The second part of the getting started blog series is focused primarily on several websites I found invaluable to my research efforts. Before I dive into the websites themselves, I must remind everyone of the perils of how over reliant we have become on the internet to support our genealogy research. Don’t get me wrong, the internet is an invaluable resource and tool for genealogy. In my opinion, internet technology has been more of a revolution to genealogy than a simple evolution in how we conduct our research. The internet has provided millions of people with the means to research their family histories who otherwise may not have the financial resources and time to conduct on-the-ground research in far off locations that often characterizes traditional genealogy research methods. The internet has enabled companies to introduce new tools such as commercial DNA testing and provided access to digitized boos that are no longer available in print. It has also become a repository for all types of records collections that should enable us to preserve genealogical relevant documents for future generations.
However, it is important not to discount good ole fashion research methods such as visiting records archives, cemeteries, libraries, courthouses, religious institutions, and the like. Most people believe that if information exists in the physical world then it likely exists in the digital world as well. That is simply not the case and there are a coupleof reasons for this.
• First, take a moment to think about all of the public and private records collections produced in just the last couple of hundred years alone ……its likely next to impossible for us to accurately total those numbers. And it is just as likely that many of these records collections have yet to be digitized, though there are many efforts ongoing to do just that. Thus, it may be years before the one critical record you have been searching for is pulled out of a dusty box, uploaded to a website, transcribed, and made accessible to you.
• Second, some jurisdictions are putting forth greater effort than others to digitize their records collections. Stated in a different way, there are likely some jurisdictions not making much of an effort at all to digitize their records whether its due to a lack of financial means or a lack of motivation (or a combination of the two).
Bottom line, while internet resources are invaluable tools, please don’t discard the requirement to conduct on-the-ground research.
When I first started researching my family history, I was under the impression that I could conduct all of my genealogy research from one website. It was only a matter of weeks before I discovered that this was not the case. While many of the top genealogy websites do have numerous records collections in common with one another, they do differ in a couple of ways. First, one company may in fact have a records collection exclusive only to its site. Second, I have found that while multiple companies may have the same records collections (and in some cases share collections with one another), some of those collections are more robust than others. For instance, I found a Cosgrove family listed in a specific passenger’s list in “site A’s” records collection, but I was not able to find that specific passenger list in “site B’s” collection (and yes, I conducted the search for the record using different search techniques to include a physical scan of the passenger lists themselves). To be fair, I found the reverse to be true in that “site B” had a far more robust naturalization records database than “site A.” Reoccurring instances of this nature over a short period of time proved to me that I could not be reliant upon one single website for all of my research requirements.
I ended up using a combination of subscription-based and free websites to conduct research specific to my Cosgrove family line. Each of the websites listed below provided me a vital piece of information that helped me break through my brick wall.
The free websites I used included the following:
• Family Search (https://www.familysearch.org)
• Ireland Reaching Out (https://www.irelandxo.com) (if you know your ancestor’s church parish, you can post specific questions to the parish’s message board and volunteers will provide you great feedback and advice to further your research).
• National Archives of Ireland (www.nationalarchives.ie) (while I didn’t use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) for research into my Cosgrove line, I would be negligent if I didn’t list their great website as well: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni)
• Family Tree Circles (www.familytreecirlces.com) (I posted a discussion about challenges associated with my Cosgrove line’s research on the site’s message board and a kind gentleman provided me several critical clues that led to me breaking down my brick wall).
The subscription-based websites I used with great success included:
• Ancestry (https://www.ancesttry.com)
• RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie) (I found that some of the site’s records’ transcriptions contained far more detail than those found on other major genealogy websites).
Commercial DNA companies I used to support my genealogy research included
• AncestryDNA (same website address as Ancestry.com)(subscription is required to use all of the DNA features; access to the DNA tools are included in a standard subscription to Ancestry).
• Family Tree DNA (www.familytreedna.com) (no subscription fees required once you have either purchased or transferred a copy of an existing DNA test to the site)
• GEDMATCH (https://www.gedmatch.com) (free to use basic DNA tools; small monthly fee to use advanced tools)
• MyHeritage.com (www.myheritage.com) (you can transfer a copy of an existing DNA test to the site for a small fee similar to FTDNA).
While I personally didn’t find any new information on the following sites that I hadn’t already discovered on websites listed above, I do know quite a few people that have had great success:
• Findmypast (https://findmypast.com) (subscription based)
• MyHeritage.com (see link above) (subscription based)
• Irish Ancestors (https://johngrenham.com) (limited number of free searches, then fees required for additional searches)
• Irish Genealogy (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/) (free)
I should note that Cyndi’s List (https://www.cindislist.com) contains thousands of links to additional internet resources that may be beneficial to your genealogy research. The site has been around for nearly 20 years and is highly respected and used by the genealogical community.
If you have never used a website, such as Ancestry.com, for genealogy research, expect a slight learning curve when you start. The learning curve is not insurmountable as long as you take a few moments to orient yourself to the site and its various features. I lost track how many times I have had members of various genealogy websites respond to messages I had sent months, and in some cases, over a year earlier, who began their response with “I didn’t even know site X had a messaging service; I have a ton of messages I need to respond to!” Ugh. Take a moment to explore the site and its different features. Several of the major companies have tutorials available online as well that I strongly recommend you taking when you first begin.
Keep in mind that many towns, cities, and counties in the United States have historical societies that can assist you in your genealogy research. Many of these historical societies are online and list both mailing and email addresses that you can send questions to. In addition, many libraries are great resources for information. I was able to order an obituary for a Cosgrove relative directly from a library’s website; it was cheap and fast! Many city and town clerks’ offices maintain physical copies of vital records that you can order through an online ordering system directly from their offices or they may have request forms online that you can simply download, print, and mail in a request directly to them. Finally, many of Ireland’s counties have genealogy centers with online presences. The services and information available vary from center to center, but finding them online is fairly easy (the Irish Heritage Club has a pdf file online that lists the address and websites for the Irish county genealogy centers available at http://irishclub.org/IHC_Archive/IrishGenealogyWebResources.pdf).
Finally, don’t overlook the value of using social media in your genealogy research. I found a couple of my late grandfather’s Cosgrove cousins on Facebook and was able to successfully gain contact with them through its messaging service. In addition, numerous genealogy groups specific to Irish genealogy research exist on Facebook to include ones focused on Irish DNA, specific Irish Counties, Irish surnames, etc. I posted questions on several different Facebook Groups about my Cosgrove line and found the feedback invaluable for my research efforts. A few of the many Facebook Groups that you may find helpful are:
• Irish Genealogy
• Genetic Genealogy Ireland
• The Irish Surname Registry
• Irish Roots Hunters
• The Irish DNA Registry
• Irish DNA
• Cosgrove Surname Project (I know, a shameless plug!).
If you have other web resources that you have found invaluable in your genealogy research, please post them in the comments section!
My next blog posting will close out this blog series by sharing some lessons learned I gained and techniques I developed by researching my Cosgrove family line that may be useful in your own research endeavors.
Cosgrove Genealogy 