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Published:
July 17, 2017

Genealogy For Dummies

Overview

The fun way to research your family history

Genealogy For Dummies, 8th Edition covers everything you need to know about starting a genealogical research project—including where and how to find information, how to communicate with other online genealogists, how to leverage social networking sites and apps, how to add digital images to your family tree, and how to build your own site for sharing information. It also explains the use of compiled genealogies, U.S. Census information, and public access catalogs.

Brand new to this edition is content on how to conduct genealogical research on the road, and on how to take this research and integrate it into the data found at home. It also contains new information on DNA research and testing, new geocoding applications to record geographic data into a genealogical database, and other new technologies. The book covers which apps are worth your money, and how to get the most out of them.  

  • Use the latest tools to research family history
  • Create your own site to showcase your family tree, digital images, and compiled genealogies
  • Get access to free versions of Legacy Family Tree and Personal Ancestral Files
  • Utilize both online and offline research techniques and tools

Follow the clues to uncover your family's legacy—and have fun along the way!

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About The Author

Matthew L. Helm and April Leigh Helm manage several leading online genealogical resources, including HistoryKat.com. They're also the founders of Boneyard Creek Heritage, Inc. Books by the Helms include Family Tree Maker For Dummies, Get Your Degree Online, Genealogy Online: Tech to Connect and seven editions of Genealogy Online For Dummies.

Sample Chapters

genealogy for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

Hundreds of genealogy websites help you research family origins and movements; online is the place to be for genealogy research. Among many specialized websites, Helm's Genealogy Toolbox is the oldest comprehensive genealogy and local history index. The links on this site point to other resources available to assist your research.

