RVers and Genealogy: Plan a Genealogy Tour in Your RV
When it comes to RVing fun and games, if you thought geocaching sounded like fun, you might be interested in genealogy when the weather forces you to stay inside. I succumbed to the genealogy bug years ago, so I can say with full confidence that this hobby is seriously addictive. It should come with a warning label, “Do not try this at home” or “genealogy is habit forming, proceed with caution.”
But, if you like solving mysteries, detective work, hunting for unknown facts about your heritage, and discovering the truth behind family folklore, you’ll love genealogy.
It’s worth every minute you invest. What you learn will stay with you forever.
No matter what you learn, it will be informative and exciting as you walk the ground they walked, and visit places they lived, worked and died.
The really great advantage RVers have over other genealogy hobbyists is that you can research everything from your RV that you can from home AND you can turn your RV trips into genealogy research tours. Try doing that with a house.
Learning to do genealogy is easy. First, sign up for a free Intro to Genealogy e-course and weekly newsletter.
Then check out the links and places discussed here.
Your RV Genealogy Tour Agenda
One of the most valuable resources for genealogists is the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) Family History Center in Salt Lake City (SLC), Utah. This extensive library is open to the public. The volunteers will help with everything from directing you to books and printed resources, to helping you with online searches.
Most larger towns have an LDS church from which you can order microfilm records of your ancestors. So, if you can't get to SLC, you can still access the information you need.
Other sites to visit include museums, libraries, cemeteries, and any physical place your ancestors spent time. Having personal access to source documents, like birth or death certificates, tombstones, and places where your ancestors lived enriches your experience many times over.
Many libraries, such as Houston Public Library or Library of Michigan in Lansing often have huge depositories of information. You may need a library card for a library that subscribes to these extensive databases. Escapees who have Livingston Texas addresses, are in the Houston Library District. So buddy up with other RVers willing to do lookups for you.
Some databases like HeritageQuest Online and ProQuest are available only through libraries like these. These database services offer:
The US GenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project has a dual benefit for RVers doing genealogy. Not only can you search for a tombstone and learn what to look for if you visit a cemetery, but you can volunteer to submit photos of tombstones from cemeteries you visit.
Genealogy Sites–Search from Your RV
One of the most well known free genealogy search sites is the LDS Family Search. You can access their new site at FamilySearch.org.
Another free site is Rootsweb. This long established site has thousands of family trees. Not all trees are accurate, but it's a good starting point, anyway. Be sure to use the search boxes on the left for a Rootsweb search. The ones on the right takes you to Ancestry’s subscription page.
Rootsweb also has a message board and contact information for the person submitting each tree–a nice way to meet long lost relatives or make new friends.
Rootsweb's City-Directories mailing list is a convenient way to request searches in city directories. Join the list at DIRECTORIES-request@rootsweb.com.
Other city directories are available through the old Don's List and the new Don's List.
Every researcher should bookmark Cyndi’s List on their browser. This site is known worldwide for its vast set of genealogy resource links.
Discover Genealogy is the only website dedicated to ethnic genealogy. Ethnic genealogy is difficult to trace because of the lack of records for many cultures. This site focuses on Asian, Hispanic, Native American and African American, with a site dedicated to slave genealogy.
Genealogy.com offers a learning center, family tree management, GenForum message board, links to a virtual cemetery, database of millions of people, and quite a bit more.
Roots Television is an interesting collection of information, links, and blogs.
An excellent county vital records database is the Cook County, Illinois genealogy site. Not all counties and cities make records this accessible, and many charge for you to get this degree of detail. But most allow searches so you can see whether your ancestor’s information is on file. Check county websites for how to access to vital records.
And if those don’t keep you busy enough, try Free Genealogy Sites for an extensive list of links to and extensive list of free research sites.
There are hundreds of subscription sites, too, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for on one, don’t give up. Most offer a free trial period so you can see if they offer what you need.
Ancestry.com is one of the most popular genealogy subscription services. Ancestry has records that you can download, family trees, forums, and much more.
World Vital Records, Fold3 (formerly Footnote.com) and Newspaper Archive are three more excellent resources.
You’ll find many more resources as you visit these sites, join forums and run web searches. And check with others at your RV park. People love working together on genealogy projects.
But, if you like solving mysteries, detective work, hunting for unknown facts about your heritage, and discovering the truth behind family folklore, you’ll love genealogy.
