sysop The system operator (manager) of an online community, or forum. The sysop sets the rules, maintains the peace and operability of the system, and sometimes moderates the messages.
T
tablet computer A mobile device, often with Internet connectivity, that runs smaller programs than a desktop.
tag A notation of keywords to associate with a resource, page, message, tweet, blog post, or status. Often preceded by a pound sign, but not always.
tag cloud Also known as a word cloud, this is a weighted list shown in a visual representation of user-generated tags, or simply the word content of a site. The more often a tag appears in the resource, the larger the word appears in the visual depiction.
tagline A short, pithy statement tagged on to the end of an e-mail message. Example: “It’s only a hobby, only a hobby, only a….” Taglines are rarely seen on commercial networks, such as AOL, MSN, and CompuServe.
taxonomy The science of finding, describing, classifying, and naming things, especially organisms, in a hierarchical system.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) A combined set of protocols that performs the transfer of data between two computers. TCP monitors and ensures correct transfer of data. IP receives the data from TCP, breaks it up into packets, and ships it off to a network within the Internet. TCP/IP is also used as a name for a protocol suite that incorporates these functions and others.
Telnet An Internet client that connects to other computers, making yours a virtual terminal of the remote computer. Among other functions, it enables a user to log in to a remote computer from the user’s local computer.
terminal server A computer that connects terminals to a network by providing host Telnet service.
thread (message thread) A discussion made up of a set of messages in answer to a certain message and to each other. Sometimes, worthwhile threads are saved in a text file, especially on Yahoo! groups.
Tiny Tafel (TT) A standard way of describing a family database so the information can be scanned visually or by computer. All data fields are of fixed length, with the obvious exceptions of the surnames and optional places. Many TTs are extracted from GEDCOMs.
Trojan horse A type of malicious code. This is usually a program that seems to be useful and harmless. In the background, however, it might be destroying data or breaking security on your system. It differs from a virus in that it rarely propagates itself as a virus does.
U
upload To send a file or message from your computer to another. (See also: download.)
USB (Universal Serial Bus) A connection to a computer. Unlike a parallel port (where your printer probably plugs in) or a serial port (where your modem probably plugs in), a USB port enables you to “daisy-chain” peripherals. If you have a USB printer, modem, and CD-ROM drive, you could plug only one into the USB port, and the rest connect by USB cables in a chain (in theory, say, computer to modem to printer to CD-ROM). In practice, however, sometimes it’s a little tricky to get them in an order that makes all the peripherals happy.
V
video chat Audio and video interaction in real time between users at different locations using a computer, tablet, or smart phone. Examples of software to do this are FaceTime, Skype, and Google Hangouts, and those systems are often used as verbs for the activity (e.g., “I Skyped with my grandkids at Christmas”). Most often, video chat is one-to-one communication, but not always.
videoconferencing Audio and video interaction in a business setting with three or more participants at different locations.
virtual seminars (webinars) A presentation, lecture, workshop, or seminar that is transmitted over the Web. The format is interactive—the presenter can give, receive, and discuss information. However, often a webinar (and the comments from attendees) is saved and available as a webcast.
virus A program that installs itself secretly on a computer by attaching itself to another program or e-mail and then duplicates itself when that program is executed or e-mail is opened. Some viruses are harmless, but most of them intend to do damage, such as erasing important files on your system.
vital records The official records of birth, death, marriage, and other events of a person’s life.
vlog A blog that uses videos for posts instead of text and/or pictures.
VOIP Voice Over Internet Protocol, or phone calls using the Internet instead of phone lines or towers.
W
web feed (or news feed) A data format used for providing users with frequently updated content, usually in RSS form.
webinar See: virtual seminar.
wiki A website or other online resource that allows users to add and edit content collectively.
workshop See: seminar.
World Wide Web (WWW or the Web) A system to pull various Internet services together into one interface called a browser. Most sites on the Web are written as pages in HTML.
worm A computer program that makes copies of itself and spreads through connected systems, using up resources in affected computers or causing other damage.
X
XML eXtensible Markup Language, or XML, is a specification developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It is designed especially for web documents. It allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations. Most “push” technology on the Internet is written in XML.
Y
YDNA The DNA inherited only from the father’s side of the family.
Index
Please note that index links point to page beginnings from the print edition. Locations are approximate in e-readers, and you may need to page down one or more times after clicking a link to get to the indexed material.
