Genealogy on the Internet and Software Packages

In today’s age of the internet the amount of information available to new and experience Genealogist is astronomical. Simply typing in genealogy in the search bar nets you 38.9 million results. To a beginner this may be overwhelming.

Here are a couple hints to refine your search in a general search bar and a few sites to search specific names.

· Be more specific, instead of “genealogy” try your family plus the word genealogy. Or, if you have a specific ancestor you are searching, type in his whole name.

· Try Cyndi’s list at http://www.cyndislist.com/. This particular site is cumulative list of genealogy sites available on the internet and is a good online starting point. The part that I like about this site is that it breaks down the sites by country, by name, by topics, by alphabetical list and has a link to new sites added each month.

The following is a list of FREE websites that you can search for your ancestors on:
· http://www.familysearch.org/
· http://www.genforum.com/
· http://www.rootsweb.com/
· http://www.genhomepage.com/
· http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html

The following is sites that a small percentage free but need a subscription to access most of their really good stuff:
· http://www.ancestry.ca/
· http://www.myheritage.com/genealogy
· http://www.distantcousin.com/
· http://www.kindredkonnections.com/ - what is unique about this site is that you can create free hours by transcribing old census records.

As part of my services I do offer genealogy research. At the moment I do not have access to the paid part of the above sites but plan on subscribing if and when I have a request for such research.

Genealogy Software

Just like the online resources, there are a multitude of software packages available out there. Most of them are packages you install on your computer, some of the are free and some allow you to store your information on their server. The decision as to which is best for you depends on what you are looking for. Follow this link to reviews of the Top 10 Genealogy sites of 2009: http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ .