Fast Accurate Research Tips

FAST ACCURATE RESEARCH TIPS

Compiled 4/15/2014 Rev4.3 Van Celaya FastAccurateResearch@gmail.com There are many tools, that we should be using! Below are just a few !

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 or the PID you choose to start with

• 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. You can search surrounding geography

• 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 (fyi, 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 the 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", read the options and change to your liking, but make it 100 items per page

• 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)