MASTERING THE SEARCH ENGINES

You may ask, why would you go to the World Wide Web (WWW) when there are so many surname searches at genealogy specific sites? There are 3 reasons why I sometimes use a major search engine for research. First, because there are so many genealogical sites on the Internet, it is easy for me to miss what I'm looking for. A WWW search can match surnames with a genealogical site. For example, my search for family (hinkel) pulled up a Family Genealogy Forum on the name Hinkel that I had missed in my searches through genealogy sites.

Second, not all information I need is listed on a genealogy site. The WWW search can be used to find background information such as historical data. I was able to find historical maps of Germany this way.

Third, a WWW search can find clues. I was completely stumped on one of my surnames, Van Loozen. Genealogy surname searches turned up nothing. But, the WWW search found the name at various, but not genealogical, sources. At least, I know the family name still exists.

The magic of the WWW is that it provides a phenomenal amount of information; its drawback is that you can drown in the amount of pages that your search turns up. Narrowing your search is the first skill you need to learn. Using search engines effectively can be a valuable tool for finding your lost relatives and ancestors.

Search engines are not all the same, but most use some form of Boolean, an effective way to filter information. If you are not familiar with that system, this Boolean Tutorial will fill you in.

For genealogical surname searches, I like HotBot the best. It is easy to navigate, provides help, and pulls up a managable number of sites when using genealogy "your surname" in the search box. You can also search the usenet, an often overlooked source of information.

If you have a common surname, such as Smith or Johnson, try your search using a first name. You can also use family (your surname). That method brings up more pages, but is helpful when looking for very uncommon surnames. Once you are comfortable using Boolean, you can try qualifying your search by adding locations, such as Ohio or Germany.

AltaVista's Genealogy &Heraldry Category provides a unique service. It lists genealogy web pages by surname, and allows you to add your own web page. I think they have caught on the fact that genealogists are heavy Internet users.

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