More Genealogy Websites

Not all websites are equal:


I thought I would take a bit of time here to jot down some of my favorite genealogy websites, but before I do, I want to remind you that not all information on websites is of equal quality.  There are websites which offer free information.  These are often databases with information transcribed from the source record and are often very helpful as finding aids, but you should always try to view the original source data or a copy such as a scanned image or photocopy yourself.  There are beginning to me more websites that do publish images of the original source material.

Don't overlook Wiki Articles too.  They often have helpful information about a geographic location, biographical information about a person.  You can find almost any kind of information in Wikipedia.  Again you will need to double-check the source of the information.  Anyone can contribute to a Wiki so some are better than others.

The social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are also offering another way for family members to connect and share information.  You might want to investigate if you prefer this way to connect to your family and genealogy friends.  This is a good way to connect with relatives to share documents that might not be available from any other source.

There are also several subscription websites that generally do offer images of the source documentation and they provide search tools to help you search their extensive databases which connect you to the image link.

Free Websites:

• Missouri Digital Archives - death certificates, land patents, coroner's inquests, etc.  New information added frequently.
• FamilySearch - now starting to offer links to some documents; keep checking this site as it just keeps improving.
• FindAGrave - this website is also under constant revision; volunteers contribute cemetery listings and often include photos of the cemetery marker and biographical information.
• Newspaper Abstracts - new information from newspapers contributed daily.
• U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service - information about ordering U.S. Immigration service records.
• Rootsweb - an old standby; this website has been around many years; consists of volunteer contributed information; databases; photos; historical and biographical information, much, much more.
• GenealogyToday - This site has both free and subscription areas.  In the free area it contains reference articles, how-to information, good collection of funeral cards and other unique databases as well as links to less common genealogy websites and search engine that links to other well known genealogy sites.

Foreign Record Sites

• National Archives of Ireland - census records, information about life in Ireland and more.
• Limerick Burial Records - Limerick, Ireland burial records
• Limerick Quaker Records - Meeting minutes from the Society of Friends (Quakers) in Limerick, Ireland

Subscription Websites

• Ancestry.com - my favorite genealogy website
• Footnote.com - also excellent source for images of original records
• NewspaperArchive.com - this is a good website for find newspaper articles
• GenealogyBank.com - variety of valuable information
• WorldVitalRecords.com - collection of databases; good finding aid

Watch for updates to this post!!

Lesson 4: Document, document, document!!

Kinds of Sources

Once you have the information written down on the form or entered into your genealogy software program you will need to document the source of the information in the various documents.  Sources can be classified in various ways:

·         Primary source – a source that is recorded at or near the time of the event and the information is provided by someone who was an eyewitness to the event.

·         Secondary source – a source that was recorded some time after the event and / or the information is provided by someone that did not witness the event.

·         Direct evidence – a document that states the information directly.  It directly states the information such as the date and place of birth or death.

·         Indirect evidence – information when taken as a whole allows one to draw a reliable conclusion.

·         Original source – a genuine document in which the information was documented at the time the event took place such as a marriage license or certificate; a baptism record written by the official performing the sacrament at the time of the event; a land deed signed by the grantor.

·         Derivative source – is not the original document recording the event.  It can be a transcription, a photocopy, a photograph, microfilm or other reproduction of the document.

·         Transcription – is an exact copy of the document; word for word, including punctuation, misspellings, and is not altered from the original or copy of the original.

·         Extract – is a summary of the information in the document and may include word for word copies of pertinent information.

·         Abstract – describes the content of the original source, but only includes what the person abstracting the information believes is essential information.

Formatting of citation information

There are two excellent books on citing your genealogical sources.  The first book is the currently accepted practice of source citation:

·         Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills, Genealogical Publishing Company, 2007.  ISBN:  978-0-8063-1781-6.

·         Evidence:  Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.  ISBN:  0-8063-1543-1.

Both books are worth having.  The older book is easier to carry along with you to repositories so you can write the proper citation on any records you are photocopying.  The “Good Practices of Genealogical Citation” rule is to put the citation on the front of the copy of each page so that any subsequent copies will have the citation.

Links to articles about Genealogical Citation

Free e-book by Emily Anne Croom:  http://www.unpuzzling.com/Guide%20to%20Documentation.pdf

Why should I cite my sources – more information:  http://www.progenealogists.com/whatcite.htm

How to do citations:  http://www.progenealogists.com/citationguide.htm

Genealogy Reference Sheet:  http://www.geneabloggers.com/Citations_Quick_Reference.pdf