It’s worth every minute you invest. What you learn will stay with you forever.
- You'll become a part of a bigger family that extends across time.
- You'll see proof that the human race is made up of some pretty tough stuff when you study an ancestor RVing in a Conestoga Wagon.
- You'll learn about history from a more personal point of view.
- You'll learn about how your family struggled through hard times, famines, shipwrecks, disasters, wars, emigrations, plagues, and loss of homes or businesses.
- You might find out you are descended from royalty or infamy.
No matter what you learn, it will be informative and exciting as you walk the ground they walked, and visit places they lived, worked and died.
The really great advantage RVers have over other genealogy hobbyists is that you can research everything from your RV that you can from home AND you can turn your RV trips into genealogy research tours. Try doing that with a house.
Learning to do genealogy is easy. First, sign up for a free Intro to Genealogy e-course and weekly newsletter.
Then check out the links and places discussed here.
Your RV Genealogy Tour Agenda
One of the most valuable resources for genealogists is the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) Family History Center in Salt Lake City (SLC), Utah. This extensive library is open to the public. The volunteers will help with everything from directing you to books and printed resources, to helping you with online searches.
Most larger towns have an LDS church from which you can order microfilm records of your ancestors. So, if you can't get to SLC, you can still access the information you need.
Other sites to visit include museums, libraries, cemeteries, and any physical place your ancestors spent time. Having personal access to source documents, like birth or death certificates, tombstones, and places where your ancestors lived enriches your experience many times over.
Many libraries, such as Houston Public Library or Library of Michigan in Lansing often have huge depositories of information. You may need a library card for a library that subscribes to these extensive databases. Escapees who have Livingston Texas addresses, are in the Houston Library District. So buddy up with other RVers willing to do lookups for you.
Some databases like HeritageQuest Online and ProQuest are available only through libraries like these. These database services offer:
- US, Canadian and UK census, vital, church, immigration and court records
- PERSI
- Local and family history books
- Freedman’s Bank (African American records 1865-1874)
- Revolutionary War
- Civil War
- U.S. Serial Set data
- MyFamily.com
- Ancestry Library Editions
- Thousands of databases
- Historical newspapers
The US GenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project has a dual benefit for RVers doing genealogy. Not only can you search for a tombstone and learn what to look for if you visit a cemetery, but you can volunteer to submit photos of tombstones from cemeteries you visit.
Genealogy Sites–Search from Your RV
One of the most well known free genealogy search sites is the LDS Family Search. You can access their new site at FamilySearch.org.
Another free site is Rootsweb. This long established site has thousands of family trees. Not all trees are accurate, but it's a good starting point, anyway. Be sure to use the search boxes on the left for a Rootsweb search. The ones on the right takes you to Ancestry’s subscription page.
Rootsweb also has a message board and contact information for the person submitting each tree–a nice way to meet long lost relatives or make new friends.
Rootsweb's City-Directories mailing list is a convenient way to request searches in city directories. Join the list at DIRECTORIES-request@rootsweb.com.
Other city directories are available through the old Don's List and the new Don's List.
Every researcher should bookmark Cyndi’s List on their browser. This site is known worldwide for its vast set of genealogy resource links.
Discover Genealogy is the only website dedicated to ethnic genealogy. Ethnic genealogy is difficult to trace because of the lack of records for many cultures. This site focuses on Asian, Hispanic, Native American and African American, with a site dedicated to slave genealogy.
Genealogy.com offers a learning center, family tree management, GenForum message board, links to a virtual cemetery, database of millions of people, and quite a bit more.
Roots Television is an interesting collection of information, links, and blogs.
An excellent county vital records database is the Cook County, Illinois genealogy site. Not all counties and cities make records this accessible, and many charge for you to get this degree of detail. But most allow searches so you can see whether your ancestor’s information is on file. Check county websites for how to access to vital records.
And if those don’t keep you busy enough, try Free Genealogy Sites for an extensive list of links to and extensive list of free research sites.
There are hundreds of subscription sites, too, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for on one, don’t give up. Most offer a free trial period so you can see if they offer what you need.
Ancestry.com is one of the most popular genealogy subscription services. Ancestry has records that you can download, family trees, forums, and much more.
World Vital Records, Fold3 (formerly Footnote.com) and Newspaper Archive are three more excellent resources.
You’ll find many more resources as you visit these sites, join forums and run web searches. And check with others at your RV park. People love working together on genealogy projects.
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