Genealogy on Facebook

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a Facebook addict.

This is what I see at the top of Copper Leaf’s Facebook page

Back in college, when Facebook first opened it up to college students only, I climbed aboard and have never left. I didn’t really like MySpace but Facebook was different somehow and hooked me right away. Who knew it would sweep through the world like it has!

Using Facebook for genealogy may seem odd to some but there are many wonderful resources available on there that it is really worth your time to become a part of Facebook if you’re not already.

I know some people are worried about their privacy online, especially when using Facebook. However, you do have control over who you are friends with and what you upload and post to the site. Really, it is up to you to share what you’d like to online. Keep in mind that Facebook is a public area and if you wouldn’t announce something to a crowd of family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, etc., then you probably shouldn’t do so online.

So what is available on Facebook to make it worthwhile for the wary genealogist?

SO MUCH!

Each state pretty much has their own group. It can be a historical society, archives, genealogy group, etc. And this works for cities/counties in the state or even specific groups, like pioneers for that state/county/city.

There are also wonderful help groups! For example, there is the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (for the USA and outside of the USA). I am a member of that group and they are wonderful!

Another favorite of mine is Genealogy Translations. They helped me to decipher some microfilm records I was looking at, which was incredibly helpful!

There are many other groups too and I am a part of several! There are the GeneaBloggers, Genealogy-Cite Your Sources, Technology for Genealogy, Genealogy and Newspapers, Genealogy! Just Ask!, G A A (Genealogy Addicts Anonymous), The Organized Genealogist, and so much more!

On Tuesday I posted on my Facebook page a link to Katherine Willson’s Genealogy on Facebook List. I highly recommend looking through that list (you can search it using the ctrl-f function) to find new and more groups that you can be a part of to help you in your genealogy research. That list is updated frequently and is an amazing resource for any and all genealogists!

Anyone else love using Facebook as a resource? Comment below!

Happy hunting!