Book Review: Learning More About Your Ancestors Online

I've been a big fan of Kenneth R. Marks's website The Ancestor Hunt since I came upon it a few years ago. 

In one easy-to-navigate site, he's assembled 160,000+ links to free genealogy resources in North America, arranged geographically and by type of resource.

Kenneth also offers a series of free, downloadable Quick Reference Guides with useful tips for family-history researchers at all skill levels.

Now I'm a big fan of his new, very affordable reference book, Learning More About Your Ancestors Online: Genealogy Guides for Newbies, Hobbyists, and Old Pros, available in paperback and digitally on Amazon.

A baker's dozen of chapters

In 13 chapters, Kenneth organizes his advice and links according to topic: 

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Birth and marriage 
• Chapter 3: Death records and information 
• Chapter 4: General advice about genealogy research
• Chapter 5: Immigration, naturalization, travel
• Chapter 6: Military 
• Chapter 7: Miscellaneous records (such as secret societies, old-time illnesses)
• Chapter 8: Newspaper research
• Chapter 9: Occupations
• Chapter 10: Photos and physical description
• Chapter 11: Residences and other locations
• Chapter 12: Schools and yearbooks
• Chapter 13: Resources

Every chapter has a ton of useful ideas and time-tested suggestions. The final chapter, not to be missed, is a roundup of links to other websites with additional information about search techniques and genealogical records.

I highly recommend Kenneth's book, which I purchased in paperback as soon as it was published. It's a handy reference book for everyone interested in genealogy research, from beginners to experienced professionals. Happy to have it on my genealogy bookshelf!