Lesson Plan Author Names: Greg Ramstedt
Lesson Plan Author E-Mail: [email protected]
Lesson Plan Title: Searchable Databases on the Internet for Genealogy
Summary/Abstract/Short Description: As an enrichment activity within the United States history curriculum, students will try to find several of their ancestors in each relevant index or searchable database.
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Core Information About the Lesson Plan
K-12 Core Area: Secondary Social Science Core
Course Name: United States History
Course SIS: 6120 & 6250
Course Standard Number: The whole U.S. History curriculum is potentially impacted by a search, since the location and time period will be varied.
Text from the Standard: Since this does not pertain to any one particular standard, but rather to
the full gamut of American History, no individual description is given.
Please comment on other cross curriculum areas for which this lesson plan may be useful.
This lesson plan was actually developed for an elective class I teach. The class is Roots, which is a family history class. Since the best history is history that involves the student personally, this genealogy lesson plan can easily fit as a supplemental or enrichment activity for interested students in United States History classes. Extra credit could be offered.
Since a knowledge of one's heritage can help with personal identity and self-esteem, these sites would be useful in a Quest class.
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Steps/Procedures of the Lesson Plan
Instruction/Procedure/Steps:
1. Students should bring a pedigree chart showing as many generations of their ancestors that they can get from their family.
2. Looking at the description of each searchable database, students will pick those that promise to be the most productive.
3. Students will click on the database, type their ancestor's name, and write down any results that are found.
4. Students will keep a log of their searches.
Extended Activities:
5. Students will write inquiry letters to the submitters of information. [This only applies to some of the databases.]
6. Some of the databases will allow people to submit their own information, which will then be added to the larger database.
7. Students will add the information they learn to their Pedigree Charts and Family Group Sheets.
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Summary Information About the Lesson Plan
What are the intended learning outcomes/essential questions for this lesson? What will students be able to do when they have successfully completed the lesson?
1. Students will learn what kinds of searchable databases exist for tracing their ancestry.
2. Students will gain experience using searchable databases.
3. Students will determine whether their ancestors' names are found in these databases.
4. Students will potentially learn more information on their ancestry.
Materials:
student Pedigree Charts and Family Group Sheets, student workstations, Internet connection,
Curriculum Page of Genealogical Searchable Databases.
Background Information:
The sites listed below can be set up as HotLinks or Bookmarks embedded in the Social Studies Curriculum Page at your school. This will make it so students do not have to type in each URL. Make sure there is a description of each sites so that students can determine which indexes are likely to offer the most productive search.
Since the Internet changes all the time, you can expect more and more searchable databases
to become available. The sites listed in this lesson plan were accurate as of January 13, 1997.
Class Grouping:
--Individual
Approximate Class Time Needed:
--A couple class periods
Teaching/Learning Methods Used:
--Discovery
--Inquiry
--Written
Life Skill Outcome:
--Complex Thinking
--Lifelong Learning
--Collaboration
Keywords that Categorize Lesson Plan Content:
genealogy, searchable database, Internet sites, ancestor, family history
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Assessment Rubric:
--No Rubric
Pre- & Post-test:
1. What searchable databases are available on the Internet for genealogy?
2. Which of your ancestors can be found in a searchable database on the Internet?
1. FamilyFinder Index--Family Tree Maker
http://www.familytreemaker.com/ffilink.html
This index contains 115 million names of living and deceased people obtained from a variety of
sources, including pedigrees, vital records, and the Social Security Death Index.
2. Ancestry's Free Searchable Databases
http://www.ancestry.com/search/search.htm
A. Social Security Death Index
http://www.ancestry.com/SSDI/main.htm
It includes names of deceased Americans from 1937 to October 1995, but mostly from 1962 onward. There are 51 million names.
B. American Marriage Records
http://www.ancestry.com/marriage
There are 75,000 American marriages before 1800. The following are included:
American Marriage Records Prior to 1699
Early Connecticut Marriages Prior to 1800
Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800
Early Virginia Marriages Prior to 1824
New York Marriages Prior to 1784
Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1790
C. Geographic Reference Library
http://www.ancestry.com/grl/main.htm
This includes these two sources:
1854 Gazetteer of the United States
American Genealogical Gazetteer
D. Early American Immigration Library
http://www.ancestry.com./il
It lists nearly 1,000 people who immigrated before 1674, and is an index of these two sources:
Appendixes of The Real Founders of New England--people who arrived before 1628.
