----- Original Message ----- From: Sharon Buethner To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005 9:25 PM Subject: GENEALOGY RESEARCHING HELP Let me preface this by asking, if you pass this fine article on to others, please be sure to give full credit to The Genealogical Helper as the source!! "Easy Google Genealogy Searcher" "Searching the Internet for a particular subject is often a 'shot in the dark.' But there are some things a person can do to improve his/her chance of success. One of those is a new search engine, powered by Google & designed just for the genealogist. The engine is located at: (http://www.searchforancestors.com/google/searcher.html) There are several search options including a specific search for photos , another for newspapers , & a list of directories. For each search, there are 'help' options & tips to make the most of the search. In the case of newspapers, researchers can look for a specific area, narrowing down to a town or widening to include an entire country. Another search leads to directions for 'antiquated' words (which can include medical terms), Latin terms, acronyms, & terminology used in deeds & other documents. And when you find that a great-grandfather owned land, but the deed gives the land size in rods, the search engine page includes a calculator that will transfer that into modern dimensions. Another option of the search engine is handy for locating a place. Unlike most map programs, this engine will search by keyword & location, even if you don't have the proper name. For instance, a search for 'cemetery' & 'Logan, Utah,' brings up half a dozen primary sites & several related sites. If a trail of an ancestor has led to a foreign land, the engine offers options to search for surnames in specific countries & to search for sites in a specific language. There are several programs available to translate languages & this search engine includes that option. In this case, a word or series of words can be pasted into the translation box & Google will translate. Or, type in the address & Google will translate an entire web page. The search engine's home page includes tips, suggestions & links, all with the genealogist in mind"