Alan E. Mann, A.G.
Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy January 2002
Genealogical Research Using the Internet
Surname Strategies for
Internet Research
More information than you could ever read is available on Internet. The problem is how to find it and weed out the part you really need. There is no catalog, and no master index. There are three basic ways to locate useful information on the Internet:
These are probably listed in same order as they are most commonly used. I can’t teach the first method, but we can talk about two and three. Method 2 often involves talking to a friend, relative, co-worker, or learning from a lecture or article. You are also using method 2 when you use a web page to help you find the information—the author of the web page is the person whom you are asking, and that author’s web page tells you (hopefully). There are many web pages that use names to help you locate information.
While there are surname sites (web pages devoted to a family or surname), the basic approach to finding data by surname is to use an index. There are many indexes to names in genealogies on the Internet. I will briefly cover many of the major ones that I have been able to locate.
FamilySearch Internet
Internet Family Finder
RootsWeb Surname List
USGenWeb Archive search
Ancestry Library Search
GenealogyLibrary Search
Gendex
FamilyFinder Index
Library of Congress Surname catalog
Mailing Lists
Newgroup Name Archive
Guild of One Name Studies (GOONS)
Other
Search many at once with a Meta-search
SuperSearch (12-15 databases at once--note limits) www.familytreemagazine.com/search/
MultiGen (multiple searches in separate windows…) located at
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/CACulman/MultiGen.htm
For names in various geographical databases and other sites of more specific nature, please look at lists of database sites at:
To find sites devoted to a particular surname, you can also use a categorized list, such as:
An interesting list of indexes with links is the All-In-One Genealogists Index at www.oocities.org/Heartland/Acres/8310/gensearcher.html.
I have a sampling of some specific, useful indexes listed at www.oocities.org/Heartland/6266/indexes.htm.
New sites are added regularly. An announcement is anticipated at www.heritagequest.com. For other sites with pedigrees and genealogies submitted by individuals, see the article "Lineage Linked Databases" in Genealogical Computing magazine.
Another way to apply surname strategy is to use general search engines, or search tools that are not limited to genealogical sites. While these often return information that is not useful to family history research, some of the web pages they locate do not seem to be indexed by the genealogical search tools available. Search engines work well for unusual names, however. Popular search engines include www.google.com, www.altavista.com, and www.excite.com. There are thousands more. For information on using non-genealogical search engines for genealogical searches, see www.oocities.org/familyhistory.geo/howto3.htm.
Find your way by trying out the resources listed here. Spend a few hours experimenting and you will enhance and enrich your future Internet use. You’ll shorten the time to find anything, and you’ll amaze yourself with how much is available. Soon people will be coming to you, the Internet expert.
For a demo of thirteen popular web sites, see www.oocities.org/q6266/.
©Copyright 1997-2002 by Alan E. Mann. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce all or part of this syllabus material in any format, including photocopying, data retrieval or any computer bulletin boards, must be secured in advance from the copyright holder.