The Swick Super Web
(also known as "The
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This page contains a list of genealogy resources that the
group has found helpful for researching general genealogy
information. The sections are split into a basic how-to section,
the sanity-check section contains
genealogy humor, including the 'You Know You're a Genealogy
Addict When...' joke, and the last part lists general links to various
genealogical web sites.
- Before you start with the libraries, get
all your data together in some kind of order so you know
what you are looking for. Talk to your relatives and
glean as much information as you can. You might ask them
for dates and areas where your missing people lived. I
think it is best to try and find one person at a time
when you do head out for the library - have an alternate
person or two to search for in case you hit a dead end
with your 1st choice.
-
- Documentation is VERY important in
genealogy and you need to make notes to where you found
your data! When you copy from a book, mark these pages as
to the title of the book, author & etc.. You might
even copy the title page of the book and staple it to
your other pages. Ask the librarians for guidance.
-
- Start with the U.S. census. The last and
most current census is 1920. The censuses are arranged by
state and most years have a State Index book. Ask one of
the librarians for help here, they will show you what you
need from these indexes. From the information gathered
here, you'll need to again ask for help in finding what
you need on the microfilm. The people there are used to
beginners and will show you the ropes. When you finish
with the census, find the geographical books section. The
books are normally arranged by states & counties and
that would be the next good place to go. Ask for help!
Use a pedigree chart and a blank group sheet to copy
initial information.
- One piece of genealogy software is PAF
which is put out by the Mormon Church - it's also good
for non-Mormons. It has a lot of nice features and is not
expensive, $35 or so. I think it's biggest draw back is
that it runs from DOS - no problems with Win95 though. A
lot of people use Family Tree Maker. As long as you use a
software program that will make a "GEDCOM" file
you are in good shape. A GEDCOM file will allow you to
copy all of your data into a file and then recopy it into
another genealogy program. Some day you may find another
genealogy software program that you'll like better and
will need some way of getting your data over to it. You
can also share your data with others if you so desire.
-
- You might want to also check one of the
big book stores and see what kind of books they have on
beginning genealogy. If you are interested in placing any
queries, the magazine put out by Everton called
Genealogical Helper is a good one. They do charge for the
queries, but it's not expensive. It is published every
other month and runs $21/yr. I made a few good finds
here, but had since dropped it. Everton Publishers, Inc *
P.O. Box 368 * Logan, UT 84323-0368 1-800-443-6325
source: songbird@flash.net
YOU KNOW YOU'RE A GENEALOGY ADDICT WHEN.....
- You brake for libraries
- You hyperventilate at the sight of an old
cemetery
- You would rather browse in a cemetery than
a shopping mall
- You would rather read census schedules
than a good book
- You are more interested in what happened
in 1697 than 1997
- You think every home should have a copier
and a microfilm reader
- You store your clothes under the bed
because your closet is full of books and papers
- All your correspondence begins "Dear
Cousin"
source: group member Marcia Meacham (mandmm@ultra.internetland.net)
-
General Web Sites
Libraries
Surname
Searches
GEDCOM Standards
GEDCOM Utilities -- HTML Converters
- GED2HTML: Software for
publishing your tree on the web.
- Gedpage: Similar to
GED2HTML, but claims half the storgage space needed
- GED2WWW: Another HTML
creator.
GEDCOM Utilities -- Data Manipulation
- PAF Review:
List of PAF/GEDCOM utilities.
- Gedclean:
Basically, the only data remaining for living individuals
is (optionally) their name, and any relationships
(parents, spouses, and children) they have. GEDClean also
adds a NOTE saying Living Individual - Details Withheld.
This is done for both the individuals, and any families
in which they are a parent.
- Gedprivy:
Includes the following features for privitizing
individuals:
- Making living relatives birthdates
'Private'
- Automatic -- No need to manually
pick and choose individual family members
- Option to remove Sources
- Compatibility with genealogy
programs that support GEDCOM
- Windows 95 version supports long
file names
- Misc. GEDCOM Utilities:
- Analyze.exe Windows 95 command
line program to display the unconnected
individuals in any GEDCOM file
- GEDPlace.exe Allows editting
of places in a GEDCOM file
- Addnote.exe Windows 95 Beta
version. Adds a user specified note to each
individual in a GEDCOM file.
- Addsour.exe Windows 95 Beta
version. Adds a user specified source to each
individual in a GEDCOM file.
- Gedcaps.exe Windows 95 Beta
Version - changes the capitalization of names
and/or places in a GEDCOM file
- GEDLivng.exe Native Windows 95
version. Privitizes a GEDCOM file. (beta
testing). Performs the following functions:
- place message as birth
date
- YYYY sets cutoff year
(default: 1917)
- YY sets cutoff year to
current year - YY
- deletes living individuals
- "message"
replace "Living individual, details
withheld" with message
- no message. same as #5
- keep notes
- removes unreferenced
GEDCOM lines
- replaces dates with year
only.
Copyright 1998-2008 Adam L. Swick. [http://adamswick.com]
For problems or questions regarding this site, contact [adam.pub@adamswick.com].
Last updated: July 25, 2008.