Genealogy Info

Research Sites

• RSSGenealogy.com
• linkpendium.com
• rootsweb.com ( mailing list and message boards)
• cyndislist.com (seemed to be the most popular site for Jackie!) A must see!
• olivegenealogy.com
• Many sites allow you to perform searches, access their library, and share information.

Software and Subscription Programs

• Reunion
• http://www.leisterpro.com/
Reunion is a genealogy software program -- a "family tree program" -- for the Macintosh.
Reunion received the highest rating for genealogy software in MacWorld, MacAddict, and Mac Home Journal magazines.
Reunion helps you to document, store, and display information about your family -- your ancestors, descendants, cousins, etc. It records names, dates, places, facts, plenty of notes, sources of information, pictures, sounds, and videos. It shows family relationships in an elegant, graphic form -- people and families are linked in an easy-to-understand fashion.
Reunion makes it easy to publish your family tree information -- even if you want to share it on the Web. You can automatically create common genealogy reports, charts, and forms, as well as birthday calendars, mailing lists, questionnaires, indexes, and other lists. Reunion even calculates relationships, ages, life expectancies, and statistics.
Reunion also creates large, high-resolution, graphic charts allowing complete on-screen editing of boxes, lines, fonts, and colors. Wall charts are one of its specialties.

• http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/
• Go to: http://www.genhomepage.com/software.html for a much larger list of online software.
• Free software: familysearch.org (from the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints). The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

Subscription Services

• ancestry.com
( Learning Centers: Census Records Vital Records Family Trees Immigration Records Military Records Directories & Member Lists Family & Local Histories Newspapers & Periodicals Court, Land & Probate Finding Aids )
• genealogy.com
• kindredkonnections.com

Census Sources

• Social Security Death Index
• LDS (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Oakland are excellent places to research.
• Gedcom files are readable by both Mac and PC users.
• Railroad retirement for folks who worked for the railroad and had no social security number.
• Ellis Island: ellisislandrecords.org
• Censustools.com: Free Genealogy Spreadsheets! Archive Census, Cemetery and Manifest Data
• Spreadsheets for Census Data
Ever try entering extracted census data into your genealogy program's primitive text editor? The mess and frustration led me to create my first spreadºsheet in 2001 so I could elecºtronºiºcalºly preserve my data in an easy to view format. 40+ free genealogy spreadsheets later, CensusTools continues to grow, providing researchers with quality creations to electronically record, preserve and archive family history data.

Record and Analyze

Using a spreadsheet is a great way to record your genealogy data in a format similar to the original source. All of my census spreadsheets faithfully reproduce actual census document formatting, providing you with a professional appearing product suitable for printing or including in your published family history. CensusTools spreadsheets are also valuable analysis tools. The Tracker series allows a researcher to analyze all available census data for an individual on a single worksheet! At a glance and in a very professional appearing report, you can trace the important aspects of your ancestors' lives. Your pile of census data, difficult to analyze and evaluate scattered about in a pile of extraction sheets, comes alive when properly organized!

U.S. Federal Census

Starting with just a 1790-1920 U.S. Federal spreadsheet, the CensusTools collection expanded to include 1930, available separately and included in the 1790-1930 file, and several U.S. special census records. Complimenting the Federal spreadsheet files are the 1850-1860 Slave Schedules, 1850-1880 Mortality Schedules, 1883 List of Pensioners, the 1890 Surviving Veterans and Widows Schedule and Dawes Roll.

State Census

Often overlooked as a genealogical resource, many individual states conducted their own census operations, usually at 10 year intervals between federal enumerations. Of particular interest are records from 1885 and 1895 which can help bridge the 1880-1900 federal gap caused by the loss of most of the 1890 records. CensusTools currently offers state spreadsheets for Iowa 1836-1925, Kansas 1865-1925, Massachusetts 1855-1865, Minnesota 1849-1895, New Jersey 1855-1915, New York 1825-1925, Rhode Island 1865-1935 and Wisconsin 1836-1905. Each set collection features the main spreadsheet as well as a Tracker and Checklist.

International Census

CensusTools went international with the release of spreadsheets for Canada 1851-1901, England 1841-1901, Ireland 1821-1911 and Scotland 1841-1891, all similar to the U.S. Federal in design.

Cemetery Data

The CensusTools Cemetery Data spreadsheet enables a researcher to record data in two generic formats. The "Cemetery Listing" worksheet is formatted to record multiple burials in a single cemetery. By using the "Family Listing" worksheet, family members buried in different cemeteries can be grouped together.

Passenger Manifest Data

Though there is no standard format for passenger ship records, the CensusTools Manifest spreadsheet includes common, genealogically significant data fields to record your immigrant ancestor's arrival in America. This spreadsheet also includes two worksheets, a "Ship Listing" and a "Family Listing", similar in purpose to the Cemetery spreadsheet.

Research Log

The CensusTools Genealogy Research Log is a tremendous resource which allows the user to check off data types researched for any person in their database. There are over 125 data types listed, from the obvious like birth certificates to the obscure such as tombstone rubbings. In addition, there is a column listing 40 online data sources with links provided for easy access. Say goodbye to the frustration of forgetting what data types and sources have already been reviewed for an ancestor!

Family Group Report

The CensusTools Family Group Report can be used in place of commercial genealogy software. Finished worksheets can be shared with family and friends via e-mail, printed for hard copy records or book projects, or exported from Excel in HTML format for a web page presentation.

Requirements
All CensusTools spreadsheets were created with MS Excel and saved in Excel 97 format. A version of MS Excel for PC or MAC at least as recent as 97 is required to use the spreadsheets. My compatibility page provides more details. PDF versions of all worksheets are available for anyone without access to MS Excel or to those who just want high quality extraction sheets.

Caveat!! Some information is not correct. You need to be careful with online information. Ex: a name could be spelled incorrectly but you know you have the right person by other date.

Tip:
Start with census data, however, the 1890 census was totally destroyed by fire.

Follow these links for the rest of the story!

Genealogy Podcasting

Google for Genealogy

Back to Basics: 10 Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Essential Books

Genealogy Research

Tips for Recording Oral Histories

Download other Genealogy Files

Imagine all the people... the possibilities of what you can do online are limitless!

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