Online Research
There are so many excellent genealogical websites that it is hard to know where to begin. There are general sites providing on-line instruction in genealogy that can be downloaded and studied at your leisure. Some are available at no cost. The FamilyTreeMaker website (http://www.familytreemaker.com) has an excellent beginners course, and much advanced material that is useful no matter what ethnic group you are researching. FTM also has millions of names in their indexes, some of which are free, and some requiring membership or a payment. I am most familiar with FTM because I use their genealogy programs, however, other sites with similar websites, like Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), will also be useful to you.
Sites exist for most ethnic groups. Of special interest to those researching Lebanese families is http://genforum.genealogy.com/lebanon. Another appealing site is http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/lebanon/map.html featuring an interactive map of Lebanon. Do a search on "Lebanese (or Syrian) Genealogy" and you will find many sites sure to increase your knowledge of these countries.
Numerous on-line genealogy newsletters are available. Genealogy Today (www.genealogytoday.com) and D'Addezio.com (http://www.daddezio.com) are two of the best, providing free information, updates, instructional articles and more, with special sites for Italian or German researchers. Cyndis List (http://cyndislist.com) hosts thousands of genealogical websites, many of which will be useful, both for general research methodology and specific ethnic interests.
A Final Caveat
Information and records found on the Internet should be considered secondary sources, and followed up at the primary source, to make certain the information is accurate. Double-check information you find on the 'Net - before you add it to your family tree -- just as you would information from other secondary sources. Research is only as good as the person doing it, and mistakes happen. Sloppy research happens too. Don't let it happen to you by repeating someone else's mistakes.
Return to the Introduction
Return to Part Six
History (and a Little Geography)
Immigration
Life in America
Where to Begin
Do Your Homework
Sandra Hasser Bennett has developed and taught genealogy courses for
adults and lectured on family history to high school history classes.
She also writes book and manuscript reviews for the "International
Migration Review".
Sandra and her brother obtained a grant to conduct an oral history of
their own Lebanese/Syrian community, the results of which were deposited with the
Smithsonian Museum of American History's Naff Collection.
