Volunteer Researchers

We all are aware of sites such as Ancestry.com, WorldVitalRecords.com, FamilySearch.org, however one thing that many aren't aware of is all the volunteer researchers out there. Organizations such as Random Acts of Genealogy Kindness, Find a Grave, Names in Stone, are wonderful resources to find information that you don't have access to. Many can retrieve old land documents, marriage records, they will know where and who to talk to get the information for you if it is available. As a Volunteer, it is a great honor to help others solve the mystery, take one more brick down in their quest to complete their family tree.

One individual I took a request for wanted a photograph of a Grandma and her son. He couldn't locate the Grandfather. Turned out there were 3 Generations of the same name for the males, when I went to the cemetery on the back of the stone was a list of family, and next to the Grandmother's grave was that of the Grandfather. 

The back of this headstone helped clear up the confusion. It was set in between the two individuals and had a list of Father, Mother, children on the back. There is one name at the bottom that I will go and do a stone rubbing for, it was a child's name and different last name. At the time there was snow on the ground and limited the amount of time I could apply to photographing the details of the stones.

Researching your Genealogy

There are a few days left with Ancestry.com free weekend. Ancestry.com is a great place and the largest resource for Genealogy. However, there are many different sites to find this information; some may have more information than others. Here is a list of the various links, and their benefits.


Ancestry.com: the largest and oldest site that has forums that allow researchers to share information between each other. Ancestry.com also interfaces with its Genealogy software Family Tree Maker 2011 PLUS Deluxe Family History Toolkit Bundle at Ancestry.com. RootsWeb General Search is also connected to Ancestry.com, and is a free option. The amount of resources you can achieve on Ancestry is limitless. Search Military Records, Historic Newspapers Online, Social Security Death Index, Adjustable Surname Search Link, Search Birth, Marriage and Death Records including Obituary Collection .

WorldVitalRecords.com is another Utah based subscription research site. It offers many of the same benefits as Ancestry.com. It is the host company for Family Link, also known as We're Related on Facebook. The link that us Genealogists use to link up our family on Facebook.

OneGreatFamily, Archives.com, are also paid subscription sites. Not as large or as old as Ancestry.com.

There are some really useful Genealogy sites that are free, FamilySearch.org, RootsWeb General Search.

There are also volunteer organizations where you can seek the help of Genealogists in the local area's that your ancestors lived. RAOGK.com, is a really helpful site, one that I volunteer for. I also follow Cyndi's List, her site is full of useful information and easy to follow.


There are many sites out there to research your Genealogy. Some are paid subscriptions, some are free. I personally am leary of most the free sites that have been popping up. How secure is their information, is that data verified information? RAOGK, Family Search, and Cyndi's list are the ones I trust the most if you are going the Free route. I know that those sites are secure and verified links.