Church Record Sunday: Google Groups

One way to find more information about the religious group that your ancestor was a member of is to network. There are many ways to network on the Internet including email, websites, social network sites and message boards. One way to network on the Internet is to start a message group. You can easily start one in a matter of minutes, using Google Groups.

Google Groups, http://groups.google.com/, provides users a place to discuss a variety of topics. By typing the keyword ‘genealogy’ in the search engine you can see what groups are currently available. Once you are in the genealogy section of Google Groups, the various groups are indexed by region, language, number of members, and days since last posting.

To participate in a group or to start one, you will need a Google Account. You will be prompted for one when you go to Google Groups. To sign up for a Google Account is as simple as providing your email address and a password. This Google Account is good for many Google services such as Blogger, Gmail, Google Analytics, Google Reader and more. Once you have a Google Account, you will use it for all Google applications.

Once you sign in to Google Groups you may want to check out several group pages to get an idea of how other individuals and organizations have used their Google Group. Overall, Google Groups is easy to use and basically involves choosing a name and inviting others to be a part of your group. Make sure to take the tour of Google Groups to learn more about it before starting your group.

This is a great way to start a dialogue between you and other family members and researchers. You can ask questions about an ancestor’s religion and open it up to all the members. This is also a great way to collaborate and ultimately enhance your research.