23andMe DNA test, 147
A
A2A website, 206–207
AAC (American Adoption Congress), 304
AAD (Access to Archival Databases), 166–168
AAGENE-L mailing list, 244
AAHGS (Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society), 243
Aboriginal ancestry, 245, 252
About.com website, 79, 302, 305
Abrams Foundation Historical Collection, 317
academic-genealogy.com, 75
Acadian-Cajun genealogy, 247–248
Access Genealogy website, 93, 94, 252
Access to Archival Databases (AAD), 166–168
The Accidental Genealogist blog, 309
Accredited Genealogist (AG), 348
address searches, 178
adopting.org, 304
adoption resources, 304–305
adoption.com, 304
adoptions, 146, 304–305
AF (Ancestral File), 348
A-files, 220
African ancestry
AAGENE-L mailing list, 244
African Atlantic Genealogical Society, 233
Africana Heritage website, 243
Caribbean genealogy, 245–248
National Archives and Records Administration, 239
online resources, 232–233, 239–244
South African Genealogy, 232
African Atlantic Genealogical Society, 233
Africana Heritage website, 243
African-American ancestry
Africana Heritage website, 243
African-American Griots, 244
African-American Odyssey page, 162
African-Hispanic resources, 228–229
African-Native American History & Genealogy, 252
AfriGeneas website, 239–242
Allen County Public Library, 210–211
American Memory, LOC site, 165
Caribbean genealogy, 245–248
census records, 173, 242
Christine’s African American Genealogy website, 313
Freedmen’s Bureau, 164, 216, 244
NARA page, 164–165, 239
slave data, 238, 239–244, 247
slave ow
ners, 164, 242
societies, 243, 244
African-American Genealogical Society of Northern California, 244
African-American Griots, 244
African-Hispanic family resources, 228–229
African-Native American History & Genealogy page, 252
AfriGeneas website, 239–242
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), 243
AG (Accredited Genealogist), 348
aggregator, 348
ahnentafels, 348
AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), 107
AIS Census Indexes, 173
Alabama Archives, 173, 323
Alabama history, 210
Alabama resources, 293
ALE (Ancestry Library Edition), 216
Alexa.com, 300–303
ALIC (Archives Library Information Center), 167
Alien Registration Forms, 221
All Things Cherokee genealogy page, 252
allele (DNA), 147, 348
Allen County Public Library, 210–211
Allen Public Library, 318
Alzo, Lisa, 308
Amazon, 284, 288, 295, 296
American Adoption Congress (AAC), 304
American Civil War
Freedmen’s Bureau, 164, 216, 244
slave data, 238, 239–244
slave owners, 164, 242
United States Civil War Center, 317
web pages, 315, 317
American Family Immigration History Center, 199, 303
American Genealogy course, 77–78
American Memory, LOC site, 162, 165
American military history/records
Civil War. See American Civil War
Fold3, 177–178, 316
Hessian soldiers, 228, 314
historical maps, 323
Library of Congress, 160, 163
military pensions, 160
NARA resources, 166
Revolutionary War, 81, 211–212, 316, 317
Vietnam prisoners/MIA, 163
World War II, 166, 167, 178
American Revolution, 81, 211–212, 316, 317
American Treasures, LOC site, 162
Ancestor Hunt website, 93
Ancestor Hunting blog, 307
ancestor tables. See ahnentafels
Ancestories blog, 72
Ancestoring blog, 72
Ancestral File (AF), 348
Ancestral Findings site, 92
Ancestry Family History Wiki, 68
Ancestry Insider blog, 54, 307
Ancestry Library Edition (ALE), 216
Ancestry Message Boards, 301
Ancestry.com
AIS Census Indexes, 173
blog, 263
census records on, 173, 174
collaboration features, 269
considerations, 262
described, 301
DNA research, 270–271
family tree feature (free), 265–267
Family Tree Maker, 39–40, 265
features, 262
forms on, 6
Images Online, 174
Learning Center, 68, 270
Livestream, 263
mailing lists, 277
member directory, 269
message boards, 269, 277
overview, 262–263
paid subscription, 262, 269
registration, 263
RootsWeb. See RootsWeb
search feature, 178, 267–269
ship’s passenger lists, 263
smart phone/tablet app, 44
social platforms, 262
story view, 267, 268
success story, 270
types of records/indexes on, 254, 263
using, 265–271
World Archives Project, 269
Ancestry.com app, 265
Ancient Faces, 302
Android OS, 348
Anne Arundel County Public Library, 210
anonymous FTP, 348–349
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), 107
APG-Second Life, 68
