Tool for Ancestry DNA Matches

Screenshot of FREE Ancestry DNA Match Downloader Page

Partly prompted by my update of the Internet Archive post, David Nowotnik (of a Colleyville, Texas genealogy association), sent a link from North Texas of a tool he developed to use Microsoft Excel to check for Ancestry DNA matches. The tool is free and the link is here. The page looks like the image above.

Overwhelmed By So Many Genealogy Resources

March 2023 - Yes, it is easy to be overwhelmed by an email box filled with genealogy resources, tools, tips and suggestions. How do we manage? We must work with our strengths! How do you determine your strength - follow your passion - which gives you joy!  Mine is genealogy research and sharing!

One of my favorite sites is - Lisa Louise Cooke - Genealogy Gems. Her weekly email starts with: The best information, innovation and inspiration to help you grow your family tree - feels as if she is speaking to me! I enjoy her guests - recent guest was Chris Whitten the founder of WikiTree.com.

Some suggest GenealogyBargains.com with Thomas MacEntee. He will give you hints on saving a few dollars but also some hints - such as "Tips for Speeding Up Your Genealogy Computer" my favorite - organize the mess of the icons on your desktop - create a folder called DESKTOP and the year (sounds like a junk drawer - someday you may look at it and clean & sort it) but until then it can speed up your computer.

Amy Johnson Crow has written an article "How to Avoid Genealogy Overwhelm" a few tips she gives is: Set a Goal; Focus on a Branch, Not the Whole Tree; And remember: It's a Journey - 

                  My Genealogy Journey has had over a fifty year life and it is unique to me!  (Hugs, Carrie)

Names of Foreign Places

 Hello all,

Last year, Michael Dindinger made an excellent post on place names. Mostly, the rules he cites are valid for foreign and domestic places. That post may be reviewed, here. Later in the year, Steve Averill made a presentation on place names. That post is here - the slides discussing place are 14 through 34. During the presentation, Diane Carter made the excellent point that different lineage societies have different requirements about how to record place names. Notes and detail comments can accommodate these differing requirements without confusing people looking at the family history.

Today, we take a look at a specific example of foreign place names - in this case, Sweden. The same principles would apply to Czech or English or Norwegian place names. In particular, I look at the case of Anna Eleonora Eriksdotter (American name was Anna Elenora Erickson and later, Anna Norland).

Using Ancestry Card Catalog to Fix Missing Data

 Earlier today, Michael Dindinger sent out an email suggesting a tutorial by Lisa Lisson. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Below, Ancestry Card Catalog and other major sites are used to find missing family data.

Regional Library Access

There has been a fair amount of concern/discussion about paid versus free genealogy sites. Many feel that the "big" sites want to get as much money out of the researcher as possible. However, these are not simply "big businesses" that run television commercials. Most of them offer free access to people using libraries that subscribe to the services. Almost all of them offer free access to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That organization estimates this is a value to its members of around $900 per year. In short, you can spend a lot of money on research sites, but you can also access the information inexpensively, or even for free.

FamilySearch Center Portal

Ocean Shores FamilySearch Center
Information updated in August 2026

FamilySearch has arranged for several premium online research services to be available at our Ocean Shores FamilySearch Center. The special access that FamilySearch centers have been granted to these databases only works when the online services are accessed through a computer in a FamilySearch Center.* Please note that entering the web sites of these providers through their regular, public URLs will not provide access to the full versions that have been authorized for FamilySearch center use. This is what is available:

British Library Newspapersdigital archive This fully searchable database of the British Library's newspaper holdings provides a complete run of 48 national and regional Victorian British newspapers for the 19th century from 1800 to 1900. These support the study of colonial history, genealogical research, politics, urban studies, and media courses.

Alexander Street Press, American Civil War

• ResearchData: Contains indexed, searchable information on over 4 million soldiers and thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs.
• Letters and Diaries: Contains approximately 100,000 indexed pages of diaries, letters, and memoirs, including 4,000 pages of previously unpublished manuscripts, such as the letters of Amos Wood and his wife and the diary of Maryland planter William Claytor.
• Images,Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera: Provides a vivid history of the American Civil War with over 1,400 images.
• Social and Cultural History: Personal accounts of well-known historical figures.
• Women and Social Movements in the United States: Organized around the history of women in social movements in the United States between 1600 and 2000 A.D.

American Ancestors Created by the expert staff at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), America's founding genealogical organization, AmericanAncestors.org is the portal to the nation's leading resource for the highest-quality, comprehensive family history services.

Ancestry Institution (similar to Ancestry library) is available at the FamilySearch Center, providing access to millions of records from around the world, including immigration, census, voter, vital, and military records; newspapers and periodicals; family trees; photos and images; directories, maps, court records, land records, wills and financial records, stories, memories, and histories; and detailed records about births, marriages, deaths, land ownership, and much more.

ArkivDigital Online is the largest private provider of Swedish Church Records and other historical records online! All images are newly photographed color images of the original documents.
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FamNet online family history network for those who have New Zealand roots.

Findmypast makes it easy to research UK ancestry. Search census records, and trace births, marriages, and deaths to bring your family history to life. Please note that not all of the content from findmypast is available in FamilySearch centers.

Fold3 has focused their efforts on gathering the best online collection of military records and stories. From the FamilySearch Center, it appears the entire Fold3 site is available.

Geneanet With 3 billion referenced individuals and 600,000 trees online, Geneanet is the first site dedicated to genealogy in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany.

Goldie May is a suite of software power tools. It is helpful to keep FamilySearch and Ancestry results.

Irish Ancestors - Irish ancestral research with extensive records.

MyHeritage Library Edition Used by millions of people worldwide to help research family history, build a family tree, and add photos, historical records, and more.

Newspaper Archive is a large historical newspaper database.

Paper Trail provides access to 19th-century westward American migration.Provides access to 19th-century westward American migration

Puzzila provides new research opportunities on descendant lines in Family Tree.

Ocean Shores FamilySearch Center

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

228 Albatross Street

OS FamilySearch Center showing entry

 

Current Hours of Operation

• Tuesdays from 10AM until Noon.
• Wednesdays from 6PM until 8

In-house Resources

• 3 hardwired computers
• 1 printer
• Wi-Fi access

* Parking lot access with a Chrome web browser extension (contact the Center for details on how this works)


Family History Guide
5 Minute Genealogy series


New to Genealogy – Beginners First Step
FamilySearch Library
YouTube Presentations here and here