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!!

Genealogy Blogs: A wealth of information

There are several excellent blogs filled with tips to help you find your midwestern ancestors.  How do you find these blogs.  One of the easiest ways is to use Google and put in the name of the state genealogical society in the search bar.  The links below are just a few of the Midwest state genealogical society blogs.

• Missouri State Genealogical Association Blog - interesting articles about a wide variety of topics
• Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog - covers a variety of topics for the Illinois researcher
• Indiana State Genealogical Society Blog - very active blog with many genealogical events in Indiana

It is also a good idea to check to see if the state historical societies in your state of interest have a blog.  A couple of state historical society blogs of interest are:

• Nebraska State Historical Society Blog - lots of interesting information
• Indiana State Historical Society Blog - great way to keep informed about Indiana historical events
• Ohio State Historical Society Blog

Besides these organizational blogs there are many other people blogging about genealogy.  Use your search engines to locate links to blogs that are of interest to you for great ideas.

Lesson 3: Entering information into forms or database

There are two commonly used types of forms for documenting family history:

• Family Group Sheet
• Pedigree Chart

Family Group Sheet

The family group sheet is used to document a family unit.  It includes vital information about a man, his wife and children.  It may also include the names of his parents and his wife’s parents and may include the names of his children’s spouses.  The usual information entered about family members includes the following facts:

·         Given name and surname

·         Date of birth

·         Place of birth

·         Date of baptism (sometimes included)

·         Place of baptism (sometimes included)

·         Date of marriage

·         Place of marriage

·         Date of death

·         Place of death

·         Date of burial

·         Place of burial

The information you will be recording about yourself and your family members should be recorded consistently.  You will be recording the same type of information about many individuals and should use a consistent format to document the facts. 

Names

Record the full name if known even if they did not use their full name, but used a nickname.  You may indicate the nickname in quotation marks.  For example:  Benjamin Andrew “Bennie” Jones.   For married women always record their maiden name instead of their married surname.   If you do not know their maiden name you may use some method to distinguish that the surname was not their birth name such as Martha Ann Jonesmrs may be used to indicate that Martha was Mrs. Martha Ann Jones.

Dates

Genealogists use a consistent format for recording dates.  You may choose which format you prefer, but once you decide you should use it consistently throughout your work.  Generally, most family historians use two digits for the date followed by the month written in full and followed by four digits for the year.  Example:  21 September 1984.  If you prefer you may record the date 09/21/1984 or 21 Sep 1984 or 21/09/1984.  Whatever format be sure to use it for recording all dates.

Locations

It is also important to record the geographic location where the event occurred in a consistent format.  In general, you should record the town, county, state and country.  Example:  Saint Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri, USA.  You may use the two-letter abbreviation for the state if you prefer.  Saint Joseph, Buchanan, MO, USA.  It is not necessary to write the word county when you use a consistent format.  If you do not know all of the information for the location use commas to mark the designation.  Example:  , Buchanan, MO, USA or Saint Joseph, , MO, USA.

It is also important to record the location as it was known at the time the event occurred.  For example:  Prior to the end of the Civil War the state of West Virginia did not exist.  You should record the location as Virginia prior to 1865, but after 1865 the location would be West Virginia.  A person may not move, but the location of an event in his / her life may be different than a previous event that occurred at the same location just due to a change in boundaries.

Pedigree Chart

The function of the pedigree chart is to document the lineage from one generation to the next.  It starts with an individual and shows his / her parents; their parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so forth.  They help to document a direct line of ancestors.  The information should be recorded consistently on the pedigree chart as it was on the family group sheet.

Visit midwest-genealogy.com

I would like to encourage all of you to visit my updated website.  I have reformatted the pages, added new information and hope that you will find this updated website to be helpful. The URL is midwest-genealogy.com.

Please feel free to comment on the appearance, content, etc. of this updated website.  It is your feedback that helps me improve the content of the website and this blog.

New Blog about doing Genealogical Research in the Midwest

I have decided to add a blog to my websites. This blog will contain general information about researching in the midwest, short blognotes about the midwest, news of genealogical events happening in or about the midwest and other items of interest. The blog is also open to others who would like to share what they know about researching in the midwest. It can be used to post questions and share ideas. I hope you will find it a welcome addition to my websites.


As an opener let's define what is considered the "Midwest" ~ The United States Census Bureau divides the United States into 4 geographic regions:

• Northeast
• South
• Midwest
• West

The Midwest consists of 12 states: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. For more information describing the Midwest see this wikipedia site. The order of entry of the Midwestern States into the union is shown below:

• Ohio - 17th state admitted in 1803
• Indiana - 19th state admitted in 1816
• Illinois - 21st state admitted in 1818
• Missouri - 24th state admitted in 1821
• Michigan - 26th state admitted in 1837
• Iowa - 29th state admitted in 1846
• Wisconsin - 30th state admitted in 1848
• Minnesota - 32nd state admitted in 1858
• Kansas - 34th state admitted in 1861
• Nebraska - 37th state admitted in 1867
• North and South Dakota - 39th & 40th states both admitted in in 1889

Early settlers began coming into the area known are "the Old Northwest Territory" at the turn of 19th century. Settlers of Scots-Irish origins poured into the area from Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania to purchase land. Another stimulus to settling the area were land warrants issued to Revolutionary War soldiers, who were mainly from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey. The construction of the Erie Canal and later the railroad helped to bring new settlers into the area.

Some major factors affecting the settlement of the midwest include:

• Northwest Ordinance in 1787
• Establishment of roads such as the National Road, Braddocks Road, Cumberland Gap,
• Louisiana Purchase in 1803
• Building of the Erie Canal
• Steamboats
• Building of the railroads
• Platte Purchase of 1837
• Trails west including Oregon, Santa Fe
• Gold discovered at Sutter's Mill in California 1849
• Homestead Acts of 1862 and 1866
• Treaties with Native Americans

This is just a brief synopsis of the opening of the Midwest to settlers and those who are our ancestors. If you want to learn more about this there are many many links on the internet that can help you.
Some links I find helpful include:

• Westward Expansion
• Wikipedia - Midwestern United States
• 18th Century History - Midwestern United States
• U.S. Census Bureau Map

If you would like to share any sources of information you have that would help others learn more about the settlement of the Midwest please feel free to add a post to this Blog!
Stay tuned -- more about the Midwest to come in the future.
Sharlene Miller, CG
CG and Certified Genealogist are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists used under license by those who have passed BCG's periodic examination process.