Friday, October 28, 2011

Genealogy (Love of the Hunt)

Its Free Genealogy Question Friday!   Ask any genealogy questions and I'll answer it here for free.   cg

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

genealogy (Love of the Hunt)

Question:   I can only subscribe to one genealogical website--which one should I choose.

Let me start out by saying you can probably get all ur information free.   Most libraries subscribe to Heritagequestonline.com and Ancestry.com (library version).   Also librarieswill have a link to their State Archives.   more tomorrow!!   cg

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Genealogy (Love of the Hunt)

WILDCARDS??  What r they and what websites use them?  Wildcards are characters that can stand in 4 any letter of a name.  This catches alternate spellings of the name on most sites.  A (*) stands in 4 zero or more letters in a name and a (?) stands in 4 exactly 1 letter.   Example --  Dumpski can be spelled several ways so to try and capture all the spellings type dump*.  You are hunting not only for the different ways your relatives spelled their name but also the different ways the interpreters spelled the name or interpreted the spelling.  Using the (?) example would be like Rob?rt which can capture robert or robart.  Each websites have different rules.   Before searching, learn the rules of that particular website as to what wildcards are associated with the site.  A few of the popular websites such as ancestry.com uses the * at the beginning or end of the name but not both and u must use 3 letters associated with the name.   Footnote.com you must have 2 letters before the wildcard and 2 letters after.  cg

Friday, October 21, 2011

Genealogy (Love of the Hunt)

Filing my research, what is the best approach?  My favorite is by surname in a 3 ring binder, then by couple, divided by index dividers.  If the children are married start a new divider.   if he/she never marries they stay with parents.  You can also use file folder.   Whatever method is easier for you.   Remember to keep up the filing at least once.   Have a great weekend.   CG

Genealogy (Love of the Hunt)

Its Friday again and its time to ask me a genealogy question!   Its free what do u have to lose?  cg

Friday, October 14, 2011

Genealogy (Love of the Hunt)

Its Free Question Friday! Ask any genealogical question and I'll answer for free? cg

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Genealogy (Love of the Hunt)

Names, Names, Names, all the same names.   How can I keep it all straight?   Who belongs 2 who?
First, this is every genealogist nightmare but a great question.   Keep a separate chronology for each person's life including any information  that distinguishes them from a cousin, etc.   Maybe a description of their land or tax detail.   If  the wife's have the same name, certainly the children's name are different.  They might go by a nickname such as junior or senior.   However, remember that doesn't mean they are father/son.   It could be two people with the same name in the same town.  To keep it all straight in your head, try using their middle initial or their nickname.