Family History / Genealogy and Online Searches by Bill Mangum

I spend my days trying to think of ways to make searching for names dates and places easier for just about anybody who wants to do Family History Work. I have found that what is easy for a 14 year old and what is easy for a 65 year old are not always the same.

For my own family history my biggest problem is deciding where to start. If I start on my Great Grandpa Mangum I can actually find a lot of good information. I found him in more than one Census in a marriage record and I even found a picture of his grave stone online. That was very cool.

The good news is that there is a lot of information about our relatives online. We can take advantage of free sites and paid services to compliment our work. For example in the Census information for GG Mangum it told me he lived in Iowa and Wyoming and this came from a paid site. My GG Mangum died in New Mexico and the cemetery site where his grave stone picture was hosted was free. Online is not just faster, a lot of times it can be a lot less expensive. If you can search and find someone without having to travel to where the records are stored – wow – save on travel expense and a lot of time.

There are always draw backs to relying on only one solution though. Which means there may be times when online is not the only answer you have to use to find what you are looking for. It can save a lot of time and help you know what not to look for next but there are times when the online information can be incomplete.

I found enough about GG Mangum that I started asking intelligent questions of my parents and older relatives. I found great stories and the reasons he traveled from place to place. These were then clues to help me look in additional places.

I have not found the official Death Certificate yet. After going to FamilySearch.org and searching the online catalog I have found the death certificate may be available at an LDS Family History Center if I were to spend about $6 to order a film and look through it at the center. I could also write an e-mail to New Mexico state archivist and ask where the death Certificates for Grant County in 1919 are currently available. Of course I easily found the e-mail addresses and information for the New Mexico State Archives online http://www.nmcpr.state.nm.us/contacts/contacts.asp.

I wish you luck in your search for your ancestors.