Rockdale County GaArchives Photo Document.....Rockdale County Genealogical Society-Newsletter February 12, 2009 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Larry C. Knowles http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00012.html#0002854 February 12, 2009, 12:58 pm Source: Larry C. Knowles Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/rockdale/photos/documents/rockdale15685gph.gif Image file size: 244.5 Kb Rockdale County Genealogical Society Newsletter-February 2009-[page 2] Genealogy Online According to Family Tree Magazine, if you "googled" the term genealogy, you might recently expect 25 million plus Internet "hits"-or links to pages with that word. Needless to say considerably less than 100 of those would be of any use to you in researching your family history. So, you have to narrow the field. Of course you need to have a general idea of what, where, or who you are looking for. The so-called "Boolean" entry method makes it easier for you to refine your search. If you typed in georgia genealogy you would get links to pages with either word. By using the phrase "georgia genealogy"-with quotation marks-you would limit your hits to pages containing only that phrase. By using plus signs(+)between words, you can narrow it further: georgia + genealogy + rockdale + conyers. Suppose you were looking for a Josh Smith, who may have lived in Newton and Rockdale counties, you might consider: georgia + genealogy + "josh smith" + rockdale OR newton. Capital letters are not used except in certain cases, here in the capitalized OR-used by Google, for multiple choices. Look for detailed tips or search help on each search engine's homepage. Be sure to use more than one search engine, as they do not all index the same websites. As you get into specific databases, you will find that most have their own search engines. Again, you will have to focus your search, and adhere to each site's protocol. Or, you can just use trial and error. I found the old "message board" sites on genforum by entering three words: genforum, georgia, & counties. Both genforum and the rootsweb system are now part of ancestry.com, which may soon add them to their subscription site. For now they remain free. There are "boards" for surnames, counties, and states. Free registration is required to post queries, as email address changes remain a problem. Should your ISP change, this provides a way to update. A good idea for your genealogy mail is a free online mailbox. The USGenWeb network is becoming popular with contributors. Add your biographies, documents, and photos(deceased only)to these usually county-based sites. All scanned items require a separate text file, so that names, dates, & places can be found by search engines. Include plenty of details in your attached summaries-as text uses little very server space. I am a fan of all county sites, just "google"-genealogy, state, & county. I really like this one: usgwarchives.net Post your family group sheets on this site: www.fgs-project.com/ For those with ancestors scattered all over the country, a subscription to ancestry.com would be worthwhile for their census pages alone, but be aware that automatic renewals have been a problem. Their library edition is free at Newton Co. Library, Nancy Guinn, and the State Archives. Over 4700 titles, or databases are part of ancestry.com, but you still have to have an idea about what you are looking for, so do your offline research first. National Archives records are being digitized by www.footnote.com-another subscription service. It is available free at all National Archive branches, as well as their microfilmed originals. Look around for "freebies", I found "footnote" free in the Floyd County Library system. Initially the Internet offered scatter-shot sources, lots of names and indexes; now more actual documents are available. There are shortcuts in genealogy-use them, but be very cautious. As late night TV's Craig Ferguson often humorously says-"It was on the Internet, so it must be true". Don't believe it-at least have doubts, and ultimately verify everything that you find. Always document your family's history with primary sources, those generated at, or near the actual events-diaries, court records, newspapers, etc. ______________________________________ GENES & JEANS Rockdale County Genealogical Society % Nancy Guinn Library, 864 Green St. Conyers, Georgia 30012 President: Chris Zawadski Vice President: Gayle Vivian Treasurer: Margaret Mitchell Assistant Treasurer: Ellen Trainer Secretary: Pauline Hullinger / Jane Conn Liaison: Jackie Smith / Martha Brown Programs: Dee Davis / John Brown Membership: Bertha Little Trips / Research: Claudine Jackson Newsletter Editor: Larry Knowles < knonga2temp@gmail.com > Archives / Assistant: Marion Farmer < http://mtf.home.mindspring.com > _____________________________ Scheduled Programs February-8-Lillis Brown-Probate Judge of Rockdale County speaks about wills and estates. March-8-Darrell Huckaby, columnist, and history teacher-“The way is was…used to be…and ought to be” April 19-Chris Zawadski talks about genealogy software programs. May-17-Brian Williams will talk about websites and web-page design. June-14-Ken Thomas-genealogy writer of the Atlanta-AJC column. Subject to be announced later. Due to library renovation, all Society meetings are held at the LDS Church, 1275 Flat Shoals Rd., Conyers, GA File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/rockdale/photos/documents/rockdale15685gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 5.9 Kb