Googling Family History

Need a hobby? Genealogy is the fastest growing hobby in North America according to About.com. Read also here.

One of the fun things about it is it can connect you with cousins you never knew you had from all over the world. I have a friend who now has a Swedish cousin she corresponds with. Since discovering him a couple of years ago, she has visited there once, planning another trip, and he has come here. She cherishes her new-found friend/relative. The common link of roots is a powerful connector. We enjoy Facebook and other social networking sites that hook us up with long-lost friends and relatives. That's kind of what genealogy does in connecting you with others. And if these folks share your interest in learning about their earlier ancestors, you will have a comrade in your search, as well as someone to rejoice with you in your success. Family history is not a private thing. It is best shared, grown and enjoyed with others on the same "tree" - or at least a neighboring branch.

If you want to find your local Family History Center (free resources and availability of search tools, programs, microfilms of the same records available in SLC), click here.

Computers have made it so much easier. It used to be an expensive and time-consuming hobby for slow results but now, we can have almost instant success, we can "talk" to our relatives through IM, email and social networks and we don't have to buy stamps. We can read and print actual copies of documents, including census records that tell you where your relatives lived, their family make up and other facts.

If you're interested in finding your roots, or expanding the ones you've already found, click on the post title to learn about using Google Groups for online genealogy. This is one way to join with others in your research.

Go here for some tips on Google searches. (Click the word)

The Family History library in Salt Lake is the largest of its kind in the wold and receives 2,400 visitors a day. There's nothing like seeing something about your ancestor in print, but if you never make it to SLC or another family history center, it is estimated that within the next decade or two the whole library will be available online. Thousands of volunteers help to index and digitalize information. Everyone can help in this project. People who have just a few minutes a day have volunteered to do some lists. Natalie has participated in this project. You sign up, then they send documents for you to enter as you interpret them (like census records). You enter it and two others are given the same record. Once submitted, they are electronically checked and if all three readers agree, they are accepted; if there is discrepency, it goes to a handwriting specialist who determines the name and enters it. So, you don't need to be overly concerned if you have trouble deciphering an "f" or "s". Click here to volunteer for this online service to genealogy.

Even if you don't want to search your own roots, please participate in this project to help make records more accessible to all. This is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as part of Family Search but volunteers come from all walks of life and religion (or lack of). There is no minimum time commitment and if you don't like it, you don't have any obligation to continue. Click index for mor information.

A few other sites worth mentioning: wiki.familysearch.org, rootstelevision.com (share videos)

Of course you can begin your own search easily at familysearch.org.

Now if someone would just write a good (and competitively priced) family history program for my Mac! If you're on a PC, you have lots of options if you want to get started and store all your information which can be exchanged with others through Gedcom files. I have enjoyed Legacy, but RootsMagic and Family Tree Maker both appear good. I just haven't personally used them. It looks like Reunion is my only choice for Mac and I've heard it's not that great and costs more. At the Family History fairs the others are promoted at good prices. Without competition, Reunion doesn't have to discount!