Thursday, June 4, 2009

Mapping Your Route

The Hooked on Ancestry group on Facebook posted this message to the group:


Mapping Your Route:


When you’re visiting an ancestral hometown, you’ll want to map out cemeteries, churches and other locations you’d like to visit. Online mapping services like MapQuest (http://email.ancestry.com/cgi-bin13/DM/y/n5x50ZPyZl0HHn0Lt0Gs) or GoogleMaps (http://email.ancestry.com/cgi-bin13/DM/y/n5x50ZPyZl0HHn0joL0GZ) can help with this. For some features, you may want to try the U.S. Geological Service’s Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).



Don’t overlook the local municipality websites for other interesting information about the area. They may have detailed local maps and other helpful information for planning your trip.




I use Outlook to track the Cemeteries that I have visited or plan to visit. In the blog entry:

Tombstone Tuesday and Find-A-Grave Follow Up

I talked about what I track in EXCEL, but I also record the information in Microsoft Outlook. Most of the information on a cemetery that you will find on this Blog, under the Cemetery Listing and what I would post on Find-A-Grave I put in outlook. The nice thing is the there is a Mapping Feature built into it. so the direction are easy to optain and print. The information on that Cemetery can also be printed directly from Outlook. I put this into my Cemetery Notebook.



Before I go visit a cemetery, I make sure that Outlook is up to date, I have directions and a print out from EXCEL to see who I already have and any notation that I might want to re-take a picture.



I then make a list minute check at Find-A-Grave to get a list of internments and any photo requests that might be listed there. At this point, I don't "claim" the assignment, but will do that if I am able to find the headstone requested.



If the town that I am visiting has any local Church, Historical Society, Library with a Genealogy section, that might be of interest, I enter that into Outlook as well and print what I need. The printed paper lets me "take notes".



Just a couple of thoughts on planning a research trip.

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