Don’t forget the newbies among us!

Don’t forget the newbies among us! I attended a genealogy special interest group meeting recently and there were some newbies there. Don’t forget to help them along. They may find that they are related to you and may have the records you are looking for. Most of the experienced researchers were very quick to gloss over the “standard” websites we tend to use and I noticed that the newbies were scrambling to write these down.

For those of you who might also be new:

http://www.familysearch.org

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com

http://www.ancestry.com

http://www.stevenmorse.com

http://www.archives.gov

http://www.loc.gov

http://www.cyndislist.com/

http://www.genealogybank.com

http://www.fold3.com

http://www.ellisisland.org

http://www.findagrave.com/

Some of these sites require a subscription for access to all of the data but even those that do have free areas – so don’t count them out.

One of the nicest things about this latest meeting was that we had no speaker, no computer, and no PowerPoint slide show. What we did have was discussion! I don’t recommend this format for every meeting but it was refreshing to get to hear the stories and research tips from each participant. We were also able to access the experience levels of some of the newest participants to help format future meeting segments.

So – this week’s lesson – go to local genealogy meetings and if there isn’t one – START ONE!

Happy Hunting!