You’re chasing down that elusive forefather, you have 20 tabs open in your browser, filled with records and searches, and you suddenly understand it’s time to be done for the day. It’s called Goldie May.

I just recently had a possibility to explore it myself and really enjoyed this special program. Let me walk you through.

How to Use Goldie May Alongside Your Genealogy Research
What is Goldie May?
Introduced in 2021, Goldie May (named for 2 of the designer’s ancestors) is a browser extension that is compatible with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. It runs alongside your web browser window and provides numerous tools that assist to organize and enhance your household history research.

How Much Does Goldie May Cost?
Goldie May is a complimentary web browser extension that can be upgraded to Plus or Pro to open unlimited use and extra functions.
Installing Goldie May and Logging In
When you are ready to begin, go to the Goldie May site and click the Install free of charge button. The extension (an extension is a tool that adds performance to your web internet browser) interfaces directly with the FamilySearch site and uses your FamilySearch login.

FamilySearch is totally free, so if you do not have a tree on FamilySearch, you can sign up for an account quickly either previously installing Goldie May or throughout the process of setting up the extension. There is no other method to log into Goldie May, however if you have already connected your Google (or another) account to FamilySearch you will have the ability to use that login.

This screen shot reveals the area of the Install totally free button on the Goldie May main page.

You will be redirected to the extension shop for your web browser once you select this button. To set up, click the Add to Chrome (or your web browser name) button.
After you have installed the Goldie May extension, click on your extensions list and pin Goldie May to the toolbar on the top of your screen, so that you have easy gain access to. In Chrome, the extension list icon can be discovered on the far right, right before your profile symbol. In the screenshot listed below that is the puzzle piece sign to the far. The g icon is Goldie May

This screen shot reveals the location of the Goldie May extension icon in the extensions toolbar of the web internet browser.

When you click on the icon, a window will pop up asking you to check in with FamilySearch.

Here is a screen shot of the Goldie May check in page, with a button that checks out Sign-in with Family Search.

Check in utilizing your FamilySearch login, and you will see the Goldie May menu in the window.

This window appears on the right-hand side of your screen. You can move it, enlarge it, or lessen it as you require to while you are working. It can particularly useful to decrease the size of the window, along with your web browser window, and location Goldie May to the right or left of your web browser so you can use it while you research study.

Now that we’re set up, let’s do some research using Goldie May’s totally free tools! The tool offers a number of features and we’ll take a look at each separately.

Utilizing Projects in Goldie May.
The very first complimentary tool displayed on the Goldie May home screen is Projects. This tool enables you to arrange all of your research study pertaining to a particular ancestor or family into one place. When you click on Projects in the main menu, you will come to the Projects screen, that includes a New Project button. Click this button to start a brand-new task.

This screen shot shows the Projects menu item with the New Project button.

I started a brand-new project on my husband’s forefather, Johann Ludwig Borchardt. I have actually long been stuck on discovering Johann’s birth record in Pomerania, so I am hoping that Goldie May will assist with my search. By clicking on the New Projects button, I was able to begin a job related to this forefather simply by using his name as the title of my task.

This screen shot demonstrates how to begin a Project by providing it a title in Goldie May.

Notice there are places where notes, individuals, tasks, and collaborators can be added. I took the time to add Johann’s birth and death info, in addition to the names and FamilySearch ID numbers from my FamilySearch GEDCOM to individuals section. Here’s how it looks:

This screen shot reveals notes and a list of individuals added on the Projects page.

I likewise included 2 tasks. The very first refer to the birth place that I have on record for Johann, and the 2nd relate to the birth place I have on record for his better half, Caroline Louise Ziemann:

This screen shot reveals a brief task list under Tasks on the Projects page.

As I conduct my research, I can add websites to this section so I can monitor sources where I find beneficial details.

There is likewise an area under Projects where you can go into partners. If you are working on a tree with another scientist who uses Goldie May, you can enter their details here. They will then have access to whatever that you have actually found, and vice versa.

This screen shot shows the place of the Collaborators e-mail list.

Consider the Projects space as your personal organizer simply for your household history research study.

The Research Log
As you look for forefathers online, Goldie May can keep track of each web page that you go to and position a link to that page in the Research Log. To do this, just go to the Research Log area and click the “Automatic Logging On” button. This will keep record of every single page you go to as long as Goldie May is open.

You do not have to remain on the Research Log screen for this to work, it will log in the background. If you reduce the Goldie May tool, for instance, and go back to your web browser or go to a different screen in Goldie May if will continue to tape up until you tell it to stop.

If you prefer to just log pages you select, you can strike the “Log Page” button when checking out any site in your internet browser (with automated logging off). If you have Goldie May open beside your internet browser, this is easy. If you do not, you will need to minimize your window and after that open the Goldie May window to strike the Log button.

