1202. Social Networking for Family History by thelostgrandmother, a private blog I like!

To those interested in doing Family History, I think you may be interested in this blog I get often.  

This old photograph was the team my husband Wayne coached at the high school in Laketown, Utah, near Garden City, during the 1959-1960 winter!

New post on Thelostgrandmother's Blog


Social Networking for Family History

by thelostgrandmother
Social NetworkingIn a world that was still working, I would be teaching a class this week on Social Networking for Family History. So here it is.
The benefits of social networking can be tremendous, especially now when many of us have been asked to stay at home for health reasons.
  • You can connect with people you might never meet under normal circumstances.
  • You can find with people who are related to you or who come from the same area as your ancestors - and they can find and connect with you.
I’m only going to cover a couple of options today but will talk about several more in my next blog. The first one is Facebook. If you are not on Facebook or are concerned about using it here are a couple of tips.
  1. When you get your free Facebook account make sure your settings are giving you the privacy you want.
  2. Not everyone who wants to be your friend on Facebook needs to be your friend on Facebook. Keep your friend list small so you know who you are connecting with - and who can connect with you.
  3. Do Not Give out your phone number, email or address to anyone until you are certain of who they are.
  4. Be careful about clicking online links on Facebook pages, or in any emails you receive.
  5. Be careful about online polls. While it might be fun to find out what your Cowgirl name is, remember these polls are mostly phishing to find out your interests so they can target advertising.
Facebook has been extremely helpful for me as I worked on my Family History.  When my cousin and I were trying to find as many cousins as we could to put together for a Family Reunion, I set up a Facebook page for the ‘William Theobald Descendants’, with 3 members and it now has 160. We use the site to:
  • Post family photos and we often get help identifying old family photos.
  • Send out and plan for Family Reunions.
  • Post obituaries and gather and post histories and other family information.
  • We have one member who is very good at restoring old family photos, and he will touch up any old faded pictures for us.
  • We also use it to ask questions of other cousins about the family to help further our research.
Search to see if someone has already added a page for one of your ancestors; many of mine had been added. When you find one you are interested in, ask to join the page. You can start your own page if you wish. 
The second great Facebook help comes from Family History Pages. Search for the locality your ancestors came from, and again ask to join any site you find that might be helpful. These are good places to ask about others researching your particular surname and to share facts.
  1. Denmark Genealogy Page has connected me with others’ research in Denmark, and I have been able to post handwritten notes, in Danish of course, which others have then translated. While Google translate does well with typed documents -handwritten documents need someone who can read the language
  2. Connecticut Genealogy connected me with others researching in Connecticut and gave me quick answers to where I might look for missing records.
  3. “Isle of Wight Family History” has site members who currently live on the Isle of Wight, and have not only connected me with others researching my family surname but also have inside information about where to locate obscure records.
Another overlooked site for Family History is Pinterest. If you are new to Pinterest, you will need to create a free profile. Then search for either “genealogy” or “family history.” You will find genealogists, many professionals, who have posted helps on how to preserve your records, how to organize your collection, and how to identify and organize photos, forms for success, and even ideas for family reunions, etc. Click on a post photo, such as, “Free Forms for Genealogy” or “10 Genealogy Tech Tools,” and you will access the actual post. You can follow any posters that you feel can be helpful to you.
There is too much about Social Networking for one Blog - so this will continue next week

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