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31 October 2016

"Find Anyone, Anywhere, Anywhen" by Noel Montgomery Elliot



In Finding Anyone, Anywhere, Anywhen, Noel Montgomery Elliot provides 181 pages of world website URLs. These 25,000+ website addresses include religious groups, countries and ethnic groups from Aboriginal to Zimbabwe. An updated directory is maintained on a paid member site, The Genealogical Research Library. The author shares his 30+ years of research in this interesting book. His unique style and choice of information is better understood against the author's background.

In the presenter's biography for One World - One Family, the reader develops a better understanding of Mr. Elliott's wide-ranging interests. Born in Toronto, Canada, Mr. Elliot lived and attended school in many various localities from Vancouver to New York City. His shortwave radio license and his expansive education gave him an interest in global affairs. His earlier titles include teacher and music supervisor. Since the formation in 1981of The Genealogical Research Library, Mr. Elliott has been the Director of Research. He is considered one of the earliest advocates of database searching.

On page six, the author writes a disclaimer. He states that the information represents only his views. "The reader assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this book." This lengthy disclaimer may be necessary due to the vast number of URLs. The author and The Genealogical Research Library are not endorsing any of the websites.

The author offers no sources for his statements. How many readers know that crests or coat of arms were given to individuals and not used for surnames (page 84)? The reader is told to avoid the heraldry merchants unless you have evidence of direct descent. As this is not general knowledge, the reader deserves more. The chapter contains 12 pages of crest design samples with genealogies. Where did the author find these examples? With every topic, this author drove me to more online research. Maybe that is the goal? Encourage the reader to dig deeper? The online Britannica Encyclopedia provides an interesting article for further reading.

What makes this book unique?
  • worldwide website directory
  • connection with online paid website
  • encourages the reader to dig deeper into online research
Elliot, Noel Montgomery. Finding Anyone, Anywhere, Anywhen. Buffalo: Firefly Books. 2009.

This book offers an opening disclaimer that the views are the authors and not necessarily facts, broad chapters and minimal citations.

Check area libraries, this book is available at the Gwinnett County Public Library, Georgia. Ask yourself, does this book help me advance towards my genealogy goals? Comments or questions, please contact Selma Blackmon, Thank you!

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