I have spent a lot of time on Ancestry doing my own family research, it is amazing on what little nuggets of information you can find on Ancestry. When I try my name the only thing that I can find is my phone #. But I love to go through the census to see what kind of information they asked, like do you own a radio? I also like to learn what their occupation was. One thing that I have learned through my own experience is to keep coming back and checking for new information. It is amazing how much information is added to this site. Also, if you cannot find a name in a census in Ancestry then try Heritage Quest. They have different indexes and sometimes they will spell things a little differently, giving you the ability to find what you are looking for.
When I tried the Photos and maps using the keyword South Dakota, I found a lot of interesting items, like baseball players? Didn't know we had any from SD. It was fun to snoop around, although there were a lot of hits either on South or North, so the use of quotes would help.
Heritage Quest
For family research, I haven't had much luck with this program, although if you are doing research on a famous person or event, this would give you great references of where to find information.
Sanborn Maps
I enjoyed looking at the Sanborn maps of my home town of Parker, to see what is different and what is still the same. I never knew that at one time there was a Presbyterian Church on Main Street that was heated by coal and had gas lights! If you would be doing any sort of research on a town's history, these maps would be a wonderful asset!
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