by Chad Gilley

July 12, 1999

These days it seems that everyone is into genealogy, tracing their family roots. As our parents and grandparents age, and the end of the millennium looms, it seems as though it's become important to a lot of people to see exactly how they fit into things and to preserve the family lore for their children and subsequent generations. And once begun, genealogy, in addition to being a fun way to meet people, brings you closer to history, and closer to an understanding of how the events in history have shaped your family, and ultimately yourself. 

It seems like everyone who's researching their family history is at least in part, using the Internet to do it. The Internet has become a valuable tool for any genealogist. Plus the genealogy software now available allows you to keep accurate, detailed records and share them in attractive packages for your family.

My family started in our genealogy project about three years ago with the purchase of Broderbund's Family Tree Maker software.  Our intent was to put onto paper all the oral traditions passed back and forth through our family over time and independently prove and document them, if possible.  Today our database of family members extends well back into the sixteenth century in some cases and encompasses some two thousand individuals.  We've identified soldiers in the Revolution (on both sides), Puritan clerics, convicted felons, Maine pioneers, bank presidents, and destitute paupers, along with a lot of farmers, fishermen and woodsmen. Our children have spent a lot of time prowling old cemeteries, or amusing themselves outside historical societies, town offices and  libraries, while we make some fascinating breakthrough.  Chances are, unless your family immigrated to the US in the last few generations, your American roots have some branches that go way back too.

A genealogy database consists of a lot of names and dates, but those things are cold and impersonal.  They serve at data hooks to link up with other information you find. The true emotional heart of any family history is the stories, the personalities that you discover that give you a feeling of being closer to history than you ever have.

The first step in any genealogy project is to ask your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents, your aunts and uncles and your great aunts and uncles.  These are the most valuable resources at your disposal and face it, they're not going to be there forever.  Sit them down at the table, grab your tape recorder or your pen at the very least, and ask them about themselves, their parents, their grandparents, their brothers and sisters.  They know more than you'll ever get down, but if you don't try, someday you'll regret it.  There's also the possibility someone in your family has already done a lot of this work.  If they have, your family elders will know about it.

From there, it's your choice how to proceed.  You may already have enough information to go to the web, or you may want to try and get back a few more generations using more traditional methods.  The farther back you can go, the better the chances that someone else has already done some research on that person's lineage.  For example, I have ancestors who came over on the Mayflower.  Those lines have been exhaustively researched by many professional genealogists. Once you establish a connection to one of those lines a whole pile of information becomes available to you. That's how genealogy is.  One day you can have exhaustive research of six generations from one line fall into your lap because you made one connection. Another day you'll be cursing the penmanship of a nineteenth century town clerk because you can't solve a mystery just a few generations back.

Here in Portland, the Maine Historical Society Library is an excellent resource. Their collection includes family and local histories as well as original documents and nearly all of the standard genealogical references.  Birth, marriage and death records at town offices contain vital information for any genealogist, and town clerks on the whole are pretty friendly and helpful, though the amount of direct access you get to those records varies.  The Maine State Library holds microfilm records of all the town records and census records, though sometimes those can be difficult to read. If you want to travel, check out the New England Historic Genealogy Society in Boston.  There, for a small fee, you'll find the mother lode of genealogy data all nicely catalogued and a helpful and experienced staff.

As for Internet resources, Cyndi's  List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet has become the standard starting point for Internet genealogists.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints recently made it's vast database available on line through the Internet at familysearch.org.  Several commercial sites can provide good information.  Ancestry.com is a subscription based service where I've found good information. They have some free things there.  Rootsweb is a collection of volunteers all over who maintain regional websites.  

Rootsweb also hosts thousands of mailing lists, each focusing on a particular surname or place. These can be invaluable in putting you in contact with people who've already done a lot of research for you, plus you can learn about family reunions, organizations, and ongoing projects via the mailing lists. Almost everyone into genealogy will be more than happy to share information with you if you think you might have a connection. 

The Internet can be useful in other unexpected ways.  My wife desperately wanted to learn more about the family of a colorful great-grandfather.  She had information about him, but none about his family.  She did however, have an elegant family portrait taken in the 1880s in Detroit.  This particular great-grandfather committed a crime. He went to prison, and thereafter was shunned by the family.  That accounted for the lack of information about his family.  Fortunately he had a rather uncommon surname, spelled in an uncommon fashion. My wife went to the People Search section of Yahoo to get the addresses of other people with the same surname around the country.  She copied the picture and sent it in the mail to a couple of dozen people with a note asking "Do you know these people?"  She was rewarded a few weeks later by a reply from a woman in Florida who indeed did know that picture, had her own copy, and was descended from someone else in the photo.  Her brother had done a fairly comprehensive genealogy of the family and shared it with us.  So an innovative approach netted excellent results.

To the right is a collection of additional links to help you get started.  These sites will lead you to many, many other Internet resources.