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Surname searches are probably the most common type of "genealogy" done online. Searching every site is rarely a productive use of your online time. Below are some ideas about how to best search for your surname. Posting your surnames can also help be productive, if done properly. You can compare notes and perhaps share information with fellow genealogists. Contacting these people is relatively (excuse the pun) easy, since they are asking to be contacted. The LDS web siteWithout a doubt, the largest genealogical library in the world is held by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). While not containing the entire library, the FamilySearch website can be a good resource. By entering a surname, given name, spouse's name and parents' names, one can often find some good pointers to your family. You will not be able to "download your family tree". As discussed in the introduction, this is possible only if a sibling has already done the work.You can download a GEDCOM file of ancestors. Be cautioned, however, about simply adding this information to your database. Sources are not included and are suspect. The LDS does not correct information in their databases, only adds additional information. Work of submitting genealogists is not checked, so treat it for what it is - the work of a stranger. You can check to the submitter's name and address. Then confirm with that person the sources and validity of the information.
The "Ancestor Search" returns information from the following databases. Currently, returns are also given for Soundex equivalents of the surname.
Formating a Post or QueryWhen posting, include enough information to distinguish your family from the others that carry the same surname. The only exception might be if the name is very rare (i.e., CICCOCIOPPO). Be careful about posting too much information, particularly about living persons who may be in your database. (This issue is discussed in more detail below.)Be sure to give your proper e-mail address. Since some postings stay active for years, you may wish to sign up for a e-mail forwarding service like iname or Yahoo!.
One widely accepted format is:
Example: Web SitesYou could spend days, even weeks, posting and searching for your surnames on every genealogical site offering that service. Since family history has no real end, I suspect you could find better ways to spend your time. Instead, concentrate on these few well-known and geographically relevant sites.GenWeb is a world-wide project that brings genealogy onto a county-by-county level. Find the county/counties where your surnames are located and post to the surname listing on the appropriate GenWeb page. RootsWeb is another large project with a huge database. Unfortunately, many people posting there did not include any additional information. Therefore, I don't regularly search here. Ethnic web sites are also a good, localized place to post and search. For example, I've posted my Lithuanian surnames to the Lithuanian-American Genealogical Society's home page. Personal Family Tree Web SitesMany people have posted family trees online. After having my tree online for over 18 months, I have never had anyone contact me. Others, with larger trees and more curious relatives, have had more luck. Primarily, the Tree Web Page allows me to display my work to other family members. Also, when I contact or am contacted, the web page already has most of the pertinent information to determine if we're related.Consider how much information about living people needs to be online. If you would fax the information to known child molesters and other criminals, then it probably is safe to put online. Most genealogists delete living people from their websites. (I don't mind who knows when my gggrandfather was born, but my 3-year old cousin's picture is something I'd rather not put online.) Several genealogy software programs include web site generators. Some stand-alone programs will take a GEDCOM and develop web pages from it. For further info see http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm . Some reviews and opinions are at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/9069/Software.html.
Other software programs can remove the living people from your database. A few are provided below: Cyndi's List has a good web site starter kit which includes sites which allow you to put your site online for free. Also check Genealogy Home Page Tutorial. Family Tree databasesCommercial web sites can provide good search engines for tracking down surnames. Generally these "Family Tree" databases are a bit too broad make them worth the time, but I include them for their novelty. These allow anyone to contribute to them.Ancestry.com has free searches of the contributed information. The original GEDCOMs and e-mail addresses of the contributors are posted alongside the surname listings. Family Tree Maker, owned by Broderbund, will allow free searches of their "World Family Tree" CD-ROMs, but contributor information is available only to those who actually own the CD-ROMs. (Full trees can be requested from the Genealogy CD Helplist - please read the helplist article first!) You can also search their other CD-ROMs. Perhaps the best feature on Broderbund's site is the Internet Family Finder, a search engine that concentrates only on genealogical pages. Various options allow you to find your surname on personal family tree sites as well as other genealogical pages. Wider searches, like on Lycos or Infoseek, tend to be less fruitful, since they return pages that are not usually genealogical. An additional key word, such as "family," "genealogy" or "history," will increase the odds of discovering other family researchers. Finding your surname on a list of bike race winners from two years ago is rarely rewarding. (Cold calls are discussed in the "Relatives" article.) When you do find a personal family tree online, exercise caution before simply adding their information to your tree. This type of source is secondary at best and should be used as a starting point. With the information you get from such sites, you can track down the primary sources faster. NewsgroupsSeveral surname newsgroups exist for different geographical areas. The soc.genealogy.surname.misc covers areas left over. These groups are moderated by robots (computer programs). If your subject line does not follow the proper format, your message will not be posted. Don't worry too much about this. It might take a couple of tries to get it right. Post your messages about once a month. Do not post daily!To search these groups, you can either download all headers daily (a fairly lengthy and boring process) or use an archive service like DejaNews. Using the "any keyword" option, you can search for multiple surnames over that last month. Save this search string into a simple text file and paste it into the search box. This method will allow you to easily search the archive every month. Another way to use newsgroups is by including your surnames in your signature block. Wait until you have something to say and then just include a "sig". A good signature block is no more than 4 lines and includes your name, e-mail and web site URL. So only one line remains for surnames. Rotating the surnames can get them all in, at least occasionally. Rare surnames are also a good choice. MARTIN and KELLER might get a lot of responses, but many of them will be dead ends and subsequently a waste of time. Again, common surnames should have date and location information included. Internet Relay Chat (IRC)Chat programs and chat rooms are not particularly good places to "post" surnames. However, if you like to participate in these groups, creating a surname listing is fairly easy. Of course, listings are software-dependant. In some chat rooms, participants use them as a way of introduction. Just ask for help for your particular software.LinksiName - Web-based E-mailYahoo! - Web-based E-mail
soc.genealogy.surnames.britian
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