Among all of the different technologies available to a genealogist, perhaps one of the easiest to use and most valuable is the internet.
Unlike conventional genealogy methods such as visiting churches or other places where family members used to frequent, the internet gives you access to a whole world of genealogical information that is ripe for the taking.
Whether you need to get into contact with long lost relatives or whether you want to simply find out who your great, great grandparents were, chances are that the internet will be one of your most helpful tools should you choose to go it alone and not hire a professional genealogist.
Unfortunately, with the internet, you always run the risk of receiving incorrect or costly information that is not always as informative as it should be, so be very sure that you do not fall into any traps along the way during your search for your family history.
Any would-be genealogist who is just starting out on the path to construct a comprehensive family tree should begin her quest with a stopover at Cyndi’s List; a genealogy database with thousands of websites that have helped countless people find genealogical information about people from any religious background, ethnicity or location.
Her resources are laid out in a way that makes it amazingly easy for even the most amateur family historians to find just the websites that they need, whether they are looking for lists of names, addresses, forum topics or maps that lay out the areas where certain families were known to have lived.
Without a doubt, Cyndis List is one of the best internet resources for people looking to map out their family history.
Having been at the forefront of the genealogy scene for over ten years, Cyndi’s List is a surefire place to begin your hunt for your extended family.
Moving along from Cyndi’s list, you should use some of the various internet forums on your quest to find your family members.
Forums are excellent places where people from all over the world can put the word out that they are looking for information on their family.
Be careful though, as you do not want to share too much information on a forum and also, exercise caution and take everything people say to you with a grain of salt.
There are a lot of sick people out there who would love to take advantage of the naivety of an aspiring genealogist via a forum thread.
As a last result, there are plenty of internet resources for people that will find family members for you.
Think of these sites as internet-based professional genealogists, as the workers for such websites will tirelessly lead the search through countless databases in order to help you find the people you are looking for and help you construct your own family tree.
As with forums though, be careful, as there are a lot of genealogy websites that will charge you a fee but will actually not perform any services for you.
Or worse yet, such websites could even be fronts for identity thieves, so be on the lookout for shady activities.
