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MOCAVO: The Search Engine for Genealogy

Mocavo is turning out to be big news for genealogy. This FREE genealogy specific search engine was launched last spring and has been growing rapidly ever since. Now, with Ryan Hunter a former Wall Street Analyst at the helm and well-known genealogist Michael Leclerc coming on board, the future of Mocavo looks bright indeed.

Mocavo offers an index of over four billion names and is reported to be the fasted search engine in the industry.

 

Mocavo for Genealogy

If you ask Mocavo how they measure up to Google, they will tell you that Google only indexes five percent of the webs genealogy content. This leaves millions of pages of family tree research information with no way to be searched. Mocavo is on a mission to “make searchable and index” ALL free genealogy information on the internet.

Thus far, Mocavo includes National Archives, Ellis Island, Library of Congress and Find a Grave to mention just a few. Additionally, Mocavo will lead you to an extensive list of Family Trees and individual genealogy sites. While a Mocavo basic search is free an  upgrade to Mocavo Plus will increase your search power.

Some of the features of the Mocavo Plus upgrade include:

Wild Card Search

If you are working off an old document and can only make out part of the name, just enter that and Mocavo will return a list of possible hits

First Name Alternatives

Just enter Liz and get returns for Lizzy, Elizabeth, Betty, actually any nickname alternative.

Sounds Like

We all have run across the many different spellings possible for an ancestor’s name. With Mocavo just enter the name as you know it. For instance, entering Abuda will return several combinations such as Habuda, Habood, Aboud etc. It saves from having to run a search for each.

These features along with several more, allow genealogist to conduct smart searches that save a lot of time. Of course, there is a fee for Mocavo Plus membership but you can opt in for a yearly membership or just go month to month at a reasonable price.

Once a member you will also have access to tools for publishing your own Family Tree that will let you share and collaborate with others.

If you have already tried Mocavo, Genealogy Beginner would love to hear about it. Join us on the Genealogy in General Forum and share your thoughts with other Genealogy Beginners.

 

Image Credit: esutera via Photobucket

Adoption and Genealogy: A Primer for Adoptees

Growing up in a family with a very healthy and robust “Scotts” pride brought the significance of family history home to me at a young age. From my family I gained an awareness of ancestry. Additionally, I experienced the sense of connection that only comes from knowing your ancestral roots…from the unique perspective of an adopted child.

As an adopted child, no matter how wonderful my family was at involving me in every aspect of their proud heritage, I was always aware that it did not really belong to me. I was equally aware that one day I wanted to trace my own lineage.

Through countless conversations with other adoptees, I know that this is a common theme.  As a result, I have come to believe that there is an intrinsic yearning in all of us to seek out and understand our ancestral and cultural origins.

Adoption is a Unique Genealogy Challenge

Genealogy for adoptees presents unique challenges on both emotional and practical levels. Among them are restrictive laws, ethical considerations, rights to privacy and even a sense of taboo associated with an adoptee attempting to trace their family tree.

Not least, among these concerns is the need to be sensitive to the feelings of an adoptive family, who may or may not support the wish to uncover a separate family history. Having said this, it also bears mentioning that an adoptees wish to uncover their genetic origins does not presume a desire to know their birth parents.

Still, out of a sense of loyalty and sometimes a guilty feeling of betrayal, sadly many adoptees wait until their adoptive parents have passed on before beginning any research. Clearly, genealogy for adoptees is a complicated matter that requires a good deal of careful consideration, patience, understanding and support.

If you are an adoptee, who wants to research your genetic family tree here are a few suggestions you may want to revue before beginning.

 

Seek Support

Before you begin your genealogical journey, join an adoption support group. Meeting other adoptees with similar interests in family tree research can be a great source of support and advice.

 

First Steps

Before you can begin your research, you are going to need a little basic information; you can start by asking yourself the following questions:

Do you know your place of birth? (Hospital, town/city, state, country)

Do you know if an attorney or agency handled your adoption?

Have you been told anything about your birthparents or the circumstances of your adoption?

Do you have a copy of your birth certificate or adoption decree?

 

Prepare Yourself

Before you find a birth parent, you should fully understand the need for discretion. Their lives may have changed significantly from the time they gave you up. It is possible that not all members of the family are aware of the adoption. Even if they are, they may not be supportive of any new contact. Respect their right to privacy.

 

Once you have accomplished all of the above steps, you will have gained some understanding of what you are taking on. You will also be far more prepared to begin your research in earnest.

Genealogy Beginner supports the efforts of all adoptees in their quest to discover their roots. Join us on the Ask a Genealogist forum where your questions about genealogy and adoption are encouraged by our resident genealogist, who is also an adoptee.

 

Image Credit: Nath_013 via Photobucket

 

 

 

Family Tree Research – The First Steps

Some folks are asking about family tree research and if we could offer some ideas/assistance with how to actually find your ancestors. We’ll spread the ideas out over several posts so you can digest things in small chunks (at least my mind works that way).

 

 

 

That said, I’m going to assume …

• You have a family tree template and understand how to fill out a family tree.

• You’ve got the passion to create a family tree that will make you and your family proud.

• You’re having a little trouble researching your family history.

• Your biggest challenge…? I’m going to assume you simply don’t know where to start.

The first step is to organize your paperwork. Some people like to get a special notebook or pen for notes. Something to make it special. With this in place, you need to write down everything you know about your family. But focus just on you, your parents, and their parents. This “family brainstorming” will be critical to help guide your initial research. (More on this later.) The initial research starts with your living parents and grand-parents. Getting information from them and, more importantly, getting permission to rummage around their attics. These will be your first (and best) research resource.

Here is what you’re looking for… the full name, birth date, marriage date, and date of their death.

Check future posts on where to go from here.

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