Performing
Genealogy on
a Shoe String
Don & Jeanine Hartman
FamilyHart
http://familyhart.info
http://midatlanticrootsweb.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/familyhart
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pr
ofile.php?id=690462210
Search Plan & Strategy
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Make a Time Commitment
– Same Time every week or every day
Gather the information that you have
– Family Records, Family Members, etc.
Organize the information that you have
– Fill out pedigree and family group records
– Computerize; or organize papers in folders
Determine What Records Need to be Researched
– Census, Obits, Civil Records, Church Records,
etc.
Search Plan & Strategy
 Be
efficient, time is money, even when
you are retired
 Use an Internet-friendly Genealogy
Program (i.e. Ancestral Quest, Roots
Magic, etc.)
 Invest in High Speed Internet Connection
(DSL, Cable Modem, etc.) or have access
to one (i.e. Public Library, College Library,
Family History Center (FHC))
Free or Low-Cost Websites
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LDS FamilySearch
Heritage Quest
ProQuest
Google Books
Google Maps
Rootsweb
Ancestry WorldTree
USGENWEB
WORLDGENWEB
Cyndi’s List
MidAtlantic Roots Network
York County Archives
Create Quick Links
 Make
a direct-link Icon of the locations
that you will use most of the time:
Right-Click on the link for which you
want to have a short-cut, Select Copy
Shortcut
Right-Click on your desktop screen
where you want your Icon, Select
Paste Shortcut
Free Genealogy Websites
LDS FamilySearch
http://www.familysearch.org
 Use
this to view source records or extractions
of source records, such as U.S. Social Security
Death Index, U.S. Census Records, State
Census Records, World War II Draft Registration
Cards, Marriage Records, Birth Records,
International Records, etc.
Free Genealogy Websites
LDS FamilySearch
http://www.familysearch.org
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Open an account:
If you are LDS, you will need the
Membership # and Confirmation Date
from your Church Record. As part of a
contributing organization, your account
will automatically be a qualified
account.
If you are not LDS, you may want to open
an account, and participate in the
indexing project. If you index 900
records per quarter and maintain that
level, your account will be upgraded to
a qualified account.
https://www.familysearch.org/volunteer/indexing
Free Genealogy Websites
LDS FamilySearch
http://www.familysearch.org
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It is good to peruse what records are available on
a regular basis, perhaps once a month or so.
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If you are keyboard centric, the Space Bar will
select highlighted items including check boxes,
Life Event Choices, etc.
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If you change Life Events for another search, Filters
will typically be deleted
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Checked boxes means Exact Match
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Can use Wild Card * with first 3 letters
Free Genealogy Websites
LDS FamilySearch
http://www.familysearch.org
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1840, 1860, and 1920 Census searches must not
include Residence Places below the County Level
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1870 Census searches must not include Residence
Places below the State Level
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Residence Year Range is not the same as Birth
Year Range
The 1860, 1880, and 1930 Census listings are
Extractions ONLY. To see the actual records, you
will need to pay a fee or go to Heritage Quest, if
you have access.
The 1860 Census will not show family units without
seeing the original Census record.
