ancestry.com is one of your best friends
brenda kellow
august 18, 2013
Ancestry has a wealth of collections to help with your research. Its site is one of the genealogists’ best friends. There is no excuse not to take advantage of what they offer because some collections are available to search without a subscription at home while other collections are available through your local library at no charge.
Ancestry launched several military collections plus more than 2.5 million records from Surrey, England, including baptisms, marriages and burials from the 16th century through the 19th century plus U.S. Consular Registration Certificates. From the latter you will find all sorts of details about Americans abroad. All their new and recently updated collections are at www.ancestry.com/cs/reccol/default.
I like to click on Learning Center What’s New to have an overview of new content, features and examine the new Desktop Education Series. Beginners have educational material to study on topics such as siblings, source citations, patriots of color, intriguing ways to search the census and many more topics. There is a Learning Center home page with the “First Step” series and one called “Learn More.” You learn about filling out a pedigree sheet, the importance of beginning your family history, how to find new leads and how to connect with other researchers. It also directs you to free research guides.
The collection is so big that sometimes I get distracted from my original mission. Other times, such as when I cannot sleep in the middle of the night, I log onto Ancestry automatically in my sleepy state of mind without any plan for research and find myself overwhelmed by its vastness. When I cannot think of what to search when I enter Ancestry, I type “free genealogy databases” into the “Search” feature and scroll through all the things they offer. Certainly, something will catch my eye. I enter the found items into the research diary I keep next to my computer for that purpose. In it is a section for keeping records, new subject matter and free databases I can search from home. My diary is a spiral 7 x 9 inch college-ruled assignment notebook with a double pocket insert for keeping loose paper items. On each page, there is a printed box for the date and the subject.
You would think I love every feature of Ancestry, but I do not. The “Family Trees” area is one I do not particularly like because people attach so much inaccurate information or continue perpetually wrong data passed down for decades. Before you add anyone to your family tree database, you must first prove the subject really belongs on your tree and you must have sources to prove it. If you cannot find proof, then what you actually have is legend. When you are passing along a story told to you by a family member, whether you trust them explicitly or not, you must say something like ‘legend has it that …” or “a family story told to me says …”
Ancestry.com is your friend. Learn to use it wisely. Attend their all-day workshop in Arlington at the Arlington Convention Center, 1200 Ballpark Way on Saturday, September 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Ancestry Day features sessions taught by Ancestry.com staff members, Crista Cowan and Lisa Arnold. Their talks are on being acquainted with what is on Ancestry.com, using it like the experts and collections just added or about to be added. The speaker during lunch is Meg Hacker, Director of the Southwest Regional Archives in Fort Worth speaking on overlooked and under used records. This event is for those new to Ancestry.com and for those of us having many research hours under our belt. You miss a top educational opportunity by not attending. For more on Ancestry.com’s Ancestor Day offerings, go to www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txmcgs/ADLectures.htm.
FREE BRITISH FILE RELEASE THROUGH AUGUST: The British Archive released government records online from 1983. A selection of them is available to view free until August 31 at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/latest-releases.htm.
FREE DATABASES ONLINE: Check for online databases to open selections over Labor Day at no charge. Compile a list of things to check and watch for that database to announce its free search over the holiday.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].
Ancestry launched several military collections plus more than 2.5 million records from Surrey, England, including baptisms, marriages and burials from the 16th century through the 19th century plus U.S. Consular Registration Certificates. From the latter you will find all sorts of details about Americans abroad. All their new and recently updated collections are at www.ancestry.com/cs/reccol/default.
I like to click on Learning Center What’s New to have an overview of new content, features and examine the new Desktop Education Series. Beginners have educational material to study on topics such as siblings, source citations, patriots of color, intriguing ways to search the census and many more topics. There is a Learning Center home page with the “First Step” series and one called “Learn More.” You learn about filling out a pedigree sheet, the importance of beginning your family history, how to find new leads and how to connect with other researchers. It also directs you to free research guides.
The collection is so big that sometimes I get distracted from my original mission. Other times, such as when I cannot sleep in the middle of the night, I log onto Ancestry automatically in my sleepy state of mind without any plan for research and find myself overwhelmed by its vastness. When I cannot think of what to search when I enter Ancestry, I type “free genealogy databases” into the “Search” feature and scroll through all the things they offer. Certainly, something will catch my eye. I enter the found items into the research diary I keep next to my computer for that purpose. In it is a section for keeping records, new subject matter and free databases I can search from home. My diary is a spiral 7 x 9 inch college-ruled assignment notebook with a double pocket insert for keeping loose paper items. On each page, there is a printed box for the date and the subject.
You would think I love every feature of Ancestry, but I do not. The “Family Trees” area is one I do not particularly like because people attach so much inaccurate information or continue perpetually wrong data passed down for decades. Before you add anyone to your family tree database, you must first prove the subject really belongs on your tree and you must have sources to prove it. If you cannot find proof, then what you actually have is legend. When you are passing along a story told to you by a family member, whether you trust them explicitly or not, you must say something like ‘legend has it that …” or “a family story told to me says …”
Ancestry.com is your friend. Learn to use it wisely. Attend their all-day workshop in Arlington at the Arlington Convention Center, 1200 Ballpark Way on Saturday, September 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Ancestry Day features sessions taught by Ancestry.com staff members, Crista Cowan and Lisa Arnold. Their talks are on being acquainted with what is on Ancestry.com, using it like the experts and collections just added or about to be added. The speaker during lunch is Meg Hacker, Director of the Southwest Regional Archives in Fort Worth speaking on overlooked and under used records. This event is for those new to Ancestry.com and for those of us having many research hours under our belt. You miss a top educational opportunity by not attending. For more on Ancestry.com’s Ancestor Day offerings, go to www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txmcgs/ADLectures.htm.
FREE BRITISH FILE RELEASE THROUGH AUGUST: The British Archive released government records online from 1983. A selection of them is available to view free until August 31 at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/latest-releases.htm.
FREE DATABASES ONLINE: Check for online databases to open selections over Labor Day at no charge. Compile a list of things to check and watch for that database to announce its free search over the holiday.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].