As I established the project for Johann Ludwig Borchardt, I clicked on numerous pages in both FamilySearch and Ancestry.com to look up the info I already have. Goldie May taped the pages I visited, as shown here:

This screen shot shows a list of sites gone to on the Research Log page.

Since I had the automatic logging option switched on as I searched, Goldie May tape-recorded every web page that I went to and recorded the links.

The Research Log also has a search function, so that you can easily find links in your list or delete them at any time. You can include notes to your visit the top of the screen, or you may include notes to an individual webpage record by utilizing the Abstract button. You can likewise export these logs. As far as I can inform, there is not way to develop more than one log, nevertheless, such as by forefather, date or site.

Storing Windows and Tabs
Goldie May will conserve all of your tabs at once so that you can quickly return to them later on. Click on the Windows and Tabs function and you will see all of the tabs you have open listed.

This screen shot reveals a list of tabs with the title Window 1 and a Save button heading the list.

Under Window 1, you can see all of the tabs I had open while setting up my look for Johann Ludwig Borchardt. I clicked Save, and Goldie May created this listing of my tabs:

This screen shot reveals the saved list of tabs under the Windows and Tabs menu.

I can now return to these tabs whenever I desire, merely by clicking on the Open All button. The Windows and Tabs function is limited in the complimentary variation to 1 set, so if I wish to conserve a brand-new set of tabs, I will have to delete this set.

Using this feature is a great way to develop a log of a particular session that you can return back to quickly. You might, as an example, open just tabs associated with your research study for a specific ancestor (as I have actually done) and save them. You could close those tabs and start research study on someone else (or do something else totally) and quickly reopen the tabs related to your research for that ancestor at one time.

This function is restricted free of charge users, but updating to Goldie May Plus or Pro will offer endless access to this and other locked or restricted tools.

The Unique Subway Map Feature in Goldie May
Let’s go to the Subway Map now. When you open this function, it will prompt you to navigate to FamilySearch or Ancestry in your internet browser window, so make certain you have your forefather brought up in one of those family trees first.

View the actual profile page of an individual on either one of those websites and after that take a look at your Goldie May window. It will ask you to confirm the ancestor and then you will see something comparable to the screenshot below.

This function has actually limited access totally free users also; you can utilize it for 5 people each month unless you update. I used among my 5 for Johann Ludwig Borchardt. Here are my results.

This screen shot reveals the Subway Map blue line chart of places where the ancestor resided in relation to a timeline of his life.

The Subway Map shows the timeline of Johann’s life and the places on record for him in my existing research study. This function has some setting choices– consisting of whether to show the births of children, recommended tips and border modifications in the timeline.

This screen shot reveals the optional attachment details for the Subway Map in Goldie May.

For this search, I switched on all the alternatives. I likewise clicked the Map the Places choice and a world map appeared in my browser with a message that not all of my locations could be mapped.

I then recognized that Johann’s birthplace is no longer called Lasbeck. If I had pulled my data from FamilySearch, the extension would have permitted me to reload my data with the brand-new name. Since my active tree is on Ancestry and this is where I pulled my information from, I was not able to edit and would have needed to start a brand-new map.

Rolling over a point on the timeline, a tip or a limit provides additional details. The limit details is particularly remarkable, allowing you to explore how modifications to your forefathers’ areas might affect your record searches.

Tips appear to be of a basic nature, such as recommendations to browse the census or papers in a particular year. Direct links to these resources on FamilySearch, Ancestry and other sites are included which could potentially make it simpler to find the record you require or reveal brand-new resources.

This function is certainly one of a kind and allows you to envision your research in a brand-new method. At any time we are presented with data in a new light, we are provided the chance to find things we missed out on. For this factor, the Subway Map is well worth your time.

The Catalog Feature
One function that is currently in Beta screening, but reveals some nice capacity, is Catalog. This function allows you to browse numerous online databases at the exact same time based upon name.

The tool is a bit particular about how you go into a place name and I did not get any results when I enter Johann Ludwig Borchardt’s places of birth or death, however I had some luck when I made my search more basic.

Here’s part of the result I got when I key in Marathon for Marathon County, Wisconsin. (When I included County, I got no outcomes.).

This screen shot shows a sample of the Catalog list based upon a name search.

Bear in mind that the sites the Catalog links to might have subscription costs, however you can a minimum of see what is out there which is always a good plus.

Upgrades and Additional Tools.
As mentioned, Goldie May offers 2 upgrade alternatives which you can check out on their site. These upgrades unlock unlimited usage of the Subway Map and Browser Tracking in addition to several extra tools.

I was very impressed with Goldie May. It’s offering tools that are difficult to discover or nonexistent in the genealogy neighborhood, in one convenient area. Whether you use the free variation, or pay to update at some time, you’ll likely be glad you did.