This message is a general review of some of the things one needs to do Genealogical research. For most this will be a review, but perhaps it can serve as a help to newbies. Ancestry Daily News >From the publisher of "The Source" and Ancestry Magazine http://www.ancestry.com 26 March 1999 GEORGE G. MORGAN: "ALONG THOSE LINES . . ." "What Are Genealogy Tools?" <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> ======================================================= I got into a discussion the other night with my friends Valencia, Ivy and Alva in the Genealogy Forum on America Online about updating our glossary of terms. Valencia raised the question, "What are genealogy tools?" We agreed that many a new genealogist -- and the experienced genealogist trying to stay caught up with technology -- may be confused when reading an article that instructs him/her to use all the tools at one's disposal. Just what are these tools? In "Along Those Lines . . ." this week, let's discuss some of the tools that you might use in your research. PREPRINTED FORMS There are all sorts of preprinted forms available for your use. These include pedigree charts, family group sheets, census forms for each of the federal censuses, abstract of deed forms, abstract of will/codicil forms, and other specialized forms. These are tools for your written research. MAPS One of the most valuable tools to locating your ancestors is an accurate map of the area when your ancestor lived. The map should be one that reflects the geopolitical boundaries and features that existed when you ancestor lived there. Only this map will provide you the information to accurately perform research in the correct location. GAZETTEERS Gazetteers are geographical dictionaries that help you locate specific locations. Older gazetteers can be invaluable when trying to locate places that no longer exist or whose names have changed. CENSUS INDEXES AND OTHER CENSUS FINDING AIDS Among the early resources we can use to trace ancestors is the census. Federal population censuses have taken place every ten years beginning with 1790, and records for the 1790-1920 censuses (except the 1890 census which burned) are available for review on microfilm. What you may not know is that there were a few colonial enumerations performed prior to 1790 and that a number of states conducted their own censuses between the federal ones. Printed indexes are invaluable for quickly locating the name of an ancestor and the county/parish in which he or she was enumerated, and the page number of the actual census record. More recently, some of these census indexes have become available in electronic environments. Ancestry.com just announced the availability of census indexes for 1790-1870 in their subscription database area at their Web site. One CD-ROM manufacturer is selling CDs containing the actual image of the census records for some areas, part of a large project whose intent is to make all census records available in this manner. Enumeration district records are available on microfilm too. These define the boundaries of each area where a census taker (enumerator) was to conduct their portion of the census. By studying boundaries of the enumeration district where your ancestors were situated in one census, you can use the enumeration district records for another census to determine where to look in the census records to locate the ancestor again. CD-ROM REFERENCE DISKS There are many excellent genealogical reference materials available on CD-ROM today. Certainly there are marriage records, census records, ships passenger list records, other people's databases (GEDCOM files), and a variety of other record types. There are, however, tremendous reference works available on this media. These include: ~ The Church of Latter-day Saints' "Family History SourceGuide" which includes research outlines, an index to the LDS records catalog, a glossary and other resources on a single CD-ROM. ~ The "Ancestry Reference Library," a CD containing the full text of the definitive Ancestry reference books, "The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy," "Ancestry's Redbook: A Guide to American State, County, and Town Sources," "The Library of Congress," "The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library," and "The Archives: A Guide to the National Archives Field Branches." ~ Family Tree Maker's Family Archive "The Genealogist's All-in-One Address Book," which contains family associations, libraries, archives, genealogical societies, newsletter and book publishers, courthouses and many other addresses. ~ The "Periodical Source Index" (PERSI) the invaluable index of over five thousand genealogical and historical publications. Other CD-ROM-based reference materials accompany the genealogy database software programs described below. GENEALOGY DATABASE PROGRAMS There are many programs available to enter, store, and manage the genealogical information you collect during your family history odyssey. They range from the basic family tree program to more sophisticated products such as Broderbund's "Family Tree Maker," the "LDS Personal Ancestral File" (PAF), Palladium Interactive's "Ultimate Family Tree" and others. Many of these contain extensive embedded help and reference facilities. If you're using a genealogy database program and have not explored and utilized these resources, you have missed a great deal of sophisticated material. INTERNET WEB SITES Nothing has changed the face of genealogical research in the last half-decade than the World Wide Web. The vast resources of Web pages serve as pointers to primary information sources and as a means of connection to other people researching the same surnames that we seek. In order to use these important resources, one needs to know how to access the Web with a graphical browser such as Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer, and learn how to use directories and search engines (see last week's column for details about using search engines). Among the best Web sites are Cyndi's List of categorized genealogical links (http://www.cyndislist.com/), Juliana's Links (http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/testurllinks/search.asp) which provides a searchable database of links to genealogical resources on the Web, and The USGenWeb site (http://www.usgenweb.org/) which provides links to state and county resources across the country. MAILING LISTS (LISTSRVS) There are thousands of people researching the same surname you are, and chances are good that they are subscribed to an Internet E-mail mailing list (also known as a listsrv). There are literally thousands of such lists for surnames, geographical locations, ship passenger lists, immigration and naturalization, and scores of other topics. Among the best resources for genealogists are the RootsWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/) and the Mailing List Resources on the Internet (http://members.aol.com/johnf14246/gen_mail.html). AUTOMATED AIDS There are certainly automated aids that you may have developed to facilitate your own research. This might include: ~ Forms -- You may have created log sheets, research forms, forms for notes, forms for recording bibliographic citations, and a variety of other self-designed or self-created aids for your unique style and method of research. (I created forms for use in gathering census information for a single ancestor on one form for all the censuses.) ~ Spreadsheets -- You may have prepared a data entry and recording system to store certain data. The use of spreadsheet programs is common because you can define columns, perform data entry, and then sort all the data based on column content and in ascending/descending and other orders. (I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my genealogical correspondence. I make a notation of the ancestor about whom I'm writing for records. Later, I can sort the whole spreadsheet by surname and first name and track all the correspondence I've generated for him/her and its status. I use a similar spreadsheet for surname research I've performed.) ~ Automated reports -- You may be using your word processor, your spreadsheet program, a database software package, and/or your genealogical database program to produce specific mechanized reports for specific needs. (I use my computer and these programs to produce custom reports to take with me when I go on a research trip. These commonly contain all the information about a surname or a family unit.) OTHER TOOLS There are other tools you may use to record data. An audio tape recorder is great for use in reading records for later transcription or data entry. A video camcorder is wonderful for recording events, interviews, etc. A camera is another tool. A stenographer's pad, several pencils and pens, paper clips, a stapler, a piece of chalk, a crayon, tissue paper (for tracing), coins for photocopy machines -- these are all essential tools for a genealogist. CLOSING THE TOOL KIT As you can see, there are many, many tools that we use in our genealogical research. Perhaps you never thought of some of these as tools, per se. Nevertheless, that's what they are. When I mentioned the subject of this week's column to another friend, he asked if I was going to mention bribes. "You know," he said. "The chocolate candy you send to the reference librarian for being such a great help to you?" I told him I didn't think it was necessary because we all do that anyway. Right? Happy hunting! George <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> Copyright 1999 George G. Morgan. All Rights reserved. Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl