Genealogy Sleuth Favorite Genealogy Links

http://www.progenealogists.com/genealogysleuth.htm

Our The links we have listed in these pages are sites that we actually use in the process of researching for ourselves and clients or sites for which we have found some specific genealogical use.  If you have a genealogy, data or surname site that is informative, please send our webmaster the URL (address) and your e-mail address.  Check out all these genealogy sleuth links on ONE page.

Selected Links | Genealogy Tools | Places & Maps | People & Surnames | Religions / Ethnicity | Military / Naturalization | Genealogy Products

Genealogy Search Engines

There are several large subscription (fee) sites on the World Wide Web now with good, useable data abstractions.  We use the Ancestry.com and GenealogyLibrary.com subscription sites.  The census indexes for AIS (Accelerated Indexing Systems, Inc.) for 1850-1880 are available for most states on Ancestry.com.  If you find a U.S. Federal Census record you want on Ancestry.com, send us your name, address, the state, the county and the page number and we'll copy and send the record to you for $47.95 (includes postage and handling).

Our Favorite Search Engines

Can't find the record you want online?  
We'll search most indexed sources at the Family History Library for
$40.00 plus expenses - Ask for an estimate!

Primary vs. Secondary Source Material

A Very Basic Introduction . . .

Primary source material is information that is gleaned "straight from the horse's mouth" (so to speak).  It is abstracted from a vital record, court record, deed or other original record and contains the first recording of an event. These records are usually created very near to the actual time of the event by someone who was actually present or who was directly involved in the event.  An autobiography is also a type of historical primary source document.
Secondary source material can often be viewed a bit like "gossip."  Secondary source material is often recorded long after the event has occurred and almost always by someone not  really associated with the event.   Most of the GEDCOM type, undocumented family groups and ancestries placed on CD-Rom format by software companies are types secondary source information.

Data Use and the Internet

You might want to take some time to familiarize yourself with some methods for citing electronic source material that you pull down for your family research projects from www sites.  Also, with the help of Dennis Karjala, Professor of Law, we have compiled a rather detailed copyright table to assist you in evaluating current copyright laws.  It is important that you try to document everything very carefully in your notes.  Documentation only takes a minute and will keep you from wondering several months from now where you originally found your information.  Good luck to you!  If you need help with your ancestry, feel free to contact us.