The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy

Rhonda R. McClure

Penguin, Jan 1, 2002 - Reference - 434 pages

The second edition of a popular series title brings Internet family tree shaking up-to-date.

-- The American Family Immigration History Center (ellisislandrecords.org), which went online in April 2001, registered 1.9 million visitors in its first month of operation. It was virtually impossible to log onto the site until June.

-- Yahoo lists, under keyword "genealogy, " 347 categories, 1645 Web sites, and 3.5 million Web pages (433 of those Web pages deal specifically with "online genealogy").

-- New databases, Web pages, and message boards to assist ancestry researchers appear online virtually every week.

All chapters will have URL updates -- many Web sites have changed or disappeared since the first edition was published. The book will fully cover the major changes in software programs available, plus computerized genealogy forms. This edition will also include new information on dealing with the National Archives and obtaining information from maps and gazetteers, a completely revised chapter on online databases, a new chapter on digital resources, and major revisions of chapters dealing with library sources -- particularly the chapter on the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, UT.

Contents

• What Is Online Genealogy?: 3
• Getting to Genealogy Cyberland: 11
• Geek Speak for Family History Hunters: 25
• Putting That PC to Work for You: 39
• Genealogy 101: 57
• Beginning at the Beginning: 59
• Families Are Forever: 73
• Organize Organize Organize: 85
• Whats Next for the Genealogist on the Hunt?: 101
• Surfs Up: 111
• SurfingGenealogy Style: 113
• Worldwide Pony Express at Mach 4: 125
• Wanted GreatGrandma Bertha: 137
• Hunting Down Those Family Pages: 157
• Diggin Up BonesOnline Style: 169
• Resources for Vital Records: 171
• Mastering Other Genealogical Resources: 185
• Off the Beaten Path: 201
• Mapping Your Course: 213
• Databases Galore: 223
• Lets Get Digital: 239
• Mining for Family Gold: 247
• The Melting Pot: 247
• Around the World in 80 Seconds: 247
• Using History in Family History: 263
• PJs and Slippers Time: 277
• Rifling Through Library Catalogs at 2 AM: 279
• Family History Library: 291
• Online U: 307
• A Virtual Canvas: 321
• Learning to Live in an Online World: 335
• Youre on a Roll Now: 347
• Appendixes: 357
• State Resources: 369
• Country Resources: 377
• Online Library Resources: 381
• Useful Forms: 383
• Index: 393

About the author

Rhonda R. McClure can trace her introduction to history, in general, and family history, specifically, back to her childhood. Her grandmother's involvement in the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) afforded her the benefit of viewing history as more than just a list of dry names, dates, and places. She did not begin researching her family history until 1983. In 1987, through the support and encouragement of her grandfather, she enrolled in independent study courses about genealogy from Brigham Young University. That was the beginning of the "end of life without genealogy," and she has been hooked ever since. Rhonda has been involved in online genealogy since 1987. She served as data manager of the Genealogy RoundTable on Genie from 1990 to 1997. She was the Web site Sysop on the Ultimate Family Tree Web site (www.uftree.com) for four years. She was the forum manager of the Genealogy Forum on MSN (Microsoft Network) for 18 months, until mid-1998. Rhonda now offers guidance to genealogists in weekly columns published on Genealogy.com at www.genealogy.com, where she loves to help those new to genealogy and enjoys watching her Web site visitors grow in their research abilities. She is also responsible for researching and compiling celebrity family trees that appear on Genealogy.com. In 1990, Rhonda published her first genealogy article in Heritage Quest Magazine. For the last three years, she has been a contributing editor to Heritage Quest Magazine, with her award-winning "The Resource Cabinet" column, where she offers answers to readers' questions. Her "Celebrity Roots" column appears in Biography Magazine, and she is a contributing editor to the National Genealogical Society's Newsmagazine. She has authored three other books including Family Tree Maker Fast & Easy, The Genealogist's Computer Companion, and the original edition of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy. Rhonda has a five-day-a-week, online e-mail-distributed newsletter, Family Tree Finders, available through SodaMail, at www.sodamail.com/. She is a co-author of RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees, which you can access at rwguide.rootsweb.com/.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy; Complete Idiot's Guide to
• Author: Rhonda R. McClure
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Penguin, 2002
• ISBN: 0028642678, 9780028642673
• Length: 434 pages
• Subjects: Computers / Internet / General; Computers / Web / Site Directories; Reference / Genealogy & Heraldry