Elevenses with Lisa Episode 21 Video and Show Notes
Live show air date: August 20, 2020
Join me for Elevenses with Lisa, the online video series where we take a break, visit and learn about genealogy and family history.
How to Find Free Genealogy Resources
In the genealogy community it’s often said, “Only a fraction of genealogical records are online.” That’s true indeed, but it’s not a reason not to start your search online. A more helpful and accurate piece of advice would be “while not everything is online, all search for genealogical information starts online.”
The reason for this is simple. Online research before you go will reveal:
If the materials are available at a more convenient location
If the materials are available somewhere online for free
The call number, location, and other specific information you need to quickly access the materials once you arrive.
Details about gaining access to the facility and materials.
The last bullet point above will help you avoid the disappointment of discovering an unforeseen closure, or that the specific records you need are actually help at a satellite location.
New genealogical information and records are uploaded daily to the internet. Some of this information is available for free. In this article and episode we will cover strategic ways to locate and access free genealogy online.
The Amount of Data Continues to Increase – Read more about the growth of online information here.
The Path of Least Resistance to Free Genealogy
Most genealogists want to obtain records at the lowest available cost with the least amount of travel. Therefore, always starting your search online just makes good sense.
Here’s our path of least resistance:
Free and Online: FamilySearch, Google, WorldCat
Online and Subscription: Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, niche sites
Free and Locally Offline: Libraries, Archives, Universities
Offline and Distant: Examples include the National Archives, Allen County Library, Family History Library, NEHGS
The FamilySearch Catalog: New digitized images are added daily from microfilms & digital camera operators. These include books, maps, compiled family histories, and more. The catalog also includes materials that are not online but are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or through Inter-library loan.
The FamilySearch Wiki is a free online genealogical guide comprised of more than 93,000 articles. It covers 244 countries, territories, and islands. It includes links to genealogy databases and online resources as well as how-to information.
Use the FamilySearch Wiki Watchlist to follow pages of research interest. Here’s how to watch Wiki pages for new and free genealogy content:
Log in with your free FamilySearch account
navigate to the desired page
click the Watchlist link in the upper right corner of the page.
Look for the Watchlist link, and the blue buttons that lead to free online genealogy records for that location.
Google.com
Google is still your best bet for finding sources both online and offline.
You can dramatically improve your search results by incorporating search operators into your search. Watch episode 13 of Elevenses with Lisa to learn about how to use search operators when googling for genealogy.
Learn how to google for free genealogy in episode 13.
Find More Free Genealogy with these Google Search Strategies
The most comprehensive and best-selling book on the topic of using Google for genealogy: The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, by Lisa Louise Cooke.
Google Alerts Finds Free Genealogy for You
Set up free Google Alerts to be on the lookout for new and updated search results. You’ll receive them by email, and you can control the frequency.
Google Alerts do the work of searching for free genealogy for you.
How to Create a Google Alert:
Highlight and copy (Control C on Windows or Command C on Mac) the search query that you typed into the Google search box
Go to www.google.com/alerts
Sign into your free Google account
Paste (Control V or Command V) your search query into the Search Query box on the Google Alerts page
Select the Result Type you desire (ex. Everything, News, etc.)
Select how often you wish to receive alerts
Select How Many results you want to receive (I recommend Only the Best Results)
Enter / Select the email address you want your alerts to be sent to
Click the Create Alert button
Partnerships Make Free Genealogy Available
Many of the genealogy giants enter partnerships with each other in order to facilitate digitization and indexing of genealogical records. This means that the same materials may be found in different locations on the web, and sometimes for free.
WorldCat.org
17,900 subscribing member libraries in 123 countries collectively maintain WorldCat’s database which is the world’s largest bibliographic database.
Use WorldCat to check that you are indeed accessing the resource from the most convenient repository and if it’s available for free. Here’s how:
Run your search
Click an item
Under Find a Copy in the Library enter your zip code
The library closest to you will be listed at the top
Once you get your search results, look to the left in the Formats box. There you can quickly narrow down to only items that are online by clicking boxes like DownloadableArticle. Some of these may require a log in on the website you are referred to.
To find free records at MyHeritage.com, go to https://tinyurl.com/LisaMyHeritage. In the footer menu of the website, click on Historical Records. Then fill in your search criteria. (Update: If you don’t see Historical Records in the footer, go to Research > Collection Catalog and search on the keyword “free.”) Scroll down the search results and look for the green free tags.
Findmypast.com
To find free records at Findmypast which specialized in British genealogy but also includes records from around the world, go to https://tinyurl.com/FMPLisa.
(Some links in our articles are affiliate links. We will be compensated at no additional cost to use when you use them. This makes it possible for us to bring this free show to you. Thank you!)
