How Do I Find Those Darn County Names
When entering genealogical data we are often given a city and a state for a location–and we usually know which country that city or state is in. BUT, the standard genealogical format requires that four information fields be completed. <City(or township), County, State, Country.>
How do we find what county these cities are located within? Well…one way is to find a gazateer, either on line or a paper version–and look it up. Or, you can call a friend. Or, you can go to FamilySearch.org and if you can remember how to find their County Locator you will be able to find the location. But, there is a much easier and faster way to do this–and it never fails.
On your computer, go to your Google toolbar and do a Google search. Put in the name of the city, the name of the state, then type the word “county” –then hit <ENTER> OR <SEARCH>
Many hits will pop up as a result of your Google search, and when you briefly glance over the first two or three hits the county will jump out at you. I would suggest you look at another hit to verify your results. Counties can be located in as few as eight seconds.
Now that ain’t bad!