Genealogy Tips


 Google Tips
 
 Including or Excluding words:
 
  • Use a plus sign [ + ] before words that you want to appear in your search results exactly.

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  • Use a minus sign [ - ] before words that you do NOT want to appear in your search results.

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    To Search for Two Words Together:

     

    "John Smith" or "Jane Doe"

    Don't Know the Exact Year?


    With Google, you can search for a range of years. If you are not sure of the year, but you have an approximate idea, do a number range search.

    Some examples are:
    • ship passenger list 1850...1860
    • obituary 1920...1925
    • John Smith Pennsylvania 1901...1980

    Synonyms


    The tilde ~ is Google's newest operand. Now you can search not only for a particular keyword, but also for its synonyms (words having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word). Indicate a search for both by placing the tilde sign ("~") immediately in front of the keyword.

    For example, to search for webpages that contain the word genealogy, family history, family tree, or ancestry, search for ~genealogy. Not every genealogy webpage actually uses the word genealogy.

    Google Makes Searching Even Easier with its Toolbar


    For more convenience, consider the free Google Toolbar. When the Google Toolbar is installed, it automatically appears along with the Internet Explorer toolbar. Here are some of the things you can do with the Google Toolbar:

    • Use Google to search without returning to the Google home page.

    • Use the Google "Search Site" to search an individual website. This is particularly useful if a web site doesn't have its own search. The Google "search site" is sometimes even better than a site's own search engine because you can use google math, quotes, and the [ OR ] operand, all of which may not available on a site search engine.

    • Use the Page Info Button to:

      • Translate a website into English without returning to Google.

      • Deliver the cached version of a dead web page without returning to Google.

      • Find similar web sites to the current web page without returning to Google.

    • Use the "Highlight" pen to mark in color all occurrences of the searched word on the page. No more hunting to find your search terms on the website.
      ****(my personal favorite)


    • Click on the search term on the toolbar to go to the next occurrence of the word on the web page. Another time saver to quickly find a name on a web page.

    • Use the "drag and drop" function to drag any text or URL from the current page you are viewing to the Google Toolbar in order to run a search. This eliminates typos and it is quicker and easier than doing a "cut and paste". And the search results are returned without clicking.

    • "Google Search" by highlighting text on a web page and right-clicking on your mouse.

    • Use the Popup Blocker to make surfing the web easier by stopping annoying popups.

    • Use the AutoFill to automatically fill in a form with the click of a button.

    • Use the BlogThis to create a weblog post pointing to the page you are visiting.

    • Customize the toolbar looks by adding or removing buttons.


      If you try the Google Toolbar, and don't like it, it is easily uninstalled.


    • Organize

    Picture
    Here is a link to free forms for anything genealogy related:   http://www.genealogysearch.org/free/forms.html   The most important forms are the "Family Group Sheet" &  "Pedigree Form"    


    My Favorite Free Links

    http://genforum.com/

    http://www.cyndislist.com/

    http://www.ellisisland.org/

    http://www.gencircles.com/

    Social Security Death Index 

    http://www.searchgenealogy.net/SSDI.html

    http://usgenweb.org/

    http://www.algenweb.us/

    Jefferson Co, Alabama Genealogy

     http://www.trackingyourroots.com/jefferson.htm

    http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/

    http://www.usgwtombstones.org/index.html



    Military Records Resource Page



    DAR RECORDS:

    http://www.dar.org/library/online_research.cfm



    Census Tips:

    http://www.genealogy-fast-track.com/federal-census.htm



    Photos:

    http://www.ancientfaces.com/



    Best Software:

    http://www.familytreemaker.com/



    Best Paid Website:

    http://www.ancestry.com/



     Geneaolgy Maps:

    http://usgenmap.rootsweb.ancestry.com/usgenmap.htm