I often see replies to questions where answerers offer to help the asker of the question, who is the most helpful and experienced genealogy person to ask.? just give yahoo names please not email addresses.
2007-02-19 22:20:05 · 12 answers · asked by mgyb25 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
Hello yobaby,
I have read your question, are you looking for some help to get you started, if so you can email me with your names that you want researched and I will see what I can do for you. Good luck, Diane.
2007-02-20 22:02:42 · answer #1 · answered by itsjustme 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
efes_haze had a good point. Your county may have a genealogy society. (Most counties in the USA do.) The volunteers at the LDS Family History Centers love to help newcomers too.
RustSkipper had a good point too - look at the top ten on the board. (He's #1, my current identity is #2, and an identity I deleted in disgust last year is #3 HSKs_Mom is coming up fast.)
Genealogy is a hobby, like fishing. Old genealogists are like old fishermen, except we smell better. We are usually happy to give general advice - where to go, what lures to use, how to cook what you catch - but asking one to do all your work for you is like asking a fisherman to catch your dinner for you. He may not want to, and you miss all of the fun of the chase.
You didn't say if you wanted someone to get you past a specific dead end, or to give you some starting hints, or to compile a 12-generation tree for you.
Genforum.com and the Ancestry query boards both have boards for specific surnames and counties. Anyone who responds to a Q on those boards will be knowledgeable about that surname or county.
2007-02-20 03:28:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Start with yourself and what you know work backwards. Then your parents and see what they know about your own families and grandparents.
You have already got much good advice from the answers here
Always check your information sites that have indexs available are just that and you should always check the information provided against the genuine records where possible. All the census are available on line and a valuable source of family information again work backwards dont assume a family with the same surname is yours you have to make a connection.
Just posing such a question gets people up and running in your direction.
But I always say its your family tree so dont expect others to come up with the goods for you. Help is always a typed word away. I can think of four family history magazines which are available and I always find them very useful. They have questions and answers.
As you start you will gradually build up your own expertise and be able to help others yourself.
2007-02-20 11:00:52 · answer #3 · answered by BigMomma2 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
RustSKIPper and Wendy C have good answers. I just want to add that when people post as much information as they can about the person or persons they are seeking answers about, it makes it much easier to help them. Lets give an example... Some one wants to find out about their grandfather. On this forum I often see people word their question like this..."Looking for information on Ted Farley from California, died 1955"
Someone might think that this is being specific. First of all, California is one of the top three states in size and population. A narrowed down locality would help tremendously whether it is given as the town or the county. Second, died 1955 is a start, but was Ted Farley and infant when he died or was he 99 years old? The question didn't tell anyone that Ted is your grandfather. If you are looking for an older man, particularly one that could have been in multiple wars, it is important to mention that. Their are online draft cards available for both World Wars that could be looked at that give valuable biographical information. Also mentioning the birthdate as well as the birthplace opens up many more research possibilities. Going back to my example. Ted Farley may have been born in Illinois in 1878. Illinois is a different locality many miles from California that may yield answers about your Ted. For all you know, Ted could have married in Illinois before coming to California.
As you can see, putting together genealogical information on a person is very much like a big puzzle. There really is no magical place we genealogists look to find all of our information and we don't find our information in one place. We become skilled over time at finding different places to pull the information from, but we have brick walls too. Also, people weren't very good in the past with keeping up with ages. I've seen a person be 22 years old in the 1900 census and 28 years old in the 1910 census. Hm!! How do they do that? That is why it is important to check several sources to put together an accurate profile of the person you are looking for. Sometimes the impressive information collected on a person is the result of spending lots of time and occasionally some money.
As far as giving Yahoo! names... Everyone on here has different levels of genealogical experience and expertise. Genealogy is a huge area of study and that is what makes this forum so interesting. No one here has all of the answers no matter how experienced they are. You constantly learn like you do with anything. As a genealogist myself, I often learn new tidbits from looking at perviously answered questions here at Answers. My opinion is if someone offers you help, take it and see where it goes. A good genealogist will tell you where the information came from. Genealogy research is very expensive if you look for a private researcher on the web. If someone here offers you help and it isn't costing you anything anyway, what do you have to lose?
2007-02-20 00:11:19 · answer #4 · answered by HSK's mama 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Aside from yahoo policies...
Many people here have experience and enjoy pointing someone in the right direction. Many of the questions take 5 minutes (if that) to look up, if you are used to the different resources. Lookups are different from some who look for others to do all the research for them. Personally, I think that is like asking someone else to go out to dinner for me - THEY GET ALL THE FUN.
I come in, grab the questions I think are interesting, or I have a special view point on. It is random.
Here is a heads up though.. yahoo answers is not focused on research, but there is a huge network out there that is. If you are researching a certain family name, there are several places that discuss nothing but that name. ARe you looking for records of a particular county? There are volunteer websites for every county, and mailing lists as well. Adoption? Civil War? immigration? Name it, it is out there. The more specific your question, the more someone can help.
There is no one "best" website, or researcher. I do suggest www.cyndislist.com for beginners, however. If nothing else, browse around to get ideas of how much there is.
2007-02-20 00:00:41 · answer #5 · answered by wendy c 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hey Yobaby,
It is against community guidelines to ask for Yahoo names, that would be PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS.
So, Just ask your specific questions and the right people will see them. If you want a really good Genealogist, they are certified and it will cost you for their time.
One way for you to find the Best Answerers in the Genealogy Category is to look at the leaderboard. When you are in the categories, and Genealogy is selected, look to the right of your screen, and pick the hypertext "leaderboard". They may not be the best, but they answer a lot of questions and get Best Answers enough to Top Yahoo Answers.
Leaderboard Shortcut:
http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/stars?sid=396546034
2007-02-19 22:58:38 · answer #6 · answered by BuyTheSeaProperty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
genweb.com
There you can pick the state, county, township! Almost anything you want.
Libraries, and courthouses are the best places to get information, but older family members are the best resource you can get..
You can also get on the genweb boards and put messages on there, and sometimes someone will pick up the info from there and respond for you. I do genealogy for a lot of people including myself this way, because if something comes across the genweb for my town, I have the choice of looking it up or not.
2007-02-19 23:24:24 · answer #7 · answered by cms_38us2002 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to your local Library and ask if they have a genealogy branch or a list of local genealogists. also the Morman Church has family history centers nationwide.
Then Start with websites like familysearch.org, genealogy.com. rootsweb.com, cyndi's list.com
Then buy a program for your computer like Family Tree Maker
or a cheaper versions available at Office Depot or download PAF for free from familysearch.org.
2007-02-20 03:34:08 · answer #8 · answered by TaylorProud 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Join your local Family History Society. They will probably have a centre for studies, they will certainly have regular meetings. If you are in the UK, look on the GENUKI website to find your local society.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/
You should also start buying Family History magazines.
2007-02-20 01:23:19 · answer #9 · answered by efes_haze 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The best place to start is the family history society in your local town,if you have one in your area,this is how I started,they were great with help and advice.
2007-02-20 23:12:40 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