Pursuing ancestors can mean handwriting letters to county courthouses, laboriously scrolling page by page through microfilmed records and embarking on lengthy road trips to libraries around the country — all time-consuming jobs that can slow your research to a snail's pace. Make that a snail with a leg cramp.

You don't have to settle for such a sluggish ancestor search. Pick up the pace with our five strategies for using the Internet to make better time in your family tree search. So lace up your sneakers and grab your stopwatch — it's time to get the lead out.