Spreading the Word

It may seem a small thing, but it is definitely worth your while to spread your wealth of knowledge as much as possible. The more people that know what you are looking for the better off you are. Over the last two years I have talked about a large number of sites and tools available on the Web for your use. To encourage you to participate in many of them, I have provided some examples from my own research and activities. These activities have provided some major connections for my genealogical research in the last few years.

Posting on Query and Message Boards

I can’t tell you how much information you obtain by posting on bulletin boards provided by the various genealogy organizations and groups. GenWeb, Ancestry, Roots all provide public posting areas divided up by regions, surnames, counties and other divisions. Two important things to remember. First, make sure you provide a valid email address and keep it current. Nothing can be more frustrating to a good Samaritan then to have their message of valuable information bounced back by an expired account.

Second, be patient! Once in a while you will get a speedy reply to your question, others may take years to provide any results.

Your Own Web Site(s)

Wow! This has provided me a great deal of pleasure over the three years since I have published my Swarthout family information on the web. I have corresponded with individuals from all over the world an such a wide variety of subjects.

I have had a museum curator contacted me about the origin of a photograph of Gladys that had been donated to his museum. Individuals doing biographies of individuals touched by our family have asked if I know of any connections. And dozens of people that are interested in the family, the locations and the relationships.

My Fairchild pages recently helped make a connection with a fourth cousin that has pictures and documents of our common ancestor. How did we make the connection? He was searching for information on a nephew and found my Lander County web site, one of the few that has an actual page with information on him. My web site is now greatly enriched with a number of new pictures, more information and mastheads connected to this family!

Search Engines

Don’t forget to use your search engines on a regular basis! I run a set of searches about once a year or so. It is amazing what additional information will pop up in the course of a few months. You may discover a new web site, new information on one that you had visited earlier, or increase your knowledge of the area in question.

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