Genealogy changes over the 40 years of this column

Looking back over the past 40 years since this column began, the changes in access to genealogical information and research sources are immense. In May 1977, when we started, genealogists had to research by visiting a records center in person, such as a county courthouse, local library, or state archives. And that visit was only after they had mined whatever family sources they turned up from interviews or searching family materials. You could also go to a Mormon Family History Center and request microfilm to be brought in for use on site.

Things stayed pretty much the same until the advent of the internet and email by the 1990s. Then came the digitizing of records of all types, which was largely led in full-force by Mormons. Today with so much access to information stored online because of websites such as ancestry.com and familysearch.org, many people never have to leave home to research major sources.

We have also seen the maturing of genealogical societies that formed in the 1960s. The Georgia Genealogical Society has reached the 50-year mark (founded 1964). The Georgia Archives and National Archives at Atlanta have moved to adjoin each other in Morrow, creating a unique research spot. People can now access archived newspapers due to digitization on many websites, including the Digital Library of Georgia, GenealogyBank, and newspapers.com. The latest boon has been DNA testing for genealogy purposes. No one would have envisioned all these advances 40 years ago. It's hard to think of what might come next in the world of research sources and accessibility. We should also remember that records are not all on the internet and won't be for some time. Research institutions still hold a vast amount of material waiting to be studied.