APG-Virtual, 68
APP (AtomPub), 349
Appalachian ethnic group, 252–253
Apple iOS, 354
Apple Safari, 33, 34
apps, 34, 42–43, 123, 265, 349. See also software
Arab genealogy, 244–245
Archival Research Catalog. See OPA
archives. See also specific archives
Alabama Archives, 173, 323
Archives of Michigan, 317
archives.com, 173, 301
Ellis Island Online, 199
Internet Archives, 321
NARA. See NARA
national. See National Archives
regional resources, 323–324
state, 19, 173, 210–212
USGenWeb Archives Search, 275
Utah State Archives, 324
World Archives Project, 269
Archives of Michigan, 317
archives.com, 173, 301
Arizona resources, 324
Asian ancestry, 225. See also specific countries
AsianGenWeb, 225
Association of Personal Historians, 306
atlases, 10, 46, 191, 228
Atom, 349
AtomFeed, 73
AtomPub (APP), 349
AT&T site, 96–97
audio resources, 46
Australian aborigines, 245
Australian ancestry, 232, 245, 311, 313
Australian Copyright Council, 57
Australian National Library, 313
autosomal DNA, 146, 148
Avotaynu publishing house, 289
Ayrshire Free Census Project, 172
B
backbone, 349
backups, 5, 23–24, 31–33
Bailey, Mary and Duane, 6
Basque Studies website, 313
Bastard Nation, 304
Bayley, Ed, 53
BCG (Board for Certification of Genealogists), 20, 53, 349
BCG Code of Ethics, 53
Belgium/Benelux, online resources, 225–226
Bible Records Online, 179
Bible Records Transcriptions, 93
biblerecords.com, 179
BillionGraves app, 44, 311
BillionGraves.com, 44, 311
Bing Translator, 224
biographies, 23, 93, 284. See also genealogical publishing houses
Biography Guide website, 93
birth certificates, 8, 159
birth notice, 8
birth records, 7, 159, 278, 311, 312
BlogFinder, 74
Blogger, 133, 141–142
blogging, 140, 349
BloggingGenealogy.com, 139
blogs, 137–144. See also specific blogs
Ancestry.com, 263
considerations, 68
DearMYRTLE, 68–70
decribed, 349
geneabloggers.com, 74, 308
guidelines/tips for, 139–141, 144
ideas for, 143–144
The Legal Genealogist, 51, 52, 149
listed, 72–74, 307–311
NGS, 258
software/services for, 141–142
terminology, 140
vlogs, 362
Board for Certification of Genealogists. See BCG
BookLocker, 295
bookmarks. See social bookmarking
books, genealogy. See genealogy books
bookshouldbefree.com, 320
Boolean operators, 88–92
Boumenot, Diane MacLean, 308
Brigham Young University (BYU), 76, 78, 313
British ancestry. See United Kingdom
British Civil War, 315
British Virgin Islands genealogy, 246
broadcasts, live, 134–135
browsers. See web browsers
bulletin boards, 349. See also mailing lists
Bureau of Land Management, 156–157, 312
BVI Civil Registry, 246
BYU
(Brigham Young University), 76, 78, 313
C
cadastre, 12, 349
Cajuns, online resources, 247–248
calendars
considerations, 13
French Revolutionary Calendar, 352
Google Calendar, 131, 305
Gregorian calendar, 353
Julian calendar, 354
National Genealogical Society, 260
Republican Calendar, 352
resources, 315
Calendars Through the Ages, 315
California University/state libraries, 210
Canadian ancestry
Canadian Genealogy and History Links, 233
Canadian Heritage Information Network, 323
Canadian-Jewish genealogy, 251
census records, 170
Creole/Cajun resources, 247–248
immigrants to, 233
National Archives, 170, 233
online resources, 6, 233, 318
Ontario resources, 318
Quebec resources, 226–227, 247
Canadian Genealogy Centre, 233
Canadian Intellectual Property site, 57
card catalogs, 204–213. See also catalogs
Caribbean genealogy, 245–248
Carpatho-Rusyn resources, 226
Castle Garden, 315
catalogs, 85, 349. See also card catalogs
Catalogue Collectif de France, 207
Catch app, 44
CD burners, 31
CD-ROMs, 31
cell phones, 43–44
Cemetery Blog news, 177
Cemetery Junction, 311
cemetery records
BillionGraves, 44, 311
Cemetery Blog news, 177
Cemetery Junction, 311
death records, 174, 176–177
Find A Grave website, 265, 311
Graveyards of South Logan County blog, 307
cemetery websites, 176–177, 265, 311. See also death records
Census Bureau, 15, 172, 311, 322
Census Bureau home page, 311
census records
African-American, 173, 242
on ancestry.com, 173, 174
Ayrshire Free Census Project, 172
beyond the U.S., 170–171
CDs, 179
Census Bureau, 15, 172, 311, 322
censuslinks.com, 170, 179
described, 19
interpretation of, 16–17
microfilms, 179
on Midwest Genealogy Center site, 6
mortality schedule, 17–18
Genealogy Online Page 33