Exploring A Lesser-Known Genealogy Resource: Sorted By Name

Occasionally, rather than using the search feature on any given big genealogy site, I'll do a Google search instead. Quite often, the top results will lead right back to one of the big sites. But, if you persevere, and scroll far enough, or jump page by page, sometimes you'll find a new resource to check out. Such was the case when I stumbled on Sorted By Name.

To be very clear, this smaller site aggregates public records derived from other sites. It does not claim to be everything for everyone. It does not claim to be a complete listing of anything. Nor does it have a fancy user interface (far from it!) It also does not provide addresses or phone number (as most databases of public information tend to do). It does provide summary information, and links for various record sets (but they don't appear to be super recent.) There's a nice range of years from the mid 1800's to the later1900's, though some states don't seem to be well represented. And if you're really ambitious, you can actually download the source files (but unless you have dreams of being a webmaster yourself, you won't need to). 

The main landing page is simplistic. For the sake of testing the site out, I used 2 names from my mother's side of the family, followed by 2 from my father's. Each search dropped me on the page with the correct surname, but I still had to scroll (or use Ctrl+F) to find the given name on the page. And in one case, I had to move a couple pages ahead (so the search was close, but not spot-on to the correct page). The first 4 searches I did weren't really helpful. Then I tried using my grandfather's name, and it did return 2 results. There was no new information for me though.

I noticed many results seemed to be from an area where my ex-husband has relatives (Missouri), so I tried a name from his side of my tree and finally had success! Was it an earthshattering wonderful result? No, it was simply a confirmation of a SSN and birth in 1885. I tried another name from his mother's side of the family, and again was rewarded with an accurate result. I was pleasantly surprised when search result showed this (I blanked out part of the Social Security number....I know it's public information but still.....):

Again, not earthshattering, but it was interesting to see the various iterations of the daughter's name spelled out. Encouraged, I spent a little time searching for 2 people I know had several marriages each, and where I'm missing the given name for some of the spouses. Sadly, my luck did not continue.

My results were slightly more miss than hit. While search capability is very limited (NO fancy filtering or full text search on this site), the simplistic format of results wasn't entirely displeasing to me (or perhaps the simple HTML site just brings back nostalgic memories of my first website). They claim to have over 400 million entries, and say search engines do not index all their pages. I noticed some areas tended to be represented better than others. New York and Missouri seemed to show up fairly frequently. While Ohio and Florida were less represented in my particular searches.

The site is free to use, and while it certainly wouldn't be my first stop for day to day research, when I find myself doing the same searches over and over on Ancestry, I might just head over to see if anything different pops up on Sorted By Name. Because really, can one ever have enough free resources to investigate? I think not! Cracking a brick wall might happen in the most unexpected place. And sometimes, a change in how data is presented can make something you might not have noticed suddenly click. 

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with the title and search description for this post. All post content was created and written entirely by me. 

Thinking About the FamilySearch Crash Course at Family History Daily? Read This First

Family History Daily just announced a new online course. It's called the FamilySearch Crash Course. Before I go into more detail, Family History Daily has a wealth of free information! Their main landing page has lots of articles, and the main menu includes Free Genealogy resources, Beginner Help, and Expert Guides. These are definitely worth checking out! You can learn a lot from their free articles, all without spending a dime.

Several years ago, I was looking for an online course to help me improve my research. I was restarting my tree, and wanted to learn more, so I could feel more confident. I originally found the site while evaluating various course options. At the time, they offered lifetime access (including to any future courses) for just shy of $150. I signed up, and diligently worked through all the courses. I learned a lot, and I definitely became a better researcher! I've enjoyed the periodic releases of new courses, and I've always taken time to work through each new course, because we never know it all. And we can all benefit from continued learning. 

While they still offer complete access to all courses, it's now $240 per year. You can still purchase individual courses, the price ranges from $59 to $249, and those do provide lifetime access - but only to the specific course purchased. I find the current complete access pricing a bit convoluted. They say "Take advantage of everything the course center offers with monthly or yearly access." While they do indicate the cost is $20 per month, it also says it's billed annually at $240. I looked, but did not find any option to truly subscribe month to month. It is absolutely possible to finish all the courses in far less than a year, and for anyone looking for solid and easy to understand courses, $240 isn't a bad price. But to continue paying the fee year after year would certainly add up. For those who may already be paying for subscriptions to Ancestry, MyHeritage and/or FindMyPast, the cost for continued access to Family History Daily year over year could be prohibitive. After all, most people probably don't go back and do courses a 2nd time. So continued access would mainly be to get the benefit of new courses. While I love the site, and they offer a wonderful learning experience, I wouldn't pay $240 year after year. If I were looking now, I'd probably pay for a single year, and then decide whether new courses would be beneficial at an individual course price.

