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). 

How to Analyze GEDCOM Files Efficiently with GEDminer

I've been looking forward to trying GEDminer, a GEDCOM analyzer. I'm going to resist the temptation to compare it to other consistency checkers I've used, because this one is exceptional and outshines any other I've tried. On the features page you'll find the brief description of:

"Upload a GEDCOM file and instantly access 12+ genealogy analysis tools — demographics, migration maps, error detection, census gaps, kinship calculation, and more."

I gotta tell you, when they say "and more" they mean it! I'm not going to list every feature (the list is simply too long) but even if you don't try it, it's worth heading over to the features page to see the potential it might offer, if and when you need it. Given this is a totally FREE site, and your data is parsed in your browser so it never leaves your computer, you can feel confident when using this tool.

While the site is totally FREE, you can register for an account if you wish. You can also support the site with a donation if you feel inclined to do so. With an account, you can save up to 3 trees. The data saved is parsed and only includes names, dates, places, and relationships. One feature I don't often see, but they offer, is the option to replace a file with a newer version - a feature I've longed for on sites like MyHeritage. If you don't sign up for an account, nothing is saved at all. 

On the Overview page, you'll find some stats as well as an "on this day" feature outlining births, deaths, and marriages on given dates. My sourcing and citations were 98-99%, but my completeness score is 73% - giving me an overall score of 88.79%. Given I know I'm missing some crucial dates, this was expected. To give you an idea of the user interface, here's a screenshot of my overview:

Clicking on any of the issues listed provides more explanation and detail. There's even a section for "quick wins" (sortable by impact or effort required) to help quickly improve your scores. Each page appears to have numerous filter and sort options.

The other main pages are:

• Directory (People, Occupations, Locations and Kinship)
• Integrity (Suggestions, Errors, Vital Sharpener, and Tree Structure)
• Discovery (Migration Analysis, Census Toolbox, Gap Detector, Incomplete Families, DNA Planner and Plan Generator)

I do want to take a moment to call out the Census Toolbox. A quick look at mine shows I moved on from the 1850 to the 1860 census, and I've done a fairly good job with it. But many other census years are really lacking in my research (just as I alluded to in a recent post). 

It goes a step further and suggests all the potential missing censuses, not just from the US, but other countries as well. (Clearly, I have a lot of work to do!!)

If you're still not sure about trying it, head on over to Fortify Your Family Tree - This Free, Elegant GEDCOM Analyzer Is a Wonder for a more in depth review. 

I've barely scratched the surface on this wonderful resource. You truly have to see this in action to appreciate all the features. Each page is filled with useful insights to help you uncover patterns, find potential errors and identify where more research is needed. I find the clear graphics and color coding very satisfying. The data is presented in clear, easy to understand format. This site is also linked in my Genealogy Toolbox under GEDCOMs. 

If you aren't already using this site, give it a try and let me know your thoughts! 

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

3,129 Relatives Later…I’m Still Just Getting Started

I took a moment this weekend to reflect on my tree as it currently stands. I pondered the growth of a genealogical tree compared to real life trees. Plantd has a wonderful (quick to read and easy to understand) post on the life-cycle of real trees (not to say our genealogical trees aren't real - they very much are!) We all start our tree as a seedling. It sprouts and then goes through a period of rapid growth. Our trees may quickly develop into a sapling (young adult trees). They grow taller and stronger, supporting a growing canopy of branches and leaves. The roots grow deeper to support the tree as it inevitably grows in size. 

Over decades, our trees continue to grow stronger and larger. Eventually, they become mature trees. At this point, with a solid trunk, many branches and good set of roots - vertical growth may slow and branches and leaves tend to fill out in areas where they already exist. There is still growth, it just seems to happen more slowly. At this stage the tree becomes an integral part of the ecosystem (in our case, perhaps the basis to help other researchers). Luckily, unlike many real trees, our trees don't have to fall or decay to become the basis for new growth. We can continue to grow our trees for....well...forever if we choose! 

Indeed, even in nature, there are trees living incredible life spans. The giant redwoods (sequoias) are thought to be able to live an astonishing 3.500 years! And while written texts go back as far as 5,500 years, none of us are likely to find written traces of our ancestors anywhere near so old. The oldest traceable family tree is of the Lurie family, dating back to 1037 BC (a stunning 3,063 years!) In more recent discoveries, DNA has unlocked more information on human history. Human DNA 45,000 years old has been found in Germany. And, DNA from Neanderthals has been dated to over 430,000 years ago! Thus far, my family seems very ordinary. As we stretch back in time, ordinary becomes less and less documented, and harder and harder to find. The oldest person in my tree is my 6th great-grandfather, John Martinus Homsher (1689-1747). 337 ago years seems like forever, but it's just s drop in the bucket.

I've intentionally grown my tree slowly. Despite being in my second decade of research, my tree is still young. This is in large part because, like many new family historians, I made mistakes...and LOTS of them! I started and scrapped multiple trees before I found my footing and felt confident in my research. My most recent tree (the one I swore to myself I would "do the right way this time" and never have to start over) was created in early 2021. So it's really only 5 years old. As of this post, I have 3129 people in my tree. Of those, only 38 need some form of documentation. Because I don't place a huge emphases on DNA matches, I've only placed 53 of them thus far (combined from both my and my ex-husband's plethora of DNA matches). I tend to prefer to find where they fit organically (when possible), rather than spending hours trying to dissect and document just to add one DNA match. Eventually, if I keep at it, many will find their way to their proper leaf.

Since my original purpose was to leave a more solid family history for my son than I had, I occasionally look at my tree from the perspective of him as the home person. I've located all his direct ancestors up to and including all of his 3rd great grandparents (both maternal and paternal.) And, out of 64 of his 4th great grandparents, I'm only missing 17. I must admit, he's not nearly as interested in genealogy as I am. He does occasionally enjoy hearing an interesting tidbit or two, but he doesn't share my passion for research. No matter, because I'll continue my search for decades to come! I don't think I'll ever tire of finding new discoveries...or having 20 browser tabs open in the relentless pursuit of one ancestor...or the satisfied feeling of finding where one more DNA relative fits in my tree. 

Image by Dee Guss from Pixabay