Genealogical Search Tools

Below are a list of some of the Internet tools that we have found very useful while researching the lives of individual members of the 8th Texas Cavalry. Hopefully these sites and their accompanying hints will be of some use to you on your own research projects. If have questions or if you know of a resource or a hint that we may be missing out on, please let us know about it.

Google

By far my favorite tool for searching the Internet. Think of it as a giant, ever-expanding index to millions of websites around the world and you'll understand why. The key to utilizing Google (as well as many other Internet search engines) is to understand that they are an index, not a table of contents, they take you to pages where your search term(s) appear not necessarily to pages about those terms. For more information check out these Google search tips.

 

Family Search Internet Genealogy Service

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsors this very useful site. It provides a searchable transcription of the 1880 US Federal Census complete with direct links to the census images on Ancestry.com. Additionally this site provides access to the vast amount of genealogical information submitted to their archives over the years. The site also provides information on utilizing the resources of the many Family History Centers established by the Mormon church around the world. As census takers and others aren't allways careful with spelling, be sure to check for name variations and always be sure to check that the person recording the data didn't make any errors.

 

WorldConnect Family Trees

Sponsored by Ancestry.com and RootsWeb, this free service allows users to post their family tree research in the form of a Genealogical Data Communications (or GeDCom) file. Not only can you easily share your research with the world but you have the opportunity of accessing the work of others and even of contacting distant relatives who are researching the same family tree. This online sharing often allows users to discover whole branches of family trees at one time.

 

Ancestry.com Message Boards

Originally sponsored by RootsWeb these message boards and others like them have helped limit the days when geneological research was a solitary pursuit requiring large amounts of travel to and research in distant libraries and archives. Now it is possible to post both your questions and answers for all the world to see. Frequently you may find that distant relatives have been researching the same family tree or you may make aqquaintences in distant places who will gladly check for that clue that you've been sitting for years in hopes of one day visiting their local historical society or library. No longer is genealogy resemble the work of a weaver who carefully weaves one strand at a time into their own small tapestry, now it looks like a quilter's bee with multitudes coming together in order to contribute their own individual pieces to the grand tapestry of recorded human history.

 

The USGenWeb Project

This project is comprised of volunteers working together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. No matter where you are researching in the United States there is probably a page already set up with information for that county or parish. This project is no longer restricted to the U.S. as many similliar projects have been started for other countries around the world.

Census Online - Texas

This valuable site privides an index to the many free census transcriptsand images available for specific counties around the United States. There are several sites that provide this material for a fee but it is nice to find sources where it is freely available for all.

 

Texas State Archives Index to Confederate Pension Applications

Many veterans or their spouces recieved government pensions in their twilight years. This useful index lists individuals residing in Texas who applied for such a pension based upon service with in The military of The Confederate States of America. Most other Southern states provided similliar pensions to their Confederate Veterans and the Federal Government provided a pension to those who served in the Federal Armies.

 

Texas State Archives Confederate Indigent Families Lists

During the war the State of Texas set up a system to help alleviate the burden endured by many families who found themselves in dire circumstances with husbands, fathers, and brothers away at war. This index provides a list of those who applied for aid under this program.

 

RootsWeb Websites