February 22, 2009
TRACING OUR
ROOTS
HELP
NAVIGATING THE INTERNET
by Brenda Kellow
When it sounds like it is too good to be true, it probably
is. When I saw a genealogy tool that could show me where I could find missing
information on my family history software online I was positive that was not
true. What if it did work, or only half worked. It could be useful. Therefore,
as I’ve done so many times before when looking for the silver lining I tried it.
Surprise!
It took less than a minute to get it loaded onto my
computer. To use it, I asked GenSmarts to download my genealogy database of
family history names, including all the events in their lives whether or not I
had found anything on them in the past. It performed that task in less than a
minute even though I have over six thousand verified ancestors entered in file.
Some families lacked all the vital information while others had completed
events.
After downloading a portable data file copy of the
instruction manual I begin reading about how to get started. By using the tabs
at the top of the page, I navigated to ‘My Genealogy File’ where I found the
entire index of all my families and those of my husband’s in the left column and
a brief description of what I had found on that person in the right column. The
write-up identified the husband and wife by name and their RIN number [record
information number found on all modern genealogy software databases]. It
recognized my estimated or guesstimated dates and facts and displayed them as ‘GSEST.’
I was surprised that it recognized a misspelled word in much the same way as MS
Word and it recognized where I had failed to identify the source.
Next, I checked my one subscription in the list so that it
would know it was possible to get into the site for it to research. At the
bottom, were some interesting observations such as why I should research the
site, his background information, finding aids and research information noting
the possibility of finding answers on my subscription site?
By double clicking on the person’s name, GenSmarts sent me
to the ‘To Do List’ where it had placed several symbols by the name. The mouse
icon on the left side meant I might find the date of his marriage on the
Ancestry site; a smiley face indicated missing information; the diamond shape
reminded me I had failed to enter a source; and a star marked my direct line
ancestors it pulled from my software program.
Always the skeptic, I decided to test it to see if it was
too good to be true. I double clicked on the name and it entered my subscription
site, automatically filled in the information for a search and connected me with
the 1910 Pennsylvania census where I found the elderly couple. They were both 79
and they had been married for 55 years. She had given birth to five children but
only three were alive in 1910. He and his parents were born in England, she and
her parents were born in Pennsylvania and they owned their home. I marked it
found and went on to my next search. If I had not found it, I would have marked
it ‘not found’ or checked ‘search later.’
I went on to find the couple on the 1900 census in Kings
County New York. I learned he entered the Unites States 47 years before and was
a naturalized citizen but now retired.
There is no wonder they are so hard to find. I went on to
uncover a death record for one of the sons in Wales; a draft registration in
Florida; another draft registration in California although he married in
Florida. They were in all those states and left records I might not have been
able to find otherwise.
Yes, it did work and it worked very well for connecting to
free sites and to my single subscription site. It did have a problem. I was
aggravated that to enter the internet search site I had to click on it manually.
I wish it would enter the site automatically. By searching using this new search
software, I was able to work a family of six in four states and in Wales in a
matter of about two hours. Why did it take so long? Finding them was easy.
Saving each record and its source to my computer and recording the find in my
database took the most time.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history,
teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s
histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a
Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunions announcements, books to review,
and genealogy queries to: TraceRts@verizon.net.
