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On the Internet, there are vast information resources on various topics of interest to genealogical researchers. We have explored some of these resources, during the last year. One of the kinds of resources we have not yet covered are called "databases".
This month, I thought we'd cover databases on the Internet, but first an explanation of databases is in order. Many of you, I'm sure, have heard the term "database" and perhaps you've wondered what a database is. You may be surprised to learn that you've often used databases, even though you may not have known it at the time.
A database is a just collection of a certain kind of information. A telephone book is a good example of a database. It is a collection of facts related to one kind of information: the names, locations and numbers of persons with telephones in a given locale. A recipe book is another good example. It is a collection of recipes, each of which tells you the ingredients, the preparation, the cooking instructions and so on for that particular recipe.
Information in a database is divided into "records". In the case of the telephone book, there is one record for each person or business listed in the book. All the records are alike in that they contain similar pieces of information within each record; in the case of a telephone book, each record contains the last name and first name of the person or business, the address at which they are located, the city and the telephone number or numbers held by that person. Each of these categories (name, address, etc.) is known as a "field".
The great advantage of a computer database is that the records can be searched and sorted with great speed and accuracy. In our telephone book example, if you want to look up a person "by hand", so to speak, you have to get out the book, flip through the pages until you find the correct surname letters in the upper corners of the page, look down through the columns until you find the correct surname, search through those surname entries until you find the correct given name and then go over to the right to find the number. In this case, the non-computerized phone book has some significant limitations. For example, you have to know the first and last name of the person in order to find them with any degree of speed or accuracy. And if you wanted to know the name of a "Smith" on 16th Ave, for example, you'd have to look through each and every "Smith" in order to find one on that street.
By comparison, a computerized database will allow you to simply type in the information you DO have; it will then look through ALL the records it has and come up with a list of records that fit the criteria you've entered. And it will do it almost instantly. In the case of my little "Smith" example, it will look-up every Smith, find the ones on 16th Ave., and present you with a list of them faster than you can even open the telephone book!!
This ease-of-use and power become more pronounced as the amount and complexity of the information increase. Imagine, for example, trying to search, by hand, through all the Social Security records, trying to find a "Hazel Smith" who lived in Chicago, Illinois!! A computer, on the other hand, can perform the search and present you with a list of EVERY "Hazel Smith" in Chicago (or even every "Hazel Smith" in the entire country) and can do it in less than a minute.
There are a number of searchable genealogical databases on the Internet; this month we'll explore some of them in detail. Probably the easiest and most useful of these is:
Ancestry's Social Security Death Index (SSDI) database
You can find this database at:
"http://www.ancestry.com/search/advsearch.htm" or Click Here
When you get there, you'll find quite a number of database resources listed there; the SSDI database will be listed close to the top of the page, along with several other free databases (more on these later). Using the SSDI is simplicity itself; you simply enter the name of the person you wish to search for and press the "Search" button. Alternatively, you can press a link called "Advanced Search" which allows you to enter the locality and other information to narrow your search. Either way you do it, within seconds, up pops a list of the persons matching your criteria. for each person listed, the list will contain the name birth date, death date, the residence of the person at the time of death, the residence at which they received their last benefit check, the Social Security number and the State in which that number was issued.
We discussed the SSDI in a previous article, but I thought it a good example of what a database is and how it works; I hope it proves useful to you. Besides, it leads us into a discussion of the Ancestry Genealogical Library, since we're already there, and allows us to explore some of the other database resources in this stunning collection of genealogical research materials.
The Ancestry Genealogical Library
Also on the Ancestry Search page is the Ancestry World Tree database. This database contains family trees contributed by thousands of researchers around the world. Those of you who are familiar with Broderbund's "Family TreeMaker" software and CD's are familiar with this concept; users donate family trees to Broderbund who then puts them on CD-ROM's and sells them to users. But there's a major difference between Ancestry and Broderbund; Ancestry charges nothing to either contribute trees or to search them. Also, with Broderbund, when you find a tree that you want more information on, you have to contact Broderbund to get the name and contact of the submitter; with Ancestry, all this information is supplied up front and at no charge.
The listings for the World Tree database show the name of the person, their sex, birth and death dates and locations, their burial date and location, their parents (with links to go to the parents' records), their marriage(s) (with links to show their marriage records), the e-mail links of the submitter and a button which lets you download the entire family tree to which that person belongs so that you can examine it at your leisure.
There are several other databases, on the Ancestry Search site, that are free; you'll find databases for: North Carolina Death Records (1971 to 1997), 50,000 Bibliographic Sources at the Library of Congress, Early Town Records of the Town of Providence (R.I.), Immigration of Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, and several more.
In addition, there are a host of databases, on the Ancestry site, that are for subscribers only. In fact, the Ancestry site is very probably the largest library of online genealogical information in the world, including such databases as:
Believe me, the list above just barely scratches the surface. You'll also find complete U.S. Census records for 21 various states and decades, 13 different Immigration databases, 50 different databases of historical records, 16 different databases of Land Records for various states, 5 databases of court and probate records, a complete Dawes Index of Native Americans (circa 1896), 24 complete genealogical reference works that you can search and read, over 60 databases of Vital Records, (Births, Marriages, Deaths, etc.). And there are literally thousands of historical maps and other valuable resources. And this is just on the Ancestry site!!!
In addition, over 300 new databases are added to the Ancestry library each year, as well as over a thousand new historical maps, so this library is certain to become an ever more valuable resource for researchers as time goes by.
As I indicated, access to hundreds of the searchable databases in the Ancestry Genealogical Library can be had by subscribing. Subscriptions cost $4.95 per month. The library is open 24-hours per day, 365 days per year. An annual subscription also includes your choice of the following: a complete Ancestry Genealogical Library Reference CD, a subscription to "Ancestry" magazine or a subscription to "Genealogical Computing". Guess which one I'll pick . . . .
Well, I had thought we'd be able to cover databases in general in this article but, as with our work on census records around the world, a few months back, I can see that there's far too much material to cover in one article. Next month, I will attempt to cover such databases as: "BirthQuest" the online searchable database for searching adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents and siblings; "GeneaNet Genealogical Database Network", a database indexing surnames from before 1850, along with corresponding contact information - online or offline; the "GenServ - Family History" database, which contains over 9,370,000 names in 7,000+ GEDCOM databases.
In addition, we'll cover such resources as the Military Records and Archives databases (I found over 20 of them, covering every American war and conflict), as well as some of the hundreds of other databases which contain information about specific localities, surnames and other topics of interest. Hmm . . . It may take us more than one more article to get through it. But don't worry, friends; it'll be one heck of a fun ride!!!
I sincerely hope that you are exploring these resources as you are reading these articles; I have no doubt that those of you who do are making serious progress in your family research!!! So hang in there. If you don't have a computer, take these articles to the library and have the staff there show you how to get to these sites. You're in for a fascinating and very rewarding journey!! Good Hunting All!!!
Byron Bray
Databases - An Introduction
and much, much more.
byron.bray@cmug.com