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Name of Site: First Families
2001
URL: http://www.firstfamilies2001.net.au/
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Ease of Navigation: Need a Map
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Review: As part of the 2001 Centenary celebrations (hang on, I don't remember
any celebrations in 2001!), the Victorian State Library has created a
fascinating archive of historical information relating to Australia and
its occupants throughout the ages. Searchable and browseable, there are
timelines, individual stories and genealogical records - just type in
a name and see. There are family tree printouts to use, a school project
book, links aplenty and a picture gallery to enhance the mostly text-based
info available. If they could continue to expand this it could well be
a definitive Aussie archive and a great place to look up all your friends
and family. - SS
Name of Site: GenealogyToday
URL: http://www.genealogytoday.com
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Ease of Navigation: Signposted
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Review: I've got a pretty uncommon surname, and I have yet to even find
my own father in these Websites, yet I am reassured that one day my family
will pop up somewhere. Like this site, the resources are getting better
and the databases are sweeping wider and wider - one day they will actually
hook into the Polish navy's list of submariner crew from 1939. Genealogy
Today provides you with a whole swag of tools, tips, historical information
and even a shop for all your root tracing needs. If you are really keen,
you can employ a professional to go where no amateur can go, to find out
for sure if you really do carry traces of Tutenkamen's DNA. If I could
go back far enough, perhaps my dad's sub-aquatic exploits can be traced
back to a sardine. Only time, and enterprises like this, will tell. -
SS
Name of Site: Ancestor Search - Australia
URL: http://www.ancestor-search.com/locality/australia.html
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Ease of Navigation: Signposted
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Review: Yet another multi-linked, multi-search, multi-faceted mega site
to find out who you are. Claiming upward of one billion direct connections
to human beings living and dead, if you don't find yourself here, face
it, you are a schmuck. Some databases require signup before search, which
I guess adds yet more names to the list. This is a global site, but has
taken the time to give the Aussies a fair crack at finding out who they
are. Sadly I think I have to accept that it was other families who came,
saw and conquered, and all I am going to inherit is the fee for these
reviews, which I'm going to spend creating a new identity for myself.
Just call me "Mr Windsor". - SS
Name of Site: Genealogy.com
URL: http://www.genealogy.com/
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Ease of Navigation: Signposted
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Review: I've just traced the genealogy domain name tree right back to
its roots. They do it justice, too, the grand daddy of all family tree
sites. America is the centre of the world as usual, so you'd better hope
to have a bit of confederacy in your genes. However, there are nice tools,
such as "Family Tree Maker" to play with - only US$29.99, set
up your own home page, post to the message boards and await replies from
long lost billionaire great uncles, learn some tricks from the professionals,
and follow links to over 72,000 sites - phew! By the time you've finished
at this website, you'll have great, great, grandkids of your own! - SS
Name of Site: RootsWeb
URL: http://www.rootsweb.com
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Ease of Navigation: Signposted
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Review: When it comes to such a librarian-esque pursuit as genealogy,
I suppose it's a given that the sites will look much like output from
a steroid-fed database, still it's always nice to find a site that breaks
the mould. Unfortunately RootsWeb is not that site, in fact as the oldest
and largest free genealogy site on the Internet, it actually has more
informational content than an overweight squirrel has nuts at the end
of autumn. What this means of course is a powerful search facilities,
a database of some 300 million ancestor names, mailing lists, message
boards, resource clusters and hundreds of genealogy websites hosted on
the free webspace RootsWeb provides. All in all an invaluable genealogical
companion! - SS
Name of Site: Lineages
URL: http://www.lineages.com
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Ease of Navigation: Walk in the Park
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Review: Despite what you might think, there is actually money to be made
in genealogy, as this site proves. With a staff of close to 40 professional
genealogists, Lineages caters to beginning researchers and family historians
with software, research rooms, searchable databases, books and more. In
particular I liked their first steps section, which introduces you step
by step to the methods for locating those hard (or impossible in my case)
to find rellies. From a guide to how to write successful queries to learning
about "Soundexing", this is a must for anyone with a long summer
holiday coming up! - SS
Name of Site: National Archives of Australia - Genealogy Fact Sheets
URL: http://www.naa.gov.au/Publications/fact_sheets/default.html#genealogy
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Ease of Navigation: Walk in the Park
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Review: If you are going to begin your search for a rich great grand uncle,
this is a great place to begin - the National Archives. Forget all the
genealogy hype, try good old fashioned hyperlinks. The NAA taps into the
vast array of record-keeping our overlords have maintained over the decades,
and allows you to begin tracing where you or your relatives may fit into
the grand scheme of social control we call civilization. Unfortunately
you will have to pursue them further before coming up with actual names,
as they don't just give it all out over the ether, but you can get a great
head start by knowing just how detailed the records are and seeing just
where you might fit in. - SS
Name of Site: Genealogical Journeys
URL: http://www.genealogicaljourneys.com/
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Review: Through a neat array of icons and family emblems, you are transported
back in time to discover the rich and colourful histories that we all
share to some degree. Amazingly what looks like it could be a clunky old
site from the 1900s turns out to be well worth clicking around. Tons of
features like chat room, discussion boards, historical archives, links,
polls, web rings, and ancestral line tracers will have you wishing you
were featured here somewhere. Oh well, just think, in 1000 years time,
people will be tracing back to today to find their roots, so you'd better
get out there and make something of yourself, or you'll let your own descendants
down just like your ancestors let you down here. - SS
Name of Site: WorldGen Web Project
URL: http://www.worldgenweb.org/
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Ease of Navigation: Signposted
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Review: This is a good idea - rather than have all these genealogists
and genealogy sites working independently trying to attract members, why
not get together and harness their brain and computer power to build the
mother of all genealogy databases. No more ethnocentricity, just pure
family trees mapping the spread of the human plague across the globe.
This is more for the genealogist than the hapless soul searching for meaning,
but you can still go to the country of your origins here to unearth your
kin, not literally of course. This is as close as I came to finding my
roots, so if you are having little luck, give it a go, you never know
what you'll discover. - SS
Name of Site: Kindred Trails
URL: http://www.kindredtrails.com
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Ease of Navigation: Signposted
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Review: After all this tree tracing, it's nice to finally find a site
that looks and feels like the warm and fuzzy sensation I'm going to get
when I actually find a distant relative. Colourful cartoons and interesting
ideas, such as family reunion invites, colour coded tracing tools, classifieds,
mugs and family books give me a warm glow as I continue my fruitless search.
One great part of this site is where you can tell stories, write poems,
post your biography for all to see - giving the site a human face, instead
of the endless surname searches and date of birth data. Here are real
people tracing real lives leaving a trail that maybe one day their own
descendants can trace - so long as they can keep paying their hosting
fees. - SS
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