Scandinavian Immigrants in New York 1630-1674
E. American Biographical Library
http://www.ancestry.com/abl
This is a growing collection of biographical sketches of Americans living before 1620. It includes entries from the following two books:
The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans
The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women
F. The GENNAM-L Archives
http://www.ancestry.com/gennam-l
It contains 43,487 messages through 21 Nov. 1996. This database archives the e-mail messages that were sent to the GENNAM-L mailing list and to the SOC.GENEALOGY.SURNAMES newsgroup beginning in late 1994. [GENNAM-L is located at [email protected]/.] People submit names they are researching with the hope of finding others interested in the same names.
G. ROOTS-L Mailing List
http://www.ancestry.com/roots-l
This contains 149,864 messages through 13 Nov. 1996. It has 7,600 subscribers.
This is a database of e-mail messages sent to ROOTS-L since late 1987. [ROOTS-L is located at [email protected]/.] People post genealogical questions on this
mailing list. [The ROOTS-L Home Page is at http://www.smartlink.net/
~leverich/roots-l.htm/.]
3. UK + Ireland Genealogy Index
http://midas.ac.uk/genuki/mindex.html
The following counties in England have Surname Lists: Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall,
Cumbria, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Liverpool area, Lincolnshire, Somerset, Suffolk?,
Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire. For Scotland, there is a Surname List on-line for
Caithness. Wales has the following Surname Lists: Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire,
Glamorgan, Merionethshire, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, Pembrokeshire, and
Radnorshire. There is also a list for the Isle of Man.
4. Fidonet Ireland & UK Surnames List
http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/SurnamesList/FIDONET-IUK
Fidonet is the network where BBSs (Bulletin Board Services) throughout the world share their
messages.
5. Roots Surname List--maintained by the Rand Corporation
http://www.rand.org/personal/Genea/rslsearch.html
There is no charge for this service. 7,500 genealogists have included 111,000 surnames.
Similar to this is the RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative Page at
http://www.rootsweb.com/. The January Roots Surname List contains 172,329 names.
6. Roots Location List Name Finder--maintained by Rand Corp.
http://rand.org/cgi-bin/Genea/rll
This is an index to places where people are doing research. Perhaps you would like to know who
else is working in your area.
7. Everton's On-Line Search
http://www.everton.com
There is a fee to search their 70 million name database. The "Free Trial" area is a good place to
start.
8. GENDEX WWW Genealogical Index
http://www.gendex.com
There are 2 million names (100,131 surnames) in 759 databases that can be searched. They also
rent space for genealogical storage.
9. GENWEB
http://demo.genweb.org/gene/genedemo.html
GENWEB is an ambitious effort to link the whole world together genealogically. It is the genealogical equivalent of the Human Genome Project.
A subdivision of this is the US GenWeb Project at http://www.usgenweb.com/. To find
Utah surname entries, use http://www.lofthouse.com/USA/Utah/utah/index.html.
Another subdivision is World Genealogy Web Project Headquarters at
http://www.dsenter.com/worldgenweb/index.html.
10. On-Line Genealogical Database Index--was GENWEB Surnames
http://www.gentree.com
This is an index to all known GENWEB genealogical databases searchable on the Web. There
are 433,531 names in over 170 GENWEB databases.
11. GenServ
http://soback.kornet.nm.kr/~cmanis
You can contribute your GEDCOMs here, and you can also search their 6 million names in
4550+ GEDCOM databases. It does cost money, but there are initial free searches.
12. European Surname Index
http://feefhs.org/indexsur.html
There are 31 surname databases covering virtually all areas of Europe, including Eastern Europe
and the Balkans.
13. Genealogy's MOST WANTED
http://www.citynet.net/mostwanted
Their Home Page is the cutest of all these listing. There are 5,600 "most wanted" listings and
3,400 surnames.
14. Switchboard
http://www.switchboard.com
It contains 106 million addresses of U.S. residents.
15. Welcome to Sweden Genealogy
http://bl-12.rootsweb.com/~wgsweden
It includes a searchable name directory.
16. IRLGEN--Irish Genealogy
http://www.bess.tcd.ie/roots_ie.htm
It includes a searchable name directory.
17. Document--FolioInfobase
http://www.infobases.com/cgi-bin/folioisa.dll/gennam-l/
You can search GENNAM-L here as well.
18. U.S. Gazetteer
http://tiger.census.gov/cgi-bin/gazetteer
This will help you find places in the United States.