provides full GEDCOM export and import capabilities, so files can be shared with genealogy programs that support the GEDCOM standard.
Ultimate Family Tree is
manufactured by Palladium Interactive and is rapidly growing in popularity
among genealogy enthusiasts. UFT has a wide range of tools including
the Family Tracer GEDCOM Database, tutorials, message boards, web page
registration and other resources.
Publications:
My expertise in the area of printed publications for genealogical and family research is limited. However, I do know through my two genealogical society memberships that there is a large amount of quality material available in this area for genealogists and family researchers.
Everton.com is available both in an online and print edition. Its range of information is excellent, and the magazine is well written. Everton's also offers a wide array of genealogical and family research tips, guides and resources.
Dick Eastman's Genealogy Forum's Home Page is an excellent online publication with many resources for Genealogists and family researchers on Compuserve. Ancestry.com is one of the best "one stop" resources I've encountered on the Internet. The range of this online publication is too wide to list here. Definitely worth a look.