Google Site Search Can Help Locate Free Genealogy
A site search works like many search operators as previously discussed in Elevenses with Lisa episode 13 (watch and read here.) It provides Google with specific instructions about the type of search you want to conduct with your search terms and keywords.
This Site search tip comes from Lisa Louise Cooke’s book The Genealogists’s Google Toolbox.
Site search runs your query only on the specified website. This is extremely helpful and efficient if:
you have a particular website in mind that you want to search,
you aren’t having success using the search field provided by the website,
the website you want to search doesn’t have a search field.
Here’s an example of a Site search:
Free Pennsylvania site:ancestry.com
Try running the search above for yourself. You’ll find results that include many free genealogy records pertaining to Pennsylvania. Substitute the words to meet your search needs.
Construct a Site search for Free Genealogy by first typing in the words and phrases you wish to search for. Include the word free. Leave the appropriate spacing between them and follow the last item with a space. Then type site: and add the website home page address (URL). You can copy the URL and simply paste it in place. There is no space between the colon and the URL. And note that www is not required.
Searching for Offline Local Sources with Free Genealogy Information
To find what’s local and free:
Search WorldCat.org (be sure to use the Zip Code filtering to find the genealogy materials at the location closest to you.)
Use Google to search.
Find your local Family History Center here. These centers have unique free resources as well as free access to some subscription genealogy websites.
When you find a library, archive or other repository, visit their website and look for:
Databases they offer
Their online catalog to plan your research
Other associated libraries
Details on planning a visit
Get Free Genealogy Help on Facebook
Search for Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) on Facebook.
Tracing your ancestors’ occupations can be one of the best ways to learn more about their everyday lives, skills, financial status and even their social status. Follow these tips and record types into the working lives of your relatives to enrich your family...
SHOW NOTES: Ever wondered about your family history? Delving into your ancestry can be both exciting and overwhelming. I’m going to break down the basics of genealogy research, offering beginner-friendly tips and tricks to help you get started on your own family tree journey. These tips are also great for getting back to genealogy after taking a break, or if you’ve been at it a while, just making sure that you’ve covered all of the most essential bases.
Listen to the Podcast Episode
To Listen click the media player below (AUDIO ONLY):
Start with yourself and work backwards. This provides a foundation for your research.
Compile all the information you already have about your family, including:
names, dates, places of life events.
Scour your house for records, photo albums, family bibles.
Write down stories or anecdotes you’ve heard.
2. Get a genealogy software program
You need a place to put the information. Yes, you can build a family tree online, but it’s critical to have the main tree that you work on be the one on your computer. That way you own the files forever and you’re not reliant on an ongoing subscription or a group tree where others can change it.
There are a wide variety of genealogy software options, but the good news is you only need one.
It’s not a big investment. For less than $40 or $50 you can get a powerful program that can track everything you find, keep it organized, make it easily searchable, and even run reports and connect you to hints on your favorite genealogy websites.
Rootsmagic, Legacy Family Tree, Family Tree Maker and Reunion are some of the most popular and have been around the longest. I use RootsMagic https://rootsmagic.com/store/rootsmagic/
It’s really important to take the time to talk with family members. You’ll want to gather information, uncover stories, and gain insights into your family history. Encourage them to share their memories, photos, and documents. And let’s be practical, it’s best to start with your oldest living relatives first. Prepare your questions ahead of time and record whenever possible.
5. Get familiar with AI tools
Embrace AI-powered tools. Even if you don’t use them for anything else, there’s no denying that AI can dramatically speed up your research and do a ton of the heavy lifting.
Get comfortable with at least one of the leading AI Chatbots. You can start out with the free version, and if you want more horsepower, subscribe for a low monthly fee.
Leading options: ChatGPT, Grok, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.
Pick one, bookmark it on your web browser, and use it.
Once you’ve laid this foundation, you’re ready to make your first new discoveries. At first it will be easy to know what to work on because you’re still working backwards. Most of us can fill in most of the blanks on our grandparents. But then it’s time to move to your great grandparents and so on.
You’re going to focus first on finding ancestors. These are the people you are directly descended from: grandparents, great grandparents, and so on.
You’ll also be filling in the tree with your relatives. These are your aunts and uncles, cousins and so on. For each ancestral couple, take the time to find all their children. These people may feel more secondary, but the record of a great aunt might be the key to unlocking information about her parents that you couldn’t find by only researching her brother your grandfather. When it comes to all your relatives, that’s totally up to you. You can invest time on finding them now, or wait until you make more progress on your tree and then come back to them later when you have time.
7. Gather Foundational Records
You’re going to focus on essential milestones for each ancestor in your tree. Think of this information as the backbone of your family tree. You can add flesh to the bones later.
