I've caught the genealogy bug.

I've been poking around a bit in between assignments (actually, I've been wrestling for a payment that's way overdue, and I refuse to take on more work without it, long story) and it's like a scavenger hunt. You find a little somethin' somethin', and it's such a rush you can't wait to find that other little tidbit.

I have Mad Google Skillz. Heh.

I'll post privately about what I've found, but in wandering around the interwebz I happened upon this site. What is so cool about it is you can volunteer to become an Indexer. Sign up is free, and you can download and run a program that displays old census records from various parts of the world (although I stick to the US) and transfer information from microfilmed handwritten records to computer entries so everyone can access them.

They use a double system, meaning you transcribe (or index) the info and someone else does the same page. Discrepancies are noted and passed along to an arbitrator, who then resolved them. The site is run by the Church of the Latter Day Saints, but the project is really global and so far no one has tried to save my soul in a ziploc bag or anything like that.

It's really fun work -- I've done indexing for South Dakota and Missouri from two separate eras (the 1910 census and a list of women with the same name) and I like the idea I'm helping other people get in touch with their past, especially since I found some significant information that way.

Too bad it doesn't pay, but it's just totally fascinating to see where everyone came from, how many children in their family, and imagine their stories. Plus, I'm pretty good at data entry and I actually like it.

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What I've found out I'll post in the private part of the blog. If you're interested or if you've forgotten the password, send me an email and I'll hook you up.

Keep the tea hot. I'll be awhile. Heh.