Genealogy Online For Dummies - Softcover

Helm, Matthew L.; Helm, April Leigh

3.57

163 ratings by Goodreads

9780470240571: Genealogy Online For Dummies

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470240571 ISBN 13: 9780470240571

Publisher: For Dummies, 2008

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Researching your genealogy online is like being a kid in a candy store. So many neat things catch your eye that it’s difficult to decide which one to try. That’s where Genealogy Online For Dummies, 5th Edition comes in. This completely practical handbook helps you become a smart, discriminating researcher from the moment you start your investigation.

Unlike other genealogy books, this easy-to-use guide does more than show you how to access and use online resources; it lays out a sensible organized process you can follow to make your research more efficient and achieve your genealogical goal faster. You'll learn how to start your research before you go online, understand traditional methods of genealogy, identify Web sites that will be most helpful to your research, get vital information and statistics from government records, and much, much more Discover how to:

Use basic online and offline research techniques
Develop a plan for your research
Integrate Internet resources to achieve your genealogical goal
Create Web sites where family members can make contact
Access domestic records for births, deaths, immigration, and more
Research ethnic ancestry through international records
Verify what you find
Protect your research

Complete with a companion CD-ROM packed with valuable genealogy software, Genealogy Online For Dummies puts you in touch with all of the tools, resources, methods, and know-how you need to make your research into your family history a total success.

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Review:

The Helms have put together an excellent introductory guide to doing genealogical research online. They've avoided the usual trap of organizing their book by resources, which may be easy for the author but makes it harder on the user. So instead of devoting this chapter to useful Web sites, that chapter to valuable newsgroups, and so forth, they've organized the book in a way closer to the way you'd organize good family research.

They begin with a series of chapters on preparation, including doing initial groundwork, developing a plan, picking the names to begin researching, and locating ancestors geographically. Next, they deal with the means for finding valuable records and then delve into getting the most from your resources. Chapter 8, for example, discusses organizing and presenting your findings, while chapter 9 deals with cooperating with other researchers so that you can all be more effective (and probably make some new friends in the bargain).

As is always the case with a Dummies series book, the Helms present a "Part of Tens" section, in this case four chapters each covering 10 top online genealogical sites, tips for designing your genealogical Web page, sites for beginners, and general tips for "smooth sailing." An enclosed CD-ROM contains nine genealogy programs plus a wide assortment of Internet tools and utilities. --Elizabeth Lewis

From the Back Cover:

CD-ROM includes lots of valuable software tools

Use the Internet to search international records and preserve your results

Fascinated with family history? Now's a great time to jump into genealogy, and this book makes it easy. What used to require endless shuffling (and sneezing) through dusty courthouse records can now often be done with your mouse, and you can share information with others who are researching related families. But be warned — genealogy is addictive!

Discover how to: