In an earlier post I mentioned that I recently asked a few genealogists to comment on the following questions related to online genealogy research:

Craig Manson runs a blog called GeneaBlogie and is the second Genealogist in this series of posts who replied with his opinions of online genealogy. Craig Manson has a diverse and varied ancestry that spans African American slaves, Native Americans and Colonial Settlers.

Craig Manson’s heritage is truly an American heritage and he chronicles his research on his blog. In my opinion, he is one of the foremost genealogists for American ancestry but he would tell you he is just researching his own ancestry and sharing what he learns along the way. Check out GeneaBlogie and see if you agree.

This is what Craig Manson had to say:

What do think the future can bring with regards to online genealogy research?

I think one thing that is coming is “person-centered” searching; that is, the ability to find and see records on an individual across many platforms. MyHeritage does something like that right now, but it needs refinement. I think two words that online providers are hearing are “content” and “collaboration.” Researchers want more of both, and I think they’ll get it.

What online tools do you use to research your genealogy and why?

I use a variety of online tools in my research. I use the large commercial providers like Ancestry.com and Footnote.com. I like these because of the two words I mentioned above: content and collaboration. Ancestry and Footnote both have great content and the ability to collobarate by contacting other researchers or by commenting and annotating records. I also use NewspaperArchive.com for its great content. That site was instrumental in my breaking a top sports news story about the first African-Ameican to drive in a NASCAR stock car event in 1955 (turns out it was my grand-uncle Elias Bowie).

I make great use of the online resources of various state archives. Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Georgia seem to have particularly good genealogical content online. There are several local libraries with superb content and for public records, several agencies of local government find me visiting often. Finally, I’m also a regular user of FamilySearch.org; there are records there to be found nowhere else online.
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What is your general opinion of the advantages and/or disadvantages of using some of these online research tools?

On balance, I think the advantages outweigh any disadvantages. One must keep in mind however that just because it’s on the Web doesn’t make something true or authentic. And, of course, most research is not online yet at all. So, it’s too early to give up on a good pair of research shoes and library specs!