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Free Genealogy Websites
LDS FamilySearch
http://www.familysearch.org
 If
you work for a number of hours, your
cookie will die, and you will get an Oops
or a Try Later message. If you do, you will
need to close out ALL browser windows on
your screen, reopen, and log back in to
continue
Free Genealogy Websites
LDS Old FamilySearch
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Search/fram
eset_search.asp
 Use
this for search Ancestral File, Pedigree
Resource File, International Genealogical
Index (IGI)
 Can also be used for Social Security
Death Index, 1880 U.S. Census, 1881 British
Census, 1881 Canadian Census
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
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Heritage Quest is a fee-based subscription to which
many institutions provide their patrons free access:
Adams County Library System
http://www.adamslibrary.org/adamsdatabases.asp
Cumberland County Library System
http://rpa.ccpa.net/rpa/webauth.exe?rs=hqadm&lb=ADM
Lancaster County Library System
http://online.lancasterlibraries.org/
Maryland State Library System (SAILOR)
http://db.sailor.lib.md.us/db/hqo
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
 This
will require a library card, which may or
may not have a fee associated with it
 You
may be able to get a library card from the
Pennsylvania Libraries that have Heritage
Quest access, if you have a local library card
with an Access Pennsylvania sticker or symbol
on it
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
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Use this to Search:
U.S. Census Records (1790-1930)
Family and Local History Books
PERSI™
Revolutionary War Era Pension & Bounty-Land Records
Freeman’s Bank Records (1865-1874)
LexisNexis ® U.S. Serial Set (Congressional Petitions)
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
U.S Census
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Use this for looking at source U.S. Census records from
1790-1930
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1790-1820, 1860-1880, 1900-1920 are searchable
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1830, 1840, 1890 (limited),1930 are browseable
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Census Searches are exact
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Townships may or may not have Twp in the name
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Use this to see images not available on FamilySearch
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
Books
 Search
area include People, Places, and
Publications
 Actual
books are online
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
PERSI™
 Search
area include People, Places, How To’s
and Publications
 Publications
 Publication
are not online, this is an index only
copies can be ordered for a fee
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
Revolutionary War
 Very
Limited information typically: Typically
name only of Veteran, possibly wife is listed;
and the Warrant or Pension Number
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
Freedman’s Bank (1865-1974)
 African
American Bank
 Lists not only name of account holder, but birth
place, spouse, parents, and children
Free Genealogy Websites
Heritage Quest
LexisNexis® U.S. Serial Set
 Lists
Petitions made to the U.S. Congress
 Published
copies are online
Free Genealogy Websites
ProQuest, Newbank, EBSCO, Archives.com
News & Newspapers - Obituaries
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Many but not all Newspapers online
Not all years of Newspapers
Use Search identifying the Newspaper that you
want
Search is not very elegant
This is typically a for-fee subscription service that
some institutions provide free to their patrons. i.e.
State Library of Pennsylvania, University of Phoenix,
etc,
Free Genealogy Websites
York County Archives
http://www.yorkcountyarchives.org/records.asp
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Many different Civil Records
Copies of originals can be purchased online
Marriage Record Index Extraction is very good
Cutoff year of 1930 between marriage indices is not
hard and fast
Free Genealogy Websites
Ancestry Worldtree
http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi
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First, Obtain a Rootsweb Login ID at:
http://rootsweb.ancestry.com
Good for seeing what other people have submitted
Should be considered a low reliability source
Free Genealogy Websites
FamilyHart
http://midatlantic.rootsweb.ancestry.com
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Links to handy tools
FamilyHart Database (over 732,000 names online)
SouthCentral PA centric
USGenWeb sites:
York Co., PA; Lancaster Co., PA; Adams Co., PA;
Franklin Co., PA; Frederick Co., MD; Washington Co.,
MD
Harry Senft Cemetery Project w/FamilyHart indexing & linking
Facebook Groups
Twitter
York 2nd Ward Family History Newsletters
Free Genealogy Websites
Other
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Rootsweb Guide to Tracing Family Trees
http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/#GENERAL
Internment.net
http://www.interment.net/Default.htm
Find A Grave
http://www.findagrave.com/
USGenWeb
http://usgenweb.org/
Rootsweb
http://rootsweb.ancestry.com
Google Books
http://books.google.com
Free Genealogy Websites
Other
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LDS Research Helps
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp
WorldCat
http://www.worldcat.org/
Cyndi’s List
http://www.cyndislist.com/
Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html
Free Genealogy Websites
Other
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Immigrant Ship Transcriber’s Guild
http://www.immigrantships.net/
Civil War & Sailors System
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/
U.S BLM General Land Office Records
http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/
Linkpendium
http://linkpendium.com
Allen County Indiana Public Library
http://www.acpl.lib.in.us
Free Genealogy Websites
Other
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Library and Archives Canada
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/
The Olive Tree Genealogy
http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/index.shtml
FamilySearch Wiki
https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/
About.com Genealogy
http://genealogy.about.com/
Free Genealogy Websites
Other
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National Genealogical Society
http://www.ngsgenealogy.org
Online Death Indexes
http://www.deathindexes.com/
Pennsylvania Public Records
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/public_rec
Questions?