Is our FAQ page keeping up to date on things like this? Last time I had
occasion to check, there seemed to be some gaps.
Carmen Finley
Below is a transcription of an article that appeared in the AntiqueWeek
newspaper on Monday. Thought you might like to see it.
Celia
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<fontfamily><param>Geneva</param>AntiqueWeek-Mon., Feb. 9, 1998
Genealogy Week
1986 Recipient of National Genealogical Society Award of Merit for
Distinguished Work in American Genealogy
"<bold>USGenWeb provides researchers with links organized by states and
counties
</bold>by Ruby coleman
for AntiqueWeek
Genealogists who are new at computing and Internet are often faced with
the question of where to begin. Because genealogists try to link to
other families, find relatives and make connections in various
counties, states and even countries, my recommendation is to browse the
USGenWeb project.
This project is often cited in articles that I write and for a good
reason. It is an all-encompassing area that will allow researchers to
gain information on counties, states and countries, post queries,
register surnames and share and retrieve information.
The home page for The USGenWeb Project can be found at:
http://www.usgenweb.org or
http://www.usgenweb.net . The work done on
this project is strictly volunteer. Their website provides links
organized by states and counties.
Before attempting to link directly to a county of interest, I strongly
urge you to review the state page. A good deal of information can be
found on state pages, such as histories, maps, projects, unknown county
queries and bulletin boards. Some states have specific projects such
as the transcription of letters, family bibles and collections of
photographs.
Browsing through county pages, you will see variations in the creation
of the pages and databases. Almost all provide links for leaving
queries and/or registering surnames. Personally created by the county
coordinator, the page may also contain links to census extractions,
maps, photograph collections, newspaper articles, biographical
sketches, cemetery records or military records. Because the pages
change and are updated frequently, be sure to check them often.
There are several other important projects sponsored by the USGenWeb
Project. Information on these can be found on their home page. The
Archives Project can be found at:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb .
Researchers will find public domain records, categorized by state, at
this site.
>From the original Archives Project, other sub-projects have developed,
such as the Census Project, Military Records Project, Tombstone
Project, National and International Links Project and Lineage Project.
Further information and access to these areas can be found through the
USGenWeb home page.
The goal of the Census Project is to transcribe all census data and
place it online. This monumental task is being accomplished by
volunteers who are reading data from the original rolls of census.
Military and war related data is being collected and assimilated by the
Military Records Project. This project links to what is existing on
Internet in the form of transcriptions and indexes. Their categories
include: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Indian
Wars, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II,
Korean War, Vietnam War, Medal Winners, 1890 Veterans and Widows,
Academy Graduates and Miscellaneous. If you are researching ancestors
in any of these wars or periods of military history, be sure to check
out this site.
The Tombstone Project is a transcription of inscriptions as a lasting
tribute to our deceased ancestors. Meant to be lasting memorials, the
stones suffer from time and the elements as well as human destruction.
In this growing project, researchers will be amazed at the links to
Tombstone transcriptions found on Internet.
National and International Links Project at
http://www.usgenweb.com/links/index.html will allow you to browse
through many categorized links to other web sites. Some of these
categories are ethnic groups, history, how-to, Internet link sites,
maps and geography, libraries, news groups and military records.
The Lineage Project is a resource area for the posting of ancestor's
names, dates and locations. The three categories for Single Lineage
Researchers are 1826-1851, 1800-1825 and Before 1800. Be sure to
search for and post your ancestors at this site.
All of these projects are constantly changing and expanding. Check
back occasionally for more data. There is also a need for county
coordinators and volunteers for transcribing census and other records.
Do your part as a genealogist . . . give and receive."
</fontfamily>
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