A Fresh New Year For Research

I know that the year 2014 was not a good year for many of us.  But, there were some high points in all of our lives, if we choose to find them.

It's a new year for researching family members, I am going to continue to use the wonderful web sites that are available to us to research from home.  Some of my favorites include:

1.  https://familysearch.org/

I can't say enough about FamilySearch.  I know that there have been many frustrations expressed as people muddle through FamilyTree, but hopefully the administrators are listening.

Aside from that, the records that have digitized and indexed have saved me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in travel and cost of documents.

2.  http://home.ancestry.com

Ancestry has also been a wonderful resource for my research.  I have used the Family Trees, but am still more inclined to use the records that I am able to access.

I love the shaking green leaves!  They have alerted me to sources that give me the opportunity to accept or reject them.

3.  http://usgenweb.org/

I discovered USGenWeb many years ago, and have actively used it ever since.  It's one of the top sites I recommend in my classes.

God bless the coordinators that are diligently uploading information to the county and state pages.  I have discovered ancestors I never knew about in the hills of eastern Kentucky.

4.  http://ogs.org/

I just live a few minutes from the Ohio Genealogical Society headquarters!  They are one of the largest state genealogy societies in the United States.  As a member, I am able to access their databases from home.  And, when I walk into their library, I am always astounded at the state-of-the-art facilities.

Their annual conference is a "must-do" for anyone researching in Ohio and many of the surrounding states.  Even if you don't have Ohio ancestors, there are classes in methodology, technology, and ethnicity that will hold anyone's interest.  They bring in some of the best of the best as speakers.

5.  http://www.findagrave.com/

This is my absolute favorite web site!  I use it nearly every day, and have added hundreds of grave sites to my database, as well as contributed dozens more.  I have looked for name, or simply browsed through cemeteries and their listings.

I haven't even begun to list all of the sites I use from home every day.  These are the ones I frequent the most. These are the ones that keep me up into the wee hours of night.  These are the ones that have led me to records I may never have known about, or even thought of.

For seasoned genealogists, there may be a sigh as you read through these.  But, my job is inspiring those that are of any age, any degree of research, and of any means.

And, I take that job seriously.

My Favorite Free Genealogy Sites

Week 3 – Free Online Genealogy Tools: Free online genealogy tools are like gifts from above. Which one are you most thankful for? How has it helped your family history experience?

This is week 3 of 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, and I must respond to this one!  It deals with free genealogy tools, of which I am SO grateful for!!

My first and most favorite is www.usgenweb.com, and I use it several times each week.  I have made some of those most terrific finds through the generosity of others who have shared their research.

My first find that sent me into orbit concerned an Adam Gearheart of Floyd Co., KY.  It was simply entitled "Descendants of Adam Gearheart".  It was well written, and confirmed what I felt was correct in my own research.

Carter Co., KY hosts a wonderful site on usgenweb.com.  As a matter of fact, it's one of the best I've ever seen.  I have particularly gleaned many obituaries, for there were many family from Kentucky who moved to this area.   Lots of puzzles have been completed, or at least filled in, because of the vast amount of obituaries that are continualy uploaded onto this site.

Carter County also maintains thousands of pictures in its database.  So, not only do I have obituaries, but faces to complete the stories.  I have enjoyed seeing the family resemblances coming through the ancestral lines.  It also allows me to contribute photos with ease.

My grandparents, Richard Lee and Fannie Collier Clemens.

What would I do without www.findagrave.com?  As much as I LOVE visiting ancestral cemeteries, it's not always easy to do so.  Findagrave has enabled me to go zooming around the United States searching for cemeteries and possible ancestors which may be buried in them.  Again, I have easily uploaded tombstone photos of my own.  Thank goodness for the wonderful volunteers around the globe that contribute to this great site.

Zachariah Johnson/Johnston tombstone, Stonewall Jackson Cemetery, Lexington, VA

My greatest love and gratitude go to www.familysearch.org.  Where do I even begin?  Through the wonderful indexing project, I was able to run across 26 babies that belonged to various family members.  Twenty-six!!!  I truly was not even looking for them, for I didn't know they existed.  But, sometimes we glean help from the other side, for which I am grateful.  These babies were part of a family's history, and now they are included. 

Chester Clemens, my father, as a young baby.  Though he was not lost, several of his nieces and nephews were.  Thanks to FamilySearch, they are not lost anymore.

None of want to feel "lost".  Thanks to these wonderful websites, we can continue our research when we may not be able to afford the paid sites.  Bless the hearts of the good people that continue to volunteer their times and talents to keep them going!