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What Sources Are Available For Genealogy Research?

There are many Internet sources available for genealogy research, although many require a monthly or yearly registration fee. Purchasing software at an office supply store may give you the benefit of a limited-time subscription to one or more of the online resource sites. While these sources can be very useful, there is a tendency to forget that the free access may expire in 14 or 30 days; be vigilant to cancel within that time if you don’t want a 12-month membership to be charged to your account.

Ancestry.com, Familytree.com, and LDS Genealogy are among the most well known genealogy research areas. There are also surname, religious, city, state, immigration, and educational searches. Whether you choose to search by yourself, or enlist the assistance of topical software, you will be hard pressed to run out of researches. Knowing where to search is one of the key elements to your task and it can be fun and informative; when it becomes overwhelming or frustrating, it may be time to make a change or take a break from your genealogy research project.

Research Can Be Fun

Often, finding information for genealogy research can be challenging but fun. For instance, if you have a surname that is slightly unusual and have researched all possible spelling and pronunciations, you might find an obscure company name or corporation that has the similar or same name. Consider writing a letter to the President, aptly noted “Personal and Confidential” on the outside.

Explain that you are in the midst of your genealogy research project and would like to ask if he knows the history of the company. If you are incredibly fortunate, the president may be (or know) the founder of the company or, in some extraordinary cases, will know who the company or firm was named after. Sometimes it’s someone of relative importance; other times it could be simply the surname of the person who owns the business.

If you are a die-hard genealogy research fanatic, you can go as far or farther than you ever thought you could. Networking is a key element—if someone isn’t related to you but has the same name, ask if they have found other people with the same name that are not related. Then, follow up with them. If nothing else, you’ll make many great friends in the process.

A word of caution, however, with regard to your genealogy research. Just like pictures of other people’s children or vacations—you may enjoy them for a short period of time; after that, you are just being polite. Don’t confuse politeness with enthusiasm. Unless someone specifically asks for daily, weekly, or monthly updates, enjoy your hobby, but keep your enthusiasm to yourself (or your spouse or siblings, if they are interested).

To send daily or weekly e-mails to people who have not asked for it (even if they are related to you) is rude and actually violates laws about sending unsolicited e-mails. Your family members probably won’t sue you, but you are offering them the chance to strongly dislike you without a formal introduction. Learning about a relative you do not know is fun, the first time. After the 50th or 75th time, it becomes mundane.