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KEEPING UP WITH GENEALOGY ON THE INTERNET: SURNAME SEARCHES

© Christine Sievers

The holidays are over and the decorations are put away. I now have some time to devote to my genealogical research. It is time to again check in with the genealogical sites to see if something new and useful to my research has been added.

New genealogical data is constantly being added and keeping up with it can be overwhelming. The number of search engines themselves can be mind boggling. The nature of the Internet is a vast, sprawling array. That is why I am making myself a checklist of the major sites to visit at least every 3 months. This way I will somewhat keep up with the new additions.

This week I am going to concentrate of the larger search engines for surnames.

RootsWeb has a number of search engines, and are working on a universal engine. For now, here are the sites for the different surname searches that I like to keep my eye on regularly at RootsWeb.

1. Surname Resources at RootsWeb: covers personal web pages registered on a RootsWeb server, click on the letter for the surname which will take to a list of surnames

2. RootsWeb Surname List: surnames that are registered at RootsWeb, with contact information

3. GenSeeker - RootsWeb Site Search: allows you to search the contents of all registered WWW documents at RootsWeb

4. Surname Search for a Surname: this search device will look for your surname among the queries and registered names on a number of genealogy sites, including GenConnect query board, USGenWeb, and WorldGenWeb

5. RootsWeb List Finder: find a mailing list for your surname. I have found mailing lists a great way to connect with generous and helpful people who are researching in the same areas that you are.

6. RootsWeb List Finder: find a list for your surname

Then, there are other surname searches:

7. FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service: the official LDS site; something that genealogists have been waiting for, and important to keep up with

8. GENDEX -- Index of Surnames: an enormous base of gedcoms, maybe you can find a cousin

9. GeneaNet: another surname registry with contact information

10. yourfamily.com - Family Home Pages: this site is good for finding homepages for your surname

11. GenForum: family surname forums

12. SurnameWeb Search Engine: another surname searcher with contact information

13. Ancestry.com: They have a very large database, although not all free. Still, you can get a significant amount of free information.