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Internet shy? Make friends with search engines

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By SHARON TATE MOODY

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 19, 2009

Many people don't begin their genealogical quests until after retirement. That makes sense because it can be a full-time job.

However, some who left the work force before computers became ubiquitous may not feel comfortable diving into the Internet, where more and more records are becoming available.

I get lots of requests from readers who are afraid or don't realize how simply and quickly they can find answers online.

Meet my best friend, Google. He can be your best friend, too. Google has lots of cousins, including Bing, DogPile, Ask.com, and Yahoo. They're all members of the Search Engine Family.

When you tell a search engine what you want to find, it will scour the Internet and within seconds give you a list of "hits," which are Web sites that contain information you told the search engine to find.

For example, at www.google.com, in the center of the screen is a blue-outlined box. This is where a researcher will type the directions that Google will follow when it flies out in the Internet. What a person types here are called keywords. Usually a researcher will put a string of keywords into the search engine.

Researchers can use these search engines to find "how-to materials." One reader wrote to ask how to find sites about getting started on Scottish research. He could have gone to Google and typed keywords "getting started genealogy Scotland." Putting quotation marks around the keywords will limit the results to Web sites with all of those words. Try doing the search first with the quotation marks and then without them. I got multiple hits with this attempt.

Putting an ancestor's name into the search engine is a no-brainer. A not-so-obvious search is to enter the names of locations of an ancestor's major events. For example, family lore has it that two of my ancestors - Alfred James and Margaret Stalcup - married in Fort Hembree, N.C.

A good way to start proving, or disproving, that lore is to find out everything possible about the location. I entered "Fort Hembree" and the first hit showed it was in Cherokee County, N.C., and was founded in 1837 by the Army in preparation for the forced removal of the Cherokee Indians from that part of the country.

Then I hit an unexpected jackpot. Google showed me the University of Georgia's Digital Library of Georgia site, where I found a letter that William Holland Thomas of Washington, D.C., wrote in 1839 to Saith Hyatt of Fort Hembree.

The letter referred to an one Hyatt had written to Thomas, his state senator. Thomas referred to a claim that Hyatt had made and told him he was forwarding it to T. Hartley Crawford, Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

This Saith Hyatt - actually Seth Hyatt - was my sixth great-grandfather and the second great-grandfather of Margaret Stalcup, whose marriage location I was researching.

This is a perfect example of how genealogy research loops in and about, frequently carrying sleuths to spots they had not anticipated. With the "Fort Hembree" search, I wasn't expecting to find a lead for an actual ancestor. This query also gives me another trail to explore: the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Hyatt's claim.

My expedition highlights another tip: When typing words into search engines, try every conceivable spelling. When I searched "Seth Hyatt" I did not get this hit. It did not occur to me to spell it "Saith."

Don't be afraid to explore and experiment with search engines. You can't break the Internet, and you're likely to find riches there.

Let local author be a guide

Social networking may not help the family historian find original documents critical to genealogical research, but it can connect people with shared goals and ancestors.

In the introduction to his new book, "Social Networking for Genealogists," Odessa professional genealogist Drew Smith makes the point that it's worth a researcher's time to learn about this concept.

Published by Genealogical Publishing Co., it sells for $18.95, including postage and handling. Find it at www.genealogical.com or call toll-free at 1-800-296-6687.

Sharon Tate Moody is a board-certified genealogist. Send questions and announcements in care of Getaway, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606; or stmoody0720@mac.com.

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