New website gives boost to 'newbie' genealogy buffs

Thousands of new family research buffs flock to the web every year about this time because of the new computer purchases during the holiday season. Genealogy, in the past a hobby reserved for the retired, and a profession of those who are duefully certified, has now become one of the web's largest pasttimes. With the massive amount of data that is available online, a new researcher can get lost or confused in the mix.

GenealogyBuff.com (http://www.genealogybuff.com) was created by Bill Cribbs of Port Neches, Texas, and an amateur genealogy buff himself, to be a catalyst that gives the 'newbie' researcher quick access to a ton of free data for their particular surname interests.

A surname tool on the main page allows the visitor to input a surname, click the submit button, and, voila, a list of pre-written search links are given, accessing many large, popular and obscure databases across the web. The links are arranged by categories including newspaper obituaries, funeral home obituaries, marriage record databases, military record databases, etc. A few of these databases are subscription-only ones and are marked with a dollar sign for convenience.

GenealogyBuff.com also has a constantly growing data library with state-by-state data files to scour either using the search engine or the individual state pages.

The main page displays a simple menu with choices including obituary, surname, immigration, cemetery, vital record, and research tool resources.

The site also features a dedication page, giving tribute to Cribbs' wife, Tina, who is a cancer patient and who is credited with the inspiration for the GenealogyBuff.com concept.