I am a first generation Australian of European parents and I am having a frustrating time tracing my ancestry via the internet. If my ancestors had been Irish, English or Scottish my search would have been far more fruitful. If they had migrated to America, I would have had a great wealth of information to dip into. I have listened to my friends of British extraction exclaim that they have found long lost relatives and could actually visit places and verify vague rumours mentioned in the stories that almost become myths as they are passed down the generations. My mother, still living today, and my father long gone, were story-tellers. So, I have some family history but as I compile it, I find so many holes and unanswered questions which could be resolved by a simple birth, death or marriage certificate.
The American genealogical sites are amazingly comprehensive as are those catering to British descendants. Unfortunately, many of the European genealogical links lead back to American websites, such as Ancestry and FamilyLinks. So in most cases if you enter a name you are given a list of American sources rather than those of the country you are researching. Admittedly these sites fill a gap left by the sparsity of European sources but they are not the answer.
Europe has a long way to go before it throws off its inhibitions and allows the world to delve into its family histories. The complexities of European history include its changing borders, the mass migrations imposed on the population of so many countries and the number of languages one has to know to delve into archival repositories or even to read their online sites.
In this blog I will be reviewing the various European genealogical sites that are on the web analysing what they have to offer. If you have any sites you would like me to look at or would like to comment on this blog please feel free to do so.
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