The internet is an extremely valuable resource for genealogists. You can find information about your ancestors by using a popular genealogy search website. There are websites that focus on photographing graves, so that the images can be accessed, online, by the descendants of the people who were buried in those graves. There is a brand new tool called the Free People Finder, which is, as the name implies, completely free for genealogists to use.
There are a lot of genealogists who use the internet as their primary resource for filling in their family tree. For many, it is because this method is a lot more convenient than the method that involves traveling to different archives and courthouses, and searching through dusty records. You get to use your very own computer, instead of having to figure out how to make a publicly accessible computer do what you want it to do. You don’t have to restrict your research to the days, or time of day, when the archive or library will be open. You can fit your genealogy research into the spare moments you have in between other obligations, and none of that precious time will be taken up by travel or commuting. It’s no wonder that a lot of genealogists prefer to use the internet when they do their research.
The Free People Finder is not a tool exclusively for use by genealogists. Anyone can use it to find whomever they are seeking. It is being advertized as a great way to locate the friends that you went to high school with, or to find the kids that you attended elementary school with, and grew up with. However, the possibilities for genealogists who use this website are obvious, because this website can bring up official public records that you might not have been able to find. The Free People Finder makes it clear that you should use it, instead of other similar websites that want to charge you $20.00 for the same information.
I tested out this claim, by registering with the Free People Search Finder myself. I entered the name of my father, and the state that he lives in. True to it’s word, the Free People Search Finder did show me his street address and his telephone number, and it didn’t cost me any money to see that information. This search engine is a good tool if you are trying to connect with living relatives, who happen to reside within the United States. However, when I tried to get more information, like a marriage record, the Free People Search Finder shunts me over to other search websites, which do charge money. I guess every tool has it’s limitations.
Image by Hannah Rosen on Flickr