Fast Accurate Research Tips

FAST ACCURATE RESEARCH TIPS

Compiled 4/15/2014 Rev4.3 Van Celaya FastAccurateResearch@gmail.com

Heavenly Father has provided us with many tools}}, that we should be using, and He will be providing many more! Below are just a few !

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FamilySearch.org - START

• Start with Elder Moon's training site (to improve proficiency with Family Tree): http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/fhd/Community/en/FamilyTreeCurriculum/level01/levelone.html

Pandora’s Hope Chest – Find GREEN arrows quickly

• Open Chrome – go to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pandoras-hope-chest/gjneklbanpnnjdeddbnkkgeljkhpblhp?hl=en

• Click on “+ Free” and follow prompts to add to Chrome

• Log into FamilySearch, then click on “Tree” – there is a tutorial near the top of the tree, with new icons

• Follow the instructions to find “ancestors” AND “descendants of those ancestors” with work needing to be done

Puzzilla.org - GREAT

• Ancestry and Descendancy – the first page starts with you

• Click any ancestor - the next page will show all of their descendants “that are currently listed in FamilySearch” (many are missing that you need to find)

• Use puzzilla to find dead ends, errors and to find missing ordinances (use in conjunction with each person's page in “FamilyTree,” with RootsMapper.com, and with CreateFan.com)

RootsMapper.com - GREAT

• Locations will help “see” where your ancestors lived or died

• Select several generations - RootsMapper will download from FamilySearch ancestor's “locations,” and display them with links on the World Map.

• To display single lines, and not all of them, here are the instructions: “http://blog.rootsmapper.com/2013/10/feature-focus-expand-parents.html”

CreateFan.com - GREAT

• Print out your own FanChart in color (at Riverton FSL $ 0.60 or with lamination will cost $1.60)

• NEW *** Use “Source Tracker” for Census, and “Name Cloud” (for fun)

• Use in conjunction with Puzzilla and Rootsmapper AND as a “search log”

• Give as a gift - give family and friends a copy of their (or your) FanChart as a gift

• Laminate FanChart (or any fragile or special documents)

Free-OCR.com – For PDF and Other Picture Documents

• Can convert a PDF (or other “picture document”) into a searchable text, so you can copy it, and save it

'SortedByName.com '– Search Social Security Numbers
• Follow the instructions, because it is complicated - it will take you 3 to 5 screens in order to get to the names you want

'SearchEngineColossus.com'- Internation Director of Search Engines by Country

GenealogyInTime.com – GREAT RESEARCH

• Stories, Books, Newspapers, Genealogy links - great place to start research

• Use both (1) Individual, and (2) Family Genealogy searches (Located on left side of page)

• Rare Book Search will take you to “google books” (free) or archives.com (pay site)

TinEye.com - UPDATE – INSTEAD USE http://google.com/imagesf

• Search on a “picture” One of the first places to look – but you will need to scan a picture in order to upload it into TinEye.com

• If anyone is using that same picture on the internet, you will be given the internet locations

MillionShort.com – GREAT RESEARCH

• Many “personal” websites are too obscure to show up in a normal search • You can eliminate millions of sites using this and find the little know websites you might need

Advanced Google Searches – EXTREMELY Good Help

(you might need to type “http://www.google.com” to see advanced options, bottom right of the google page under settings, and then click on “advanced search”) 

• quotes = “ “
• range = .. (two periods between a range of items, for example 1800..1850)

• tilde = ~ (it is on the left of the one key on the keyboard)

• asterisk = * (global character)

• site = site: (type the website after the colon, and you can't have any spaces)

• country servers = in google search type google, then a space, and then the name of the country – then you will be in the “google server for that specific country”

• images = from the google.com page (facial recognition software) • books = from the google drop down (you can find books relating to your search)

• delimiters = AND, NOT, OR, +, -, INURL, INTITLE (many more = here is just one site that shows delimiters = “http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html” )

SearchForAncestors.com - use with Advanced Google Searches

• Search for your ancestors using this interactive directory of free genealogy search engines

• On Main Page Click on Google Searcher to learn how to use Advanced Google Searches above

BabyNameWizard.com to help with Indexing

• Indexing – displays variations of unusual or difficult to recognize names.

• Research - helps with unrecognized names.

• Under the tab “BasicName Tools” you can use “NameVoyager” and “NameMapper”

• “Name Voyager” - If you can only decipher part of the name, use this to find different possibilities for that partial name.

• “NameMapper” - If you need to find if a name reoccurs often, you could use this

Newspapers.com

• Select Browse at the top of the page – put in a name and chose advanced search (date range, state, etc)

(please send any corrections or additions to “FastAccurateResearch@gmail.com” and they will be included in the next revision)

FamilySearch Library (FSL); formerly called, Family History Library (FHL)