I received my copy of “Google Your Family Tree” by Dan Lynch the other day, and it looks like an even better resource than I expected, although I am only on page 68. (I actually started with Appendix B, “Top Ten Websites” and then went to the beginning, and I’ve peeked around throughout the book, too.) That’s just the way I do most things actually; jump around a lot, I call it “butterfly research” (because it makes me feel better to give it a pretty name).
I had anticipated an excellent book, and I have not been disappointed. Dan Lynch has worked for Ancestry.com and as a consultant to The Ellis Island Foundation among his credentials, and he is incredibly knowledgeable about genealogy and technology. I had highlighted my first passage by page three in the book (still the introduction!). I have to admit that I am not a great web surfer, I know what I know, but I don’t experiment very much.
“Google Your Family Tree” is written for people who know how to get on the Internet, and he does use some words like “query” and “syntax,” but he explains the process well enough that you don’t really need to know the jargon to use his hints. He explains what a search engine, such as “Google” is, and how it works. He compares the different search engines, too, which was interesting and helpful. He shows what the actual page of results will look like, and then explains each part of it. He gives clear, concrete examples to guide your own search, and tells you how to keep track of your results in a way that will help you find the information again.
Dan makes no secret of the fact that the only way to get good at ‘Google-ing” is to keep trying, so he frequently advises you to stop reading and try what he’s already shown you. Each chapter builds logically upon what you have already learned, so if you follow his hints, and practice, you will be an expert by the time you are through reading the book.
Lynch suggests that you “Google” as often as possible, and shows you where to look on the Google website so you can keep up as it continues to grow and improve. In this way, your own skills will grow and improve, too. Once you learn how to make use of this powerful resource, the knowledge will be very helpful in using other resources, too.
However, even someone as comfortable with technology as Dan Lynch is, believes that you cannot replace face-to-face human interaction. Occasionally you have to put down the mouse and walk away from the computer. Certainly use the computer to check out an area before you go there, but then – go there! The people who live and work there can really help you with your research. It is in the eagerness of the people who work with these records that you will find your enthusiasm for your quest re-ignited!
Editor’s note: This regular column is sponsored by the Aroostook County Genealogical Society. The group meets the fourth Monday of the month except in July and December at the Cary Medical Center’s Chan Education Center, 163 Van Buren Road, Caribou, at 6:30 p.m. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. FMI contact Edwin “J” Bullard at 492-5501. Columnist Nina Brawn of Dover-Foxcroft has been doing genealogy for over 30 years, is a freelance genealogy researcher, speaker and teacher. Reader e-mails are welcome at ninabrawn@gmail.com.
