GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET

by Judith Chanig and Kristen Andrews
From BCLA Reporter [British Columbia Library Association], January 1997

Internet World (May 1996) claims the World Wide Web has over 20 million pages of information and it is estimated that its growth will continue to double in size every four months! As the Internet continues to grow, so does the list of genealogy sites and the number of genealogy enthusiasts. Mailing lists, news groups, home pages and archives enable us to link up with families all over the world.

The myth exploded: you cannot yet punch in one name to one computer and come up with an accurate family tree. However, an increasing amount of information is being mounted on the Web making more research possible, at least without leaving the vicinity of your computer. Genealogical sources on the Internet range from general research guides and "how-to" tips to searchable databases of old government records and massive archives of who in the world is researching what surnames.

Two published sources of information on this topic are the book, Genealogy Online: Researching Your Roots by Elizabeth Powell Crowe (Windcrest, 1995) and the periodical Genealogical Computing. Some of the most current information is of course on the Internet itself. The following is a brief annotated list of some interesting and useful sites.

1. Starting Places.

Genealogy SF
[http://www.genealogysf.com]. Many "how-to" articles and basic genealogy information. Files must be downloaded to your own system and then de-archived.

Getting Started in Genealogy and Family History
[http://midas.ac.uk/genuki/gs/]. Read the essay by this title, then cruise the news groups. Evaluations of software, discussion groups, methods for tracing surnames.

2. Mega Sites.

Cyndi How's List of Genealogy Sites on the Net
[ http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/sites.htm]. An award-winning site. Well organized in geographical, alphabetical listings. Look at the lists carefully -- each one is a site -- over 2,900 links well researched.

The Genealogy Home Page
[http://www.genhomepage.com/]. Links to libraries, maps, newsgroups, genealogists' email addresses, software, upcoming events and commercial services. Special link to ftp site of genealogy shareware and free software.

Helm's Genealogy Toolbox
[ http://genealogy.tbox.com/genealogy.html]. Another award winning site. Links allow you to search for yourself or pay a professional to do the research for you.

3. Periodicals.

Everton's Genealogical Helper, Online Edition
[http://www.everton.com/b1.htm] This online version of the world's largest genealogical magazine includes features from the print version as well as articles designed for the Web. Back issues are available. Also check the Everton's Home Page at http://www.everton.com/

Journal of Online Genealogy
[http://www.onlinegenealogy.com/] A free e-zine which focuses on the use of online resources in genealogy.

4. Miscellaneous.

Ancestry Search
[http://www.ancestry.com]. Search the American Social Security Death Index and American marriage records. See also their Genealogy Site of the Week.

Canadian Genealogical Resources
[ http://www.iosphere.net/~jholwell/cangene/gene.html]. Nationwide societies, archives, cemetery finding aids, census files, addresses for vital records offices, immigration, military records and many more places in between.

Directory of Royal Genealogical Data
[ http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/catalog.html]. If you feel a little overwhelmed by what you find on the Internet in your family tree searches, try looking at this British Royal Family site.

Francetres: Sources in Quebec
[ http://www.cam.org/~beaur/gen/qc-src-e.html]. 1608 to the present day. Vital records, census, family dictionaries, notarized acts and many more valuable historical resources for Quebec.

Genealogy Calendar Home Page
[ http://emcee.com/PAF/www/events/placeix.html]. Describes upcoming genealogical events through the year 2002.

Infospace
[http://www.infospace.com/]. Includes all telephone directories in Canada and the United States. White, blue and yellow pages, toll free numbers, fax, e-mail addresses are also included.

National Archives of Canada
[ http://www.archives.ca/www/Genealogy.html] Describes resources and services for genealogists. Two databases are searchable online: the 1871 Census for the province of Ontario and the World War I Canadian Expeditionary Force Database.