:: netwoman's blog ::

Internet Genealogy

I have a new hobby - thanks to the Internet. When I am not working on my research design or grading exams (read late at night), I am fiddling with my family tree.

It is a neat little hobby - takes me away from grad school life when I need a break. But, it's a hobby that still has to do with the Internet - of course.

What I love about this stuff is the amount of information that is available online. Yes, the Internet is certainly about communication and communities - but lest we forget the vast amount of information out there...."I'm Lovin it".

My cousin in Alabama has been doing this family tree thing for years now. She visits historical sites, cemetaries, reads old records and so forth. I am a newbie - but because of my Internet skills, I found a lot of information that she did not have. My roots are in Virginia and Pennsylvania (which might explain why love these states so much) and I have managed to go as far back as the 1200s (in England) on one lineage. The time you can spend on this is endless - searching both lines of mothers, grandmothers and fathers and grandfathers. It is a web of interconnected people - much like links on homepages.

What I really enjoy is the help that people offer. Emailing people for help - people always respond to help out. They look up census records for you from the 1800s they have, and are always willing to share information. It is really great.

I also love the fact that I can read about my ancestors - the lives that my grandmothers had before me - bearing eleven children, losing young children, losing husbands in the civil war and remarrying.

The Internet allows us to retain our history and ancestoral roots. Connecting with others and having a place to keep ancestoral information is so valuable. This is something that we couldn't do before really - relying on written material that decays over time. People spend hours transcribing Bible records, wills, marriages and births and transfer the information into the world wide web, allowing people from all over the world to learn about their history. Native americans often pass their history on through oral history, while other use written texts. Both have their problems, but the Internet can help with this.

It is really something.

Here are some sites to start you out if you are interested:

Internet Genealogy Guides here

On line genealogy information here.

posted by Netwoman @ 12:10 PM