Place Names Research at FamilySearch makes geographic research easier.
What began as a tool called Standard Finder from the FamilySearch Labs back in 2010 has evolved. Now available at www.familysearch.org/research/places, this resource has a simple search interface that delivers lots of information.
Search results pinpoint locations on Google Maps and provide links to other geo-referencing sites such as What Was There, HistoryPin, and TheClio, as well as a link to Wikipedia (don’t laugh – it’s great for geographic research). And the all important Alternate Names section is also there.
Best of all, the advanced search function includes searching by a range of dates, an invaluable new addition.
The example below is shows results for Freienwalde, Pomerania, the name and province at the time my great-grandmother’s family lived there, but now known Chociwel, Poland. And Freienwalde in Pomerania is different from Bad Freienwalde in Brandenburg, as I learned early in my research.
Even if you’ve already searched your place names on FamilySearch, come back and try again for some great new information.
Is there a link on their website for this, or do you need to remember the address you’ve posted? I haven’t found it, if there is. Thanks!
Evie, I don’t see a link from their main page. Using the catalog to search places doesn’t work either. So a bookmark of that URL looks like the way to go.