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 February 2024

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 to you free: