dons-usgenweb.html
THE USGENWEB WEBSITE
©2020 by Donald R. Snow
This page last updated 2020-07-28
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ABSTRACT: USGenWeb is a website with genealogy data
about the United States. It has pages for each state and
each of the more than 3000 counties in the U.S. Volunteers
maintain and update it so sit is free. It is a major source of help, even
if you don't know the state or county, since you can search
the entire website and then narrow down your search. If
you know the state and county, start there to find the
resources and links. Then expand your searches to the larger
jurisdictions, the state and then the entire United States.
This class will discuss the content and searches of the
USGenWeb website. The notes for this class and related
articles, all with active internet links, are posted on https://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html .
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
- Instructor is Donald R. Snow
( snowd@math.byu.edu
) of Provo and St. George, Utah.
- The notes for this class and related articles, all
with active internet links, are posted on my website
http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html
.
- Tips: (1) To put an icon on your desktop for the URL
for these notes, or any webpage, just drag the icon in front of the
address in your browser to your desktop. (2) To open a
link while keeping your place in the original page, hold down the
Control key while clicking the link, so it opens in a new tab.
- The problem for today: What is the USGenWeb website,
what does it contain, and how do use it?
THE USGENWEB WEBSITE
- The USBGenWeb --
http://usgenweb.org/
-- It is free since it is done entirely b voluneers.
- Article from the FamilySearch Wiki -- https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/USGenWeb -- includes a good history and what's on it
- Has won numerous awards and is usually listed among the 100 best genealogy websites -- see list of awards on the website
- On their home page is their motto: "Land of the Free...Genealogy."
- For their information about the website ande its history click on
the 3-bar "hamburger" icon near the center of the page --
you see About Us, Research, Volunteer Support, Website Support,
and Search & Site Map
- In the ABOUT section is information on volunteers, what's on
the website, and some Quick Links
STATE AND COUNTY PAGES
- The map on the home page is clickable for each state and will take you to each state's resources
- The state pages frequently have names such as CAGenWeb or UTGenWeb; each is different and in various statges of completeness and consistency; some are easy to use than others, but since all are done by volunteers, you can't complain; the Utah page is an example of one that is eay to read and use
- On most pages you'll find lists and linksfor
- Genealogical and historical societies
- Newspapers
- Schools
- Counties
- Databases related tothat state or county
- Links to the county offices
- Digital map collections
- Histories ofes
- Most states have a map showing the counties so you can see what counties surround the one you are interested in -- Maybe your ancestor went to a neighboring county to get married.
- In the United States there are more than 3000 counties, so this is a major collection of family history resources
- Most pages contain information on where to write for vital records and further information and even for genealogical help
- Many contain research aids for helping you sovle you family history problems, including links to article, pamphlets, and databases.
- Some database links need to be updated, e.g. the California Death Indix which is now available at https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5180/, not on the link the CAGenWeb gives.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
- The Special Projects are listed by state and by topic at the bottom of http://usgwarchives.net/ -- there is also a QuickLink to them on the home page at the bottom left
- These are projects that have been completed or are being worked on and they are always looking for volunteers.
- Special Projects include indexing vital records from various sources, obituary and tombstone projects, newspapers, local research helps, etc.
- Most of the indexing project use special software programs that are available to download and they give alphabetical indexes with helpful search tools
- Below are example of a few Special Projects
DIGITAL MAPS PROJECT
- URL is http://usgwarchives.net/maps/ and http://usgwarchives.net/maps/maps.html
- Goal is to have high-quality digital maps available to everyone for free
- These include historical and physical maps of states, counties, boundaries, cities, and towns.
- This is a good collection and is a very helpful part of the website.
MISCELLANEOUS SPECIAL PROJECTS
- TOOMBSTONE PROJECT -- http://www.usgwtombstones.org/index.html
and the list by state is at
http://www.usgwtombstones.org/index.html --
These ssem to be transcriptions of mostly smaller cemeteries and they are not complete and has
probably been superceded by websites like https://billiongraves.com/ and https://www.findagrave.com/
- MARRIAGE PROJECT -- http://usgwarchives.net/marriages/ -- lists some marriages, butnot at all complete
- GENEALOGICAL EVENTS PROJECT -- http://usgenwebsites.org/genevents/ -- only seems to list the major events such as RootsTech
- OBITUARY PROJECT -- http://usgwarchives.net/obits/
-- very few obituaries, mostly from small newsppapers
- PENSIONS PROJECT -- http://usgwarchives.net/pensions/
-- military pensions from U.S. wars up through about 1900
- SPECIAL COLLECTIONS -- http://usgwarchives.net/special/ -- These include family publications, journals and letters, photo collections, yearbooks, and a few milirary records
USGENWEB ARCHIVES SEARCH ENGINE
- This is a new USGenWeb search engine that is updated every night-- http://usgwarchives.net/search/searcharchives.html
- This searches all the USGenWeb Archives which includes all the Special Projects; can search for any name so you don't have to search each project separately
- I don't see any way to search for an exact expression, so to search for my Dad, Eldon Snow, I found the following work-around: search for both words and then use the (Chrome) browser extension Multi-Highlighting to highlight both terms and look for the two words together. It also helps to set the list of hits to show 50 on a page, instead of only 10, so there are more on each page.
U.S. CENSUSES PROJECT
- In spite of its title, this is not really a part of USGenWeb, but is linked to it.
- The URL is http://www.usgwcensus.org/
-- and the Census Inventory List and information is at -- http://www.usgwcensus.org/help/what.htm -- and by states is http://www.usgwcensus.org/states.htm
- Most of the transcriptions seem to be of older censuses, so FamilySearch or another website would be more helpful for the later indexes.
- The links are by states so you can see what exists for where you are interested.
- For each federal census the census column titles are shown in easy-to-read format and that is helpful
- There don't seem to be any state censuses listed, so it lseems to just be U.S. Federal Censuses
- There is a Google search box that you might find helpful at -- https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=003941341478341113731:_-q2fgkjevy
CONCLUSIONS
- The USGenWeb website is a major source of data and helps for U.Sf. states and counties and should be kept in mind.
- It also has reserach helps and links ot many other databases and is constantly being updated.
- They are always looking for volunteers to help, so it can be kept available for free.
Return to the Utah
Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page
or Don
Snow's Class Listings Page .URL