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Genealogy on the Web - The GenWeb

© Mark W. Swarthout

There are many key locations on the World Wide Web that can serve as important sources of genealogical information. One of the best is the United States Genealogical Web, a huge group of volunteers that set up and maintain web sites for every county in every state of the United States. The USGenWeb Project is an incredibly broad and diverse undertaking.

The backbone of the system are the County Coordinators, the persons that maintain a web site for every county in the United States. I believe that the web site for each of the counties currently exists, but not all have coordinators, volunteers that monitor the site and add information as it is gathered. They are responsible to the State Coordinators, who in turn work with the Regional Coordinators to ensure that the sites meet requirements for consistency and accuracy.

Not only does a county web site provide information on that county, it is likely to have links to cemetery records, maps, census data, excerpts from vanity histories, and Bible records. Links to neighboring counties, the appropriate state web page and other sources of information are included. Usually the county coordinator is an actual resident of the county they are maintaining, but not always! I maintain Lander County, Nevada and have never been there!

Look-ups

The most valuable feature of the GenWeb sites may very well be the Look-up. Some place on most of the GenWeb county pages, you will find a set of individuals that are willing to do look-ups for you. There is usually a specific resource listed that person has access to or owns.

Remember that these people are volunteering out of the goodness of their hearts, and their love of genealogy, to look up names and information for you. So here are basic some rules:

1) Be specific. Provide a full name, and as much information as you can about what you are looking for. Don't send a five page history! Five lines is more appropriate. The individuals occupation and date/ time frames are a big help.

2) Limit your query. One or two names, or a specific family group for each request. In addition to making it easier to answer, it allows the volunteer to finish your one question, send an answer and move on to the next. If you make the request too big, I'll bet it ends up on the bottom of the priority list!

3) General questions can be asked, but think about what you are specifically looking for. Asking if there are any Jones' in the book or resource is okay, but don't ask for all the information on all the Jones' that may be in there. If you ask for any information on Stuhldrehers' you will probably be okay. Don't be offended if any reply you get is short or seems terse, remember they have their own research to do!

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