22 August 2010

Wiki: A Collection of Research Knowledge

The FamilySearch Wiki located at: Wiki.FamilySearch.org, is a great resource for anyone interested in family history and genealogical research. I regularly use this tool before I begin actual research. The wiki is a collection of articles and weblinks that can be searched by location or by topic. An example: I can search the wiki for "Ohio" and the wiki will send me to the "Ohio" home page, where I will find articles about every topic pertaining to genealogical research in Ohio. Topics generally covered for every state include the topics found in the old printed "Research Outlines". These topics include: Archives & Libriries, Bible Records, Biographies, Cemeteries, Census, Church, Court, Directories, Emigration & Immigration, Ethnic Groups, Gazetteers, Genealogy, History, Land & Property, Maps, Military, Naturalization & Citizenship, Newspapers, Occupations, Probate, Societies, Tax, Vital Records and more. If websites are available that contain either digital images, indexes or other resources specific to the location searched, the wiki will lead to these pages. The Wiki can also be searched for international countries and foreign language genealogical word lists. In addition, FamilySearch Wiki will lead to any of the many online classes it has filmed, addressing genealogical research.

In summary the Wiki can be searched by locality - State or Country. It can also be searched by topic - Military, LDS Research. The Wiki also contains research helps - Articles and Word Lists. And finally the Wiki contains links to online resources - digital images, indexes and online lessons. I suggest using Wiki at the beginning of every research project.

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