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There are a lot of unique sites on the Web that could be useful to your genealogy research, or are interesting to check out, at the very least. The following sections describe just a few that might give you a new perspective on doing your family history research. rootsfinder There are more and more sites for creating your online family tree.
Perhaps you are one of those people so addicted to genealogy that you need to constantly be in a state of research. If so, you don't want to have to lug a computer around with you everywhere you go. However, if you have a smart phone, here are some apps that might help you satisfy your genealogy craving while you are on the go.
The process for generating a family tree or report should be similar for most genealogical software. RootsMagic Essentials is the software used here to demonstrate the process of creating reports. Before you can generate a report, you have to find the person who will be the focus of that report. Here's a quick refresher on how to get to the appropriate person's record: Open RootsMagic Essentials and select the family file for which you want to generate a chart or report by highlighting the filename and clicking Open.
In addition to generalized genealogical researchers, some paid researchers specialize in helping you understand your DNA tests. If you've taken one or more DNA tests and you just don't understand what it all means, you might consider hiring one of these DNA consultants. Some have built companies that will create a report that interprets your DNA results after they've been processed by a lab.
If you have a paid subscription to Ancestry.com, it gives you an additional feature of the online family tree that is worth mentioning — Member Connect. The Member Connect feature actively looks for other people who are posting information about your ancestor on their online family trees. After finding a potential match, Member Connect lists the member's name on the tab.
To be a good genealogical citizen as you work online, you should keep a few things in mind, such as maintaining privacy, respecting copyrights, and including adequate citations. Mandatory lecture on privacy Sometimes, genealogists get so caught up in dealing with the records of deceased persons that they forget one basic fact: Much of the information they've collected and put in their databases pertains to living individuals and, thus, is considered private.
Hundreds of genealogy websites help you research family origins and movements; online is the place to be for genealogy research. Among many specialized websites, Helm's Genealogy Toolbox is the oldest comprehensive genealogy and local history index. The links on this site point to other resources available to assist your research.
If your relatives are tired of hearing about your genealogy research trips or the information that you found on Great-Uncle Beauford, but you'd like to share your triumphs with someone, you may be ready to join a research group.Research groups consist of any number of people who coordinate their research and share resources to achieve success.
Digital libraries and accessing printed materials isn't the only form of self-help. There are online courses available too. You might consider the resources available at two sites that deliver instructional material over the web: the Family History Guide and Ancestry Academy.The Family History Guide is a free resource from FamilySearch.
Genealogical societies can be great places to discover research methods and to coordinate your research. Several types of societies exist. They range from the more traditional geographical or surname-based societies to cybersocieties (societies that exist only on the Internet) that are redefining the way people think about genealogical societies.
In addition to geographically based genealogy associations, you can find groups tied to names or family groups. Typically, they're referred to as — you've probably already guessed — surname or family associations or research groups.Family associations also frequently sponsor projects that coordinate the efforts of several researchers.
Most genealogical databases subscribe to a common standard for exporting their information called GEenealogical Data COMmunication, or GEDCOM. Making a GEDCOM file using most software programs is quite easy. This is true for RootsMagic Essentials, too. If you have not yet downloaded and installed RootsMagic Essentials, you should do so.
You may be wondering where to find fellow genealogy researchers. You can find them by searching query pages on the web, forums, mailing lists, and social networking sites.If you decide to use email to contact other researchers, send them an email message introducing yourself and briefly explaining your purpose for contacting them.
Pinterest is both a social networking site (where you can connect with others with similar interests, such as genealogy) and an organizational site of sorts (where you can "pin" links to other web pages, articles, photos, ideas, pretty much anything online to review or reference again at a future date).To use Pinterest, you must set up a free account.
Your computer puts the world at your fingertips. Discovering all the wonderful online genealogy resources that exist makes you feel like a kid in a candy store. You click around from site to site with wide eyes, amazed by what you see, tempted to record everything for your genealogy — whether it relates to one of your family lines or not.
In the past couple of decades, there has been an explosion in the number of online books available. You no longer have to go to a physical library to read up on genealogical research and documentation methods, or to dig for information on a geographic location or specific set of people. There's everything from instructional guides to history books to human interest non-fiction that might contribute to your genealogical research.
A time may come when you've exhausted all the genealogy research avenues directly available to you and need help that family, friends, and society members can't provide. Maybe all the records you need to get past a research brick wall are in a distant place, or maybe you have too many other obligations and not enough time to research personally.
If you're looking to set up a genealogy-networking site where others can discover your family lines and contribute information directly to you in a public forum, Geni is one place to start.Geni.com has space where you can initiate public discussions about research, ancestors, or just about anything genealogy-related you can think of.
A social networking type benefit of a paid subscription to Ancestry.com is the LifeStory feature. LifeStory in Ancestry Family Tree allows you to create an online timeline and retelling of your ancestor's life, giving color and context to it. Using records and information you've collected, in conjunction with information about historical events and areas, LifeStory builds a narrative for the ancestor.
After you've connected with a few friends, you may find that you want to categorize them. This makes it easier to post genealogical triumphs and questions to only those friends with whom you share a research interest. It also makes it easier to restrict posts to only family members, if you so desire. To set up specific lists in Facebook, follow these steps: If you're not already signed in to Facebook, fire up your computer, open a web browser, and head over to Facebook.
Your question at this point is probably, what is the Helm Online Family Tree Research Cycle? All great projects start with a plan, and starting a genealogical project is no exception. A well-thought-out plan can help you make efficient use of your time and keep you focused on the goals that you've set for a particular research session.
You're probably wondering how to find others with whom to share your genealogy information. Well, you could start by going through telephone books and calling everyone with the surname that you're researching. However, given how some people feel about telemarketers, this isn't a recommended strategy. Sending mass emails to anyone you find with your surname through one of the online white-pages sites, networking sites, or online social circles is similar to the telemarketing strategy.
You should interview relatives to gather information about your ancestors both to use as leads in finding records and to enhance your genealogy. Well, what better way to gather information from relatives than by attending a family reunion?Family reunions can add a lot to your research because you find many relatives all in one place, and typically most are eager to visit.
The amount of available family history resources has skyrocketed in the last couple of decades. This is an exciting time for genealogy research because scanned images of key records are coming online at an unprecedented rate. Also, technologies such as DNA testing have been refined and are now invaluable tools that complement evidence from paper records.
Why would anyone want my stuff? seems like a logical first question when you stop and think about making the many tidbits and treasures you collected when researching your genealogy available to others. Who would want a copy of an old, ratty-looking photograph of Great-grandpa as a dirty-faced toddler in what appears to be a dress?
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