Many years ago, long before genealogists began blogging, the best way to learn and grow online as a genealogist was to sign up to receive emails from professional genealogists. This is exactly what I did! One email I received intrigued me; it was on how to use Google to find genealogical information. At the time, genealogical databases were still in their infancy; GenWeb seemed to offer the most information, FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com were new, and Find A Grave had not been thought of yet. In fact, most of my research was done via snail mail! A free source of online information was welcome, and to date I use Google regularly to aid in my genealogical research.
Very often you will find scanned books that can be read online, local historical society’s websites that offer blogs on histories or genealogies, posted queries on old message boards, or a descendent family organizations that may offer a well researched genealogy.
I must admit, researching an unusual name is best, but don’t worry, if you have a common name like “John Smith” you will find results. It will take patience and perseverance.
First, using quotes around your research name will help you find information on “John Smith,” versus not using quotes you will get information on every “John” and every “Smith!” Yikes! That’s potentially a lot of useless information. To further narrow down your search answers add the name of his wife or the place(s) he lived: “John Smith” “Experience Jones”…..or “John Smith” Dedham, MA. Mix it up! You know your John Smith, and there might be pertinent information to YOUR John Smith that you could use in your Google searches to narrow down your answers and find the information you are seeking.
I think the best piece of Google voodoo is using a minus (-) sign. For years now, I have been researching the Wormwood family of York County, Maine. Early on if I just used the surname “Wormwood” and “Maine”…or “obituary”…or “genealogy,” I found exactly what I was searching. Then about ten years ago, absinthe again became legal to sell in this country. Absinthe is made from the wormwood plant, and yup you guessed it, all of a sudden I got people selling absinthe in Maine! By using the minus sign…”Wormwood” “Maine” “–absinthe”… my Google results are about the Wormwood family of Maine, and zero results on absinthe.
Now as you are reviewing your search results, do not forget to use the pull-down menu labeled “more.” When you click on it, a little drop down menu appears with the words video, books, flights and finance. Click on “books” and that will take you to a list of books your search-person may be in. Google has scanned many books that are out of copyright that you can fully read! But be wary, just because it is written in a book does not necessarily mean it is true or correct. Sometimes authors like to embellish a story to make the genealogy tale more interesting…so check and double check sources.
Google also offers Google Maps, which is a useful tool for genealogists. If you know your “John Smith” lived in Dedham, Massachusetts, but you are finding results for him in Needham, Massachusetts, a quick peek at Google Maps and you will see Dedham and Needham are abutting towns, so chances are you found YOUR John Smith. You can also use Google Maps to get directions, and this will also tell you the distance between towns. In my recent search on Abel Prior, I found him in Weathersfield, Vermont; then Augusta, New York; then Chautauqua County (near Charlotte Center), New York; and finally Kirtland, Ohio. Using Google Maps, I could visualize his straight progression from Vermont to Ohio. Then pairing these findings with census records, I was able to verify his twenty-year migration.
Over the years, I have found Google to be very useful genealogical research tool. I would encourage everyone to experiment with it to see what you can find! Who knows, you may find the answer to a long held family secret or even break down one of your brick walls!
Laurie L. Kearney 