Genealogy/Family History poll

[author_by_night]

You don't have to be remotely interested in genealogy or family history to take this poll. In fact, if you're not, I'd love to hear from you. Before I throw it at you, let me explain the purpose; I'm trying to explore why some people are more interested in genealogy/family history/heritage than others, particularly when it comes to certain areas and age groups.

You can also stick to the comments (especially if you've clicked "other" at least once) or do both. There will probably be a corresponding LJ post about this. If anything's personal, feel free to PM me instead OR answer anonymously.



[Poll #1939547][Poll #1939547]

Comments

[ms-geekette.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, did your grandparents get Social Security? (You can check for them on the SSDI - Social Security Death Index, if you're unsure.) I'm pretty sure they had to list their parents' names if they applied for that. Also, if they applied for citizenship that may also be on that paperwork (I know less about immigration paperwork, so I'm not 100% sure). Death certificates can also have parents' names, but that information is only as good as the knowledge of the person providing it (i.e. it can be wrong).

That's the main downside with genealogy...a lot of stuff is available for free these days, but there's still some potentially useful stuff that costs $$$$. Unfortunately you can't always tell if it will be useful before you shell out the dough. And I'm also annoyed that some things I spent a little bit of money on 10 years ago are now available online for free. XD A lot of US Federal paperwork will never be put online for free/ever though (like, I don't see that happening with SSN applications anytime soon), so at least you know you won't be paying $25 or so for something that will be online in 5 years.