More Maps and Search Tools - Ireland, Massachusetts, Alberta
Custom search engines are now available here at GenealogyExplore.com for three more locations — Massachusetts, Ireland, and the province of Alberta in Canada.
These custom search tools search across the Web, focusing in on genealogy and family history resources that pertain to a particular country, state or province. Give these search tools a try; we think you’ll be pleased with the relevance of the search results.
In addition, maps annotated with links to research resources are also now available for Alberta, Ireland, and Massachusetts.
Check our Search Tools and Maps sections for lists of the currently available resources.
Using Google’s Tools for Your Genealogy Research - Part 3, Annotated Maps
Google’s Maps feature has been a part of the Google search repertoire for awhile now. The availability of this maps feature is surely helpful to family history researchers, as they identify the locations that have relevance to current and past generations of their families.
A more recent addition to the services available through Google is My Maps., a feature with great utility for family history researchers. As explained in the My Maps user guide, this feature enables Google account holders to create maps that are annotated with custom placemarks, text, links, images and videos. The creator of the map can designate the map as a “public” map which can be accessed by others via Google search, or as an “unlisted” map which is available to those to whom the map’s creator provides the map URL.
Using Google’s Tools for Your Genealogy Research - Part 2, iGoogle and More
In a previous post, I discussed signing up for a Google account, and the value of using Gmail as a tool for organizing, collecting and sharing your family history research. Here are some more useful services that are available to Google account holders.
iGoogle, and Google Gadgets: One of the chief benefits of a Google account is the iGoogle start page. By selecting from an array of available modules, or “Google gadgets,” a family history researcher can customize the content of the iGoogle start page to meet the needs of an online researcher. Need a place to jot a few notes about your family history research? There are various “sticky note” gadgets available. Need to compile a research “to-do” list? There are gadgets available for that, too. Calendars, dictionaries, translation tools, your Google bookmarks, RSS feeds, your Gmail account, and more, are all available from your iGoogle start page.
Google Notebook: Another useful feature for researchers is Google Notebook, a tool for clipping and annotating information, links and images from the Web. The Notebook feature is available as a browser extension for Firefox and for Internet Explorer 6. The Notebook feature can also be placed on your iGoogle start page, with the use of a Google gadget. Learn more about Google Notebook here.
Using Google’s Tools for Your Genealogy Research - Part 1, Gmail
The Internet, and the information available online, are wonderful resources for family historians. To make effective use of those abundant online resources, however, family history researchers need tools for gathering information, organizing their collected research, making notes, and retrieving notes and information. We have some suggestions for using the resources made available by Google to assist you in those research tasks.
A variety of useful services are available through a Google account, which Google describes as a “unified sign-in system” that provides access to many free Google products. The first step to making use of these services is to set up a Google account. The sign-up process essentially involves providing an email address, and selecting a password.
Once you’ve established a Google account, you’re ready to try out the available services. In a series of posts, I’m going to be discussing the Google account services that are particularly useful for doing genealogy research, and for compiling and sharing family history.
Our starting point today is Gmail. The value of a Gmail (Google’s email service) to family history researchers lies, first, in the ability to use Google search to search through all emails in the account. This search capability makes it possibile to easily retrieve email conversations.
Genealogy Books - Self-Publishing
Resources on the Internet make it possible for family history researchers to self-publish their own family histories, reference materials, and other works.
The newsletter of the Missouri State Genealogical Association recently highlighted one such book — Primary Sources Online. Author Carolyn Paul Branch has made this book available through the self-publishing services of Lulu.com. Read more