Facebook and Family History
One of the best known social networking sites is Facebook (www.facebook.com). It can be a wonderful way to connect with other family historians anywhere in the world. This type of networking can provide some great assistance, especially if you have hit a brickwall in some of your research.
You can also share your ancestral information and just might connect with a distant cousin. A Facebook Group Page can be created on a certain surname, on an ancestral location (town or community) on a specific topic such as veterans of the Spanish-American War. A page could also be created on one specific ancestral family, such as your great grandparents who lived in Iowa in the 1880s. There could be many other researchers with ancestors from that same location during that time.
Other popular Facebook Groups center on the numerous genealogical societies, both locality and national. The Daughters of the American Revolution and the National Genealogical Society all have Facebook pages.
The social networking with people of similar interests allows you to assist others who have questions or for you to be assisted in where to search for a certain missing vital record. An example is if you have a photo of an ancestor wearing what appears to be a military uniform. You know when that person lived, but have no information if they ever served in the military and for what country. Posting that image will surprise you with some possible replies. Even if no one can provide an accurate answer they many times can direct you in the right direction of where to look.
Some of the more interesting Facebook pages include:
ONLINE SEARCHABLE DEATH INDEXES AND RECORDS
Information and links are offered on numerous state death indexes, military records and indexes, online German records – databases and where to write for copies of death certificates.
ANCESTRY.COM
The online family history resource has a page on Facebook with nearly 110,000 followers. One does not need to have an Ancestry.com subscription to find some helpful advice to get over any stumbling blocks in one’s family research. Anyone can post a question on a specific ancestor and anywhere from 2 to 10 people can be responding with suggestions and even complete answers.
JUST FAMILY HISTORY by WE’VE RELATED
A general family history social network with some 17,000 people on this Facebook page. Most of the followers are interested in helping fellow researchers.
RESEARCHING FAMILY HISTORY
Global membership on this Facebook page is nearly 1,800. Even just reading some of the questions and answers can provide some clues in your own research.
< Return To Blog Been using Facebook's 'FamilyTree' app... and have over 100 family names/dates in there. Anyone know a way to move (export) that information to a personal copy of Ancestry.com's 'Family Tree' which I just installed on my laptop? Thx.Eric 20/12/10
i looked for an actual contact for family tree. this option should be more readily available. i am a bit frustrated with your program. i have some friends and friends children who have added me on there family tree. it is an honor to have another family call you sister aunt ect. i looked for a way to add a personal attachment other then the pre-chosen ones, such as best friend, best friend sister,brother. best friend, good friend. or other. The only option is family friend. these people mean more to me then that reference. But there would be a difference when others searching for blood family and sending them down the wrong path. The option of knowing who your contacting/looking at, an actual family member or friend someone you worked with ect, that would leave the option of contacting that person, to maybe find out more about the blood relative. possibly making there own friend. but without leaving them to believe that person is actually there blood.a few lines down the way this could cause much confusion and possibly frustration. i hope i get an email response to this dilemma with possibility's. possibility's other then just do not add them :)
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