ONLINE RESEARCH

Is all genealogy information online now? No! However, online genealogy information that IS online can be very valuable or very misleading in furthering a person�s family line. It is helpful to be forewarned.

I have often heard people say, �I found this information about my ancestor online so many times it must be correct.� This is also incorrect. The Internet is valuable in the ability to reach millions of people with information posted on its Web sites. However, beginners as well as experienced researchers use the same tool so a problem exists whereby good and bad information is copied. If the information is good, it promotes collaboration. Sometimes part of the work done is good, but then other people import wrong data into a good database and over time several errors are found in the information. Usually, the first time someone finds this out is when they hit the end of a line. The line cannot go further because nothing syncs with the later information. Some errors were caused by limited information at the time the research was done. Those errors have not been corrected because the collaboration tools were not available. Sadly, it is incidents like this that prevent people from sharing. They want to wait until their genealogy is correct and perfect. But that also is not a good idea because they could miss out on the opportunity of not only having others help them, but of sharing what they do have that is good!

Besides, genealogy, like science, is always open to new interpretations when new facts and information present themselves. The moral to the story is: Always look at online work with a degree of skepticism. If information and data contain citations, it is worth taking a second look. Even work that is not cited can be correct, which helps provide clues in research. Therefore, the information should be copied and studied.

The fact remains, however, that good researchers must find records to verify the information before they can accept it as accurate. We need to be just as skeptical about what is printed online as we would be when we read a book or newspaper. People provide information on the Internet, just as they provide information to newspapers and books. Their biases can flood through the Internet just as in printed sources.

There are other reasons that many good sources will not be posted on the Internet. Many sources in microfilm or digital format, as well as copyrighted books will never be put online if their owners refuse to give permission due to copyright, privacy, or personal property issues.

That also leads us to the reason why no one organization or place will have all the records. Custodians of the records themselves may reserve the right to publish their own records. For example, many government and private organizations are putting up digitized images of records. This is a significant help to researchers worldwide. However, the source of digitized images should also be examined. A private individual can change a digitized image to put forth a bias, such as correcting a child�s birth date that happened before a parent�s marriage. With today�s technology it can happen.

Therefore, as a researcher be aware of:

1. The custodian of the record
2. When the record was obtained
3. What the record normally would say in order to determine if the record has been altered.

For example, a government institution or a subscription website most likely would not have a bias or concern over a child being born prior to the date of marriage. But if the record was obtained from an individual who could have benefited from changing a record in order to match membership qualifications to an organization, even a government institution or a paid service could have tampered records in their collections.

In spite of all of these cautions, the Internet can provide answers to questions or help you find places to look for the answers. It can lead you to sources to find more information or give you references where more information can be found.

Photographs online also provide clues to relationships. I saw a digitized image of a man who looked just like my husband�s great uncle only it was posted by a native of Sweden. When I read her comment, it stated that her great grandmother had married someone in the western United States in a place called Idaho. That was the place where my husband�s family originated. I sent her a copy of a picture of my husband�s uncle, and we found out the two men were brothers.

Internet research is rewarding but it is usually not as simple as finding a database with all your ancestors that you can download in minutes. However, students have found a jackpot and located "some" lines online. When you find those types of databases, you can download them to a research file, not mixing it with your own. You can use that file and its clues to help in future research; keeping in mind that even one wrong ancestor in such a database can take you in the wrong direction for many generations. It takes a plan to conduct good research on the Internet.

There are lots of free forms available on the Internet such as:

� Easy Genealogy Forms (MacIntosh and Windows based forms) www.io.com/~jhaller/forms/forms.html

� Ancestor Charts and Records http://www.byub.org/ancestors/charts/

� Ancestry.com www.ancestry.com/save/charts/census.htm

� FamilyTreeMagazine www.familytreemagazine.com/forms/download.html

� Everton Publishers Free Charts http://www.everton.com/learn/5steps.php

� Census Tools Spreadsheets www.censustools.com

� FamilySearch Online Research Helps www.familysearch.org. Click the Search tab, click the Research Helps link, and then click the letter of the area for which you want help.

� Genealogy.com Census abstract forms and Multi Language Inquiry Form Letters www.genealogy.com/00000023.html

� Genealogy Forum�s Printable Genealogy Forms www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/gfaol/beginners/forms.htm

� MALKA Jewish Genealogy Research Planner www.orthohelp.com/geneal/planner.htm

� MALKA Genealogy Research Log www.orthohelp.com/geneal/log.htm