Posts Tagged ‘Database’

Thrifty Thursday ~ Genealogy For Free?

Posted: August 9, 2012 in Family
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I Love Trees!
Photo Credit: Kelly Vial via kellyvial.wordpress.com
Taken: June 2012- Punchbowl Cemetery, Honolulu, HI

Is the recession hurting your wallet? Do you only have just enough money to pay your bills, have a roof over your head and put food on the table? Believe me, you are not alone! I have struggled so much myself, being an unemployed housewife, dependent upon my husband to care for me, keep this hungry girl fed and keep all of our bills paid and current. Is it hard? Definitely! The cost of living is through the roof and just the idea of going out to eat makes the wallet cringe in horror.

So how can an unemployed, family historian seek out their ancestors when their budget is already stretched to the max? Being a genealogist is hard work, they deserve to be paid for the work they do just like anyone else. But there are some free resources out there that you can access for little or no money at all.

Here are three web sites I have found that I truly have used and like:

  • FamilySearch.org ~ Look for your ancestors here to start with. You can search by full name or just the surname. Enter all the information you have such as a birth date, death, or marriage. If you know the spouse’s name – even better! It gives you more information to work with later! It doesn’t stop there though, you can search other family trees, view documents, and if you don’t know much about genealogy at first, why not take a FREE class? You can access the “Learn” tab at the top of the web page to learn all you possibly can about this very intriguing subject. But once you get started, you may find that you just want to keep digging to the roots!
  • http://usgenweb.org/ ~ This website is great because not only is it free but is volunteer driven. The volunteers dedicate this site to free online research, which benefits everyone! Whether you consider genealogy just a hobby or you hope to make a connection with family, this site is a great starting point. Every county and state will have different web sites you can go to based on your own research or where you think your family of ancestors may have lived during a certain time period.
  • http://www.accessgenealogy.com/ ~ I like this web site because on the home page it tells me what new data has been added to the site. But you can always search by state, for me it would be the state of Virginia or maybe even Kentucky as that is where the majority of my research has been found. So I click on the state I need, where does it take me? It takes me to a corresponding page with related links, all free of course! I’m talking about lots of records! Cemetery records, slave records, census records, military records and rosters, maps, Civil War records, WW1 and WW2 records, you name it there is probably a link for it.

Happy Hunting!

DAR~ A Free Genealogy Resource

Posted: May 4, 2012 in brick wall, Canute, cornett, Daughters of the American Revolution, free, Genealogy, James Canute Cornett, Lineage, members, preservation, research, Resources, surnames, surnames. database, volunteers
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DAR Logo

DAR- Daughters of the American Revolution is a free resource for genealogists and offers aid in their research. The (GRS) Genealogical Research System is a collection of databases, which provides access to the many materials that have been collected over time. The DAR was founded in 1890, the members are passionate about their research findings and are committed to preservation of the history of our ancestors.


This genealogical resource has many volunteers who have scanned and indexed years worth of documents and other materials which can be found in the online database. There is a drawback to sharing this information with others, because of proprietary information and data, and under no circumstances may it be shared or published.


If you are like me, an amateur genealogist, or you may even be a genealogy expert, the DAR could be a stepping stone to finding your ancestral ties that you may have been seeking for so long. It is definitely worth a try, don’t you think? Maybe we can knock down some of these brick walls we have encountered and find some really valuable documents that will only further our research and prove who we are and where we come from. It’s not just about where you, your parents or grandparents were born and the dates of birth, or even how many children they may have had. To me, and this is my own personal opinion on the matter, genealogy research is about finding out more about who my family really was, what they looked like, their way of life, the career choices they may have made and so many other points of their lives and the direction that those points have taken them over the years. 


I recently received an email from a family member, who as it turns out, was researching the same family surnames that I was. Imagine not knowing that you had a family member and didn’t even realize that they were family until you connected through a genealogy resource! Anyhow, back to the email! She has been verified by the DAR and is in the process of getting it signed by officials in Washington D.C. So I can’t wait to find out if she was successful in finding the data she needs to prove her lineage and connection to James Canute Cornett! 


I am definitely going to be researching this DAR to gain a more in-depth understanding. So you may see future postings related to the Daughters of the American Revolution. Who knows, maybe I will also find information on some of my Sutherland and Canute ancestors.


Good luck in your research!