Wednesday Wisdom 5 Genealogy Website that I Love and Why!

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope your holiday was great! Mine was amazing! The highlight of my trip to my parent’s house was not only the Thanksgiving feast, but driving into the mountains to get our Christmas tree. That’s our tradition. We usually get our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. If it’s just my husband, daughter, and me, then we go to a tree lot and pick one out. If we’re with my parent’s, then we go into the mountains, have fun in the snow all day, find our tree, go sledding, eat a yummy lunch, then go home exhausted but happy. This year was my daughter’s first year with 3 feet of snow that she could remember. She did NOT like the frozen cold wet feet afterwards.  However, that’s the price we pay for having winter fun!

How is your genealogy going? Did you discover any new tidbits from being with your families?  I did not get any new genealogy.  I chose to spend time with my family in the moment instead of spending it in the past.  That, my friends, is totally fine!  I believe making memories is an important part of genealogy. Therefore, I say have fun with your families and leave the rest of the holiday stuff in the background. However, that’s just my opinion!

This Wednesday let’s talk about my favorite genealogy websites and why I love them.

First one up is Ancestry.com!

Reasons why…

1. The massive amount of records they have online is amazing! It helps me find many records for the ancestor I’m looking for.  In addition, if I have the right searching skills, I can find more records that have interesting name spellings.

2. The hints are also helpful; however, I have to find the original source on some of those to verify the correct information. Some of the hints are from public family trees that aren’t sourced. Therefore, I must do the legwork.

3. The Search button that lets you narrow your search is very convenient.  However, I also like the card catalog button.  This button allows me to put in a specific topic, region, state, or collection that narrows the search even more. In this way, I’m not wasting time trying to find the right collection and I can focus my efforts on finding my ancestor.

4. Public member trees help immensely in cutting down the work I need to do.  If someone else has already done the legwork to find my ancestor, then all I have to do is make sure the record is sourced correctly. If it has the correct source, then I just attach it to my tree and move one. If it doesn’t, then I still have some legwork to do just not as much.

Reasons why…

1. The Research Wiki button is the best! I don’t need to open up another tab to Google something that’s genealogy related. It’s usually right on the Wiki page.  I still use Google for other history, culture, or tech related issues; however, I usually find what I need on the Wiki page.

2. The Catalog button under the Search button is amazing! This is similar to the card catalog that Ancestry uses; however, the FamilySearch catalog is a list of what is actually in the building. It will show me whether it’s a book, microfilm, microfiche, map, or digital scan. I can search by topic, region, keyword, title, author, etc. I use this to really narrow my search to a specific region and see what they have for that region. It’s amazing what FamilySearch has collected over the years!

3. The public genealogies are also amazing and are similar to the public member trees from Ancestry. Again, this helps me cut down on my work so that I can focus on other things in my research.

4. Family tree is a section devoted to making everyone’s family tree connect with one another. The goal is to have one big family tree instead of many little family trees. This again helps me see what others are working on and if they’re working on my ancestor or not.  I do run into many clerical errors when working with so many people; however, no major bumps so far to work through.

Reasons why…

1. I have Norwegians in my family and this site is the one major website with most of the records on it.  It is run by the State National Archives and it shows because it has a massive amount of scanned and original records.  If I need an original Norwegian record, then I go here.

2. It has original records for each parish in the country. I am finding that when my ancestors married they came from different parishes and I have to those new records. I don’t have to go to another website to find new parish records. I just type in the new parish and then I search as usual.

3. I can search for either the individual or the record type.  If I want to find what’s out there for my ancestor, then I type in their name and it pulls up whatever it has similar to Ancestry and FamilySearch. However, if I’m looking for a certain birth record, then I can also search that way. The search function on this site is similar to Ancestry and FamilySearch, which makes me feel more comfortable using it.

4. It has an English option! I’m still definitely working on reading Norwegian so any website that has this English option instantly goes up in my value system.

Reasons why…

1. This is the main website I use if I want to learn more about my Norwegian immigrants. The history and culture that they have gathered is amazing! I not only learn what ship my ancestors came from, but the history and picture of that ship.

2. News articles about everything immigrant related. These articles help with learning the history, the routine of ship lines, the people who immigrated, settlements in America, etc. It’s just amazing!

3. Basically, anything that deals with Norwegian immigration will be on this site. They’re not as complete as Ancestry or FamilySearch; however, they will have more of the histories then the other two websites.

Reasons Why…

1. This one is not a website. It’s a personal genealogy software program that I have to throw in.  I absolutely love this program! It’s easy to use, can be color coded, and can link to other genealogy websites to transfer information.

2.  It can generate forms needed for my research. I need pedigree charts, family group sheets, reports, to do lists, etc. and this program has it all right there. I can also add sources directly to the ancestor.

3. I love how I can view my computer screen as the pedigree, the family group, the descendant list, the people list, the web search, or the timeline depending on who and how I’m searching that day.  

4. All of the buttons are right there on my screen. I can edit, add, search, report, and connect to the internet all from the main screen.  I know that’s not a big deal to some of you, but for me, it’s huge!

5. This is where I make sure all of my information is correct before I connect it to any public family tree!  Some people copy and paste information directly from one website to another.  I prefer to find the original on the website, put it on RootsMagic, and then post it on my online family tree. It adds an extra step; however, I want to make sure my information is correct before sharing the information.  In this way, I’m not confusing someone else down the road and I can defend my information better if there’s a conflict.

So there you have it! This is my list of the main websites and programs that I use to do my research. It’s not complete, but it does show the major ones. I hope it helps you get curious about other ways to research your ancestors. I know I’m not done learning different ways to research. That’s what makes genealogy so fun. As always, if any of this sounds overwhelming or you find yourself stuck, then send me an email or comment below and we can work together to figure it out.

Good luck and happy hunting!