Start with the most recent event for that ancestor, which was probably their death if you’re working on a great grandparent, and then move back to their marriage, and then their birth.
From there, you’ll want to fill in some of the most important items such as:
Their children (records: census, obituaries in newspapers, etc.)
Where they lived throughout their life (records: census, city directories, voter registrations, etc.)
Military service (records: draft cards, service records, pension records, etc.)
8. Leverage the power of search engines
While not everything is online by any stretch of the imagination, here are some of the best online sources to search for the records we just mentioned:
FamilySearch – https://www.familysearch.org
All kinds of historical records, digitized books, and family tree info.
You’ll also need to up your game with Google so that you can find things beyond just the most popular genealogy websites. And these skills will come in really handy with Google Books.
Use search operators to target specific resources.
Quotes around a word or phrase for exact matches.
Use a minus sign in front of words you want to exclude from the results.
Place an asterisk between two words within quotes to include a few words or initials between the exact phrase.
There are many more search operators and strategies. These are covered in the wide range of Genealogy Gems videos. Visit https://lisalouisecooke.com/videos/ and click the “Google” category.
It’s time to put some flesh on the bones so to speak. In other words, creating a more comprehensive timeline for your ancestor. Your genealogy software probably has a timeline report feature. Pull it up or print it out and start filling in the gaps.
Where they worked (records: census, city directories, industry catalogs, etc.)
Land they owned (records: land records, tax records, probate records, etc.)
If they immigrated from another country (records: passenger lists, citizenship papers, etc.)
Photos (sources: family members, Google search, old photo databases, genealogy websites like Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast and FamilySearch, etc.)
Any other interesting life events (records: Newspapers, books, etc.)
10. Mastering the art of record interpretation
It’s not enough to find records. You’ve got to really understand what they are and are not telling you.
Take the time to familiarize yourself with the record collection.
Why was it created?
Who created it?
What timeframe does it cover?
What doesn’t it include?
Use AI tools to help you transcribe or translate records but always check for accuracy!
Find out what the abbreviations used in the documents mean. (ex. Census instructions)
Use multiple credible sources to verify the information you find.
Sign up today here and get Lisa’s free ebook as a bonus. The Genealogy Gems email newsletter is the best way to stay informed about what’s available with your Premium eLearning Membership.
Two cousins recently chatted after learning that they share DNA. The first asked whether the second is white. “No,” she answered. The response: “Are you sure?”
In our modern society, families are defined in a myriad of different ways. Using DNA for genealogy is certainly contributing to these
A family and its female slave house servants in Brazil, c.1860. Wikimedia Commons image. Click to view full source citation.
changing definitions, as families find themselves genetically linked across social and cultural boundaries to kin they never expected.
Such is the case for a Bartow, Florida resident who submitted a DNA test out of curiosity and found more than she expected. Through a combination of DNA testing and social media, Mary McPherson, who is white, met one of her cousins, Dolores Washington-Fleming, who is black.
Peter Williams’ entry in 1850 U.S. Census Slave Schedule, St Bartholomews Parish, Colleton, South Carolina. Image from Ancestry.com.
According to an article on The Ledger, the two women share a great-great-grandfather, Peter Edward Williams, who was born in South Carolina two centuries ago. Peter was a slaveholder. The 1850 census slave schedule shows that he held a female slave who was a few years younger than she was. Dolores believes that’s her grandmother’s grandmother.
The two finally met this past May for the first time and enjoyed this new definition of family. I think what I like most is what Dolores’ son said about the situation: “My mom and I are fascinated by history, and this is history. We represent what the times were like back then.” It still boggles my mind just a little that we are able to use the DNA of living people today to resurrect the past, and bring depth and meaning to the present, and possibly even prepare us for the future.
I find myself in a similar situation to Dolores and Mary. My mom was adopted, and even though we have had DNA testing completed for several years, we didn’t have any close matches, and honestly, we weren’t looking. Though she did have a passing interest in her health history, my mom did not feel the need to seek out her biological family. But then over the last few months various pieces of her puzzle have started to fall into place. This is much because of a key DNA match that popped up in March.
With that one match and subsequent correspondence, our interest in my mom’s biological family has skyrocketed. Why? I think it is because our DNA match, sisters from Texas, have shown us genuine kindness and interest. They have truly shown us what it means to be family. Even though we are unexpected, even though we aren’t sure yet how exactly we are connected, they have embraced us without reservation without hesitation.
To me, this is what family is. They accept you in whatever condition you come in and do their best to make you feel like you belong. Now, that kind of welcome isn’t felt by everyone who meets their genetic cousins, and people should carefully consider whether they’re ready for unforeseen results or unanticipated reactions from DNA matches before they get started.
But what about you? If you’ve started down the genetics path, how has DNA testing expanded or strengthened your definition of family?
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