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| Book | Searching... Cabell County Public Library | 929.1072 COM | Adult | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Genealogists are like detectives. Working out puzzles is the name of their game! In the award-winning Genealogy Basics In 30 Minutes (Second Edition), professional genealogist Shannon Combs-Bennett explains the joys, challenges, and triumphs of researching your family's origins. Topics include connecting with relatives, online research, genetic genealogy, and "brick wall" mysteries.
Reviews (1)
Kirkus Review
An overview offers tools and strategies for amateur genealogists. In this reference book, Combs-Bennett leads readers through the fundamentals of investigating and recording their family histories. The volume covers the basics of research, including the role of vital records; methods for organizing information and depicting ancestry through family trees and other charts; and suggestions for moving past dead ends and apparent roadblocks in order to connect each generation with the previous one. The author discusses the value and limitations of online genealogy sites, where readers are likely to find both solid research and hearsay that they must investigate further, stressing the importance of documenting each family connection with primary sources ("Key resources need to be available for future generations to learn from"). The book also touches on the potential challenges genealogists may encounter from skeptical relatives or those unwilling to provide access to family records as well as the possibilities and limitations of tracing ancestry through DNA analysis. Combs-Bennett distinguishes between casual hobbyists and the book's intended audience: "A serious family historian will take time to gather facts and documentation to prove the names and dates, even for close family members." But the volume makes it clear that serious and well-documented genealogy research is achievable for most readers. The tips are presented in a logical and coherent manner, organized for quick reading and easy reference, and the book's short length means there is a high ratio of information to text. The only exceptions are the brief case studies that end each chapter, which serve more to illustrate the variety of people who explore their family histories (a woman traces her ancestry to the Mayflower; a man learns his family's name was not changed by an Ellis Island clerk) than deliver a complex view of the actual research process. Still, the work as a whole presents useful and actionable information that provides beginning genealogists with an entry point and a strategy for examining and documenting their families' stories. A concise and informative guide to genealogy basics. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