But in any case, I do have access to the new FamilySearch Crash Course. From the course description, "You’ll learn how to search smarter, uncover records many researchers overlook, and finally break through frustrating research dead ends." There are 3 sections, with a total of 42 lessons. There are also hands-on activities, and quizzes to help you make sure the information is sinking in.

• Section 1: Mastering Search on FamilySearch (15 lesson)
• Section 2: Making the Most of the FamilySearch Family Tree (13 lessons)
• Section 3: Focused Research Strategies (14 lessons)
• This section includes how to make the most of the FamilySearch Wiki

I don't want to sacrifice all my research time, so I'm just fitting in a little daily learning, with one lesson per day. As far as the first topics on effective searching, the information is well organized and easy to understand, and search concepts could be applied to many sites. The cost for this course individually is $99. Before I'd plunk down the money for the course (no matter how helpful it may be) I'd suggest taking a peek at the Learning Center on FamilySearch.org. There are 225 pages of resources you can review for free. You can also head over to the FamilySearch Research Wiki where there's useful information on more topics than you can imagine - and it's totally free! Or, head over to YouTube, where you have 423 videos to choose from. 

I'm definitely not saying the Family History Daily course isn't worth it. I can only offer my opinion once I fully complete the course. If you're new to researching, and your plan is to stick with FamilySearch.org because it's totally free to use, you might very well benefit from the individual course. And if you simply prefer structured learning, it's a viable option. Based on previous courses I've completed at Family History Daily, you'll receive a solid introduction to the site, how to make the most of it, good research practices, and you'll be prepared for more success in your research. And if you want to go further with your learning, a year's subscription would definitely provide a solid base of knowledge - if you work through all the courses. But I'd be careful to make sure the subscription isn't on auto-renew (or remove your credit card information after the first billing). The current pricing model isn't as beneficial as the one in place when I originally signed up. 

In summary, I'd absolutely give the site 5 stars for content and presentation (both the free articles and the courses). But my overall rating would now be 3 stars, simply because the current subscription model, in my opinion, isn't sustainable. 

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with the title and search description for this post. All post content was created and written entirely by me. 

Your Next Breakthrough Might Be Hiding on Linkpendium

I site I don't see mentioned often enough is Linkpendium. For those who've been researching for some time, you're likely already familiar with the site....but when was the last time you gave it a spin? With the monumental goal to "...index every genealogy, geneology, :) family history, family tree, surname, vital records, biography, or otherwise genealogically-related site on the Internet", you can imagine they have a massive amount of links! According to Google, more than 10 million of them. And it's totally FREE to search!

Linkpendium is an extensive resource directory with multiple ways to search. Results encompass both free and subscription sites. On the home page, there are 2 distinct search options. Prominently located on the home page is the Family Discoverer search. It looks like this:

It's a little hard to tell in the image, but it says this searches "30,491,448 FREE genealogy sources." These cover 2,800,000 pages they index. In addition to a name, you can select a location of Worldwide, or a specific state.

On the right hand sidebar, you'll find additional ways to search. 

While you can reach localities and surnames from links by scrolling farther down on the home page, the city, county or family surname searches take you right to a Linkpendium resource page. It's a bit faster than navigating through links. They also note, these pages may contain resources not included in the search engine. If you're researching, be sure to try all the various search options to get the best results.

Since I've been searching for Abijah LeRoy (or LeCroy, or Lewy or....you get the idea) for more than a decade, I typed in the name of someone who may be his father, and conveniently also the name of his brother -Thomas LeCroy. I filtered to Georgia as my location. In just 46 milliseconds, Linkpendium returned 55 results for me to check out.

 Since limiting by date range isn't a search option, it may take a little patience to review results. As with any browser page, you can still use Ctrl+F and search for specific words on the page if it's easier for you. The results did correctly identify the brother, Thomas LeCroy's marriage to Lydia McCracken, but I already had this piece of information. So, nothing new today. 

Then, I decided to take a stab using one of Abijah's known children, Benjamin Franklin LeRoy. I found information on his marriage (already know to me) but it was from a page I'd never seen before for Murray County Museum (with many links to all kinds of useful information on Murray county, Georgia), Unfortunately, the home page indicates the site founder passed away and there will be no further updates to this newly discovered site. But I'm happy it's still being hosted for researchers to find. A quick search shows there's more information for me to examine for another surname (Luffman) in my tree! While I didn't find any new breadcrumbs for the search I started with....I'm pleasantly surprised to have this new Murray County Museum page to delve into further. Were it not for Linkpendium, I'd likely never have found this page. 

First created in 2003, Linkpendium is still being actively updated (as recently as March 26, 2026). Not every search will return results. And not every result will be the one you're looking for. But if you're hunting for a great resource perhaps offering some suggestions you've not yet investigated, Linkpendium is well worth a look from time to time. With ongoing updates, you never know when a surprise result might show up! (As always, I've linked this in my Genealogy Toolbox under Link Lists/Search Tools).