| Genealogy
and the Internet |
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When
you first use the Internet for your Family History research, you will be
absolutely overwhelmed – don’t let this put you off.
Take a deep breath, slow down, and start again in bite size
pieces. There are now so
many aspects of the Internet that you can use, and so many exciting
leads to follow – you will probably have a headache after your first
couple of attempts.
Firstly
there is a word of warning for everyone.
DO NOT accept anything you find on the Internet as fact – the
Internet should be used as a research guide to primary sources and
peripheral information. The
ONLY primary sources on the Internet are scanned / digitised images of
original documents – there aren’t very many of these! The
following are "explanations" of some of the different
functions that can help your family history research on the
Internet. They are not technical detailed explanations, rather
very simplistic overviews!
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How
To / Help |
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Whether
you're just beginning your family history research or venturing into a
new area there are plenty of sites on "How To Do It" :-
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Web
Pages / URLs |
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As
fast as you find web pages that are of interest, more new ones will be
appearing! You will need to
identify the sort of sites that may be available, search for specific
sites, highlight the really useful sites, and monitor relevant sites for
handy new additions and upgrades.
It is pointless listing out a bundle of URLs (web page addresses)
– 2 should be
enough to get you started and help you find the myriad of others :-
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Library
Catalogues |
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Many
libraries now have their complete catalogue on-line – great for
finding elusive books or checking how far you might have to travel for
your research. Follow the
“Libraries” link from :-
OR
for locals (Geelong & District in Victoria) go straight to the Deakin University Library Search site
and
don’t forget that the major libraries like the State Library of
Victoria have 1,000s of photographs
on-line.
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Download
Files & Databases |
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Many
databases and indexes are available on-line for browsing or searching,
however some are available to be downloaded to your own computer.
Often these are simple text files, but others can be large
database files such as the database of Catholic Nuns in Australia with
approximately 14,000 entries. Be
aware that some may require special software.
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Genealogy
Forms |
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Many
forms have been designed to assist with researching and recording your
family history. A great
site for “on-line charts and forms to print or download” :-
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On-line
database / index searches |
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Word
spreads quickly about major indexes and databases appearing on the
Internet – some require payment for access, others are free. An important word of warning – don’t let your excitement
take over – there is valuable information provided with each of these
facilities which may explain why you can’t find an entry or the next
step if you have found an entry etc. Too often people jump into the
index, do a search, and leave, and miss out on some important details.
Browse
the various categories such as BDMs, Archives, Immigration, Convicts
etc. on the links page for other searchable indexes :-
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Email |
| Email
is the way we communicate with each other on the Internet.
If you lodge information about your family on a web site or
database, then your email address is the way other researchers can
contact you. Similarly,
subscriptions to magazines, mailing lists etc. will come to you as
emails. Attachments such as GEDCOM files, photographs etc. can be
sent with your email.
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Rootsweb |
| The
Rootsweb banner says “The Internet’s Oldest and Largest FREE
Genealogy Site” and few could dispute this claim.
This is the gateway to ROOTS-L, magazines, Mailing Lists, Message
Boards (GenConnect), Web Sites, Surname Lists, Regional / Location Lists
e-zines etc.
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e-zines |
| e-zines are the electronic
equivalent of maga-zines !!! There
are many on-line magazines or journals which are free – you subscribe
and they are automatically emailed to you.
These are a great method of keeping abreast of new developments
in genealogy on the Internet.
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Mailing
Lists |
| Mailing
Lists are
a form of email but rather than receiving and sending messages to
individuals, they are sent to a group of people who have
“subscribed” (at no cost) to a specific Mailing List.
These lists exist for almost every imaginable subject –
genealogists will generally be interested in places (regions) and
surnames. Mailing Lists have listowners or administrators who can
mediate any problems on the list and remove any troublemakers who may
subscribe. Mailing Lists
often have as subscribers people with detailed knowledge on the list
subject.
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Message
Boards |
| Message
Boards are
similar to Mailing Lists but the “message” is posted via a web page
and is open to all visitors who can respond on the Board, or contact the
instigator of the message via email. Many message boards are then
"gatewayed" to relevant Mailing Lists.
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Newsgroups |
| These
are similar to Mailing Lists but anyone can download messages for a
newsgroup and reply to the group. These
groups are not monitored and can sometimes become a problem when
newsgroup etiquette is ignored. They
can however be a great source of assistance from other family history
researchers.
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Chat
Rooms |
| Chat
Rooms are generally created for a specific group of people with a common
interest where you may get “instant” answers.
Members can contribute using a keyboard to ask / answer questions
which can be seen and responded to by all people currently in the Chat
Room.
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GEDCOM |
| GEDCOM
is the international file standard for genealogical records.
There are many databases (files) of GEDCOMs on the Internet for surname
searching.
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Local
(Geelong & District) history & genealogy links |
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