Raise your hand if you’ve ever been surprised that a website has a certain database, because last time you were there they sure didn’t, and when did they add that, anyway?!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever tried to use an online database, only to get frustrated because the database was created by engineers who were trying to make it as hard as possible for you to actually get to the image itself?

Is there a genealogist (ahem, at least, one who uses online databases) whose hand isn’t raised yet?

 

GenVines is all about online genealogy – helping genealogists navigate this new world of online databases. We focus specifically in a couple areas:

Genealogy news blogging

…about online records and resources in specific locations. Our directory of genealogy news bloggers spotlights those who blog specifically about online resources.

We encourage and promote bloggers who let the genealogy community know about new online databases published for specific localities. pick a locality that they are passionate about and blog about online news and resources for those areas. Bloggers are finding that those kinds of posts are the ones that are read the most, so we’re advocates for that, trying to spread the word about its value.

 

Volunteering

…to help get more records online

We promote projects like FamilySearch indexing, Ancestry’s World Archives Project, and other indexing or scanning volunteer opportunities, especially those that can be done wherever you are in the world. See the Volunteer Projects Directory for more information.

We encourage genealogy organizations to make the most of the internet and find volunteer projects that people can do, wherever they are in the world.

 

 

History

GenVines was created in early 2013 as a news service to share info about online genealogy database releases. I wanted to create a way that you could follow a place you were researching and get news and updates about new databases in those areas.

As time went on I became overwhelmed at the sheer amount of information that was being posted online. I realized that I couldn’t do it. To be most useful, I’ve always known that you need locality-specific information. So I decided to switch focus and advocate and encourage others to pick a location that they are passionate about and do the same thing – because as genealogists, we are missing out on so much!

Some have asked – what’s my angle? Am I a business, or “just” a blogger, or what? The answer is that I’m a little bit of both. The truth is that I have a day job in the genealogy world that I love. I created this site in my spare time to fill a need, and am not trying to make money with it. Someday, I probably will do something along those lines, but for now, I work on it because what I’m advocating is important, and I’m hoping that others will join the cause.

 

If you are a genealogy researcher…

With GenVines, you can:

• Find bloggers who post news and information about the places you are researching
• Find projects to contribute to that help more records come online

 

If you publish genealogy records…

With GenVines, you can:

• Discover who to let know about your new collections.
• Post information about volunteer opportunities that people can do from home.

 

If you blog genealogy news…

With GenVines, you can:

• Learn how to follow follow websites and post information in just a few minutes a day.
• Be listed in the directory, and discover other news bloggers that you can learn from and collaborate with.

 

Meet the Team

Janell Vasquez
I got my start in genealogy with a simple class on beginning family history research at BYU, and left college with a full-fledged degree, which ended up being a much better choice than my initial idea to major in math. I love solving problems and piecing the puzzle of my family’s lives together (which is much more fun than solving math problems).

I created this site after being frustrated, knowing how much is being placed online all the time – and that the pace is only going to accelerate. But because it’s spread out all over the place, it’s impossible to know what’s happening and where. I love helping people, and love the power of the internet to help people make connections. I am married with 3 kids, and I have a day job in the genealogy world, so while this site isn’t always at the top of the priority list, it is a labor of love and I use it to show as proof that you can accomplish a lot in just 30 minutes a day.

Lynda Avery
I have been married for 52 years and have three children and 10 grandchildren, with great-grandchildren coming along. I spent my working years in the insurance industry for over 21 years.

I served a FamilySearch mission for 3 ½ years in the indexing area and the Wiki. That experience helped me gain a stronger desire to work on my own family history. I had worked sporadically with researching my family for several years. I was first encouraged toward family history work as I watched my grandmother doing research, through all my growing-up years. She was still writing histories in her 90’s. I am now trying to devote more time to researching my family. I believe GenVines can be helpful to many people who are trying to find their families, and I hope to be able to contribute to that effort.