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New Issue....anyone recommend a good Genealogy Software

17 years ago

I thought I would just throw this out there....it is a computer issue. I can't find any other web site I can ask. I did post on one of Amazon communities. I need to replace an old program that I have.

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Comments (6)

owbist
17 years ago
familysearch.org offers a free program for genealogy down loadable from the link below.

If you have done much researching you are probably aware that they have the largest repository of names in the universe. They also have hundreds of libraries scattered around the world where you can visit and use their services. They offer computer, microfilm and microfiche but as the libraries are busy places it is necessary/adviseable to book times. Once underway and you aware of your name searches you can order specific films from Salt Lake City for a modest fee and that will be available at your local library for a specific duration of time. The library use is free, however donations are welcomed. I used to drop $2 in the jar and was told that was excessive. Film and computer in the library are free but there is a fee for booking films from Salt Lake.

There is a wealth of information at the link below. Yes, they are the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, Mormons.

Here is a link that might be useful: familysearch.org
casi
Original Author
17 years ago
I take it that you use this program? I have an old program that has been discontinued. Everytime I upgrade to a new computer or have to restore one, which I have done a few times, I never know if I'm going to be able to transfer my information. I have hard copy, but with so much information it is a little disorganized. I need something to be able to perserve what I have. Appreciate your info.
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It is also interesting to see how paths have crossed between not only cousins but families. For instance, in the 1850-1870 census my 5thGG was living next to a Dibble family in Flint, MI. When I was growing up in Flint, MI our neighbors were Dibble! Last year I decided to research a branch of my family that had migrated to Battle Creek, MI. There was quite a bit of info on this family in the local library and I decided to bring the research forward and contact some of the remaining family members. Not sure if anyone remembers the movie "Bitter Harvest" directed by Ron Howard? It was about the horrible problem of PBB, a fire retardant, that was accidently mixed in with dairy cattle fed in MI. I remember seeing that movie in the early '80s and I've talked about it several times over the years and it has always stuck in my mind. Come to find out it was my cousin that discovered the contaminated feed and it was on his family dairy farm! It is odd that I referenced that movie so many times and I had a connection to it other then drinking the contaminated milk! I ran into some birth records in IL for the same surname as my GC. Of course my interest was peaked and I did his genealogy back to the early 1700s. There was tons of info on his family at the local library so it was not difficult at all. His 4thGGM was named ELIZABETH but used the nickname LIBBIE. My GC has a daughter, 3yo, named ELIZABETH and they call her LIBBIE. I asked him if he had named Libbie after his GGM and he said he had no idea about his family history. Oddly enough both used "IE" instead of "Y" in Libbie. This is not the first time I've seen this either. Actually, what I started my family history research was my Mother wanted a copy of her father's birth certificate and had tried to find it but was not sucessful. I remember thinking that this was something I could do for my Mom and set off to find the BC. I finally did track down the BC but before hand found many interesting documents like his WWI military record, school records and so on. Well, that is all I needed! For me doing my family history is finding out just a bit about how my ancestors lived and what decisions they made along the way. My most precious record is that of my 4th GGM who one an award for hand spun wool at the 1854 MI State Agriculture Fair. I do tons of needlework and do weave and this connection was absolutely a thrill for me to find!
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When I first started out in the pool business in 1982, there were only a handful of choices one could make in regards to what equipment to use. It amazes me when I read all of your posts in this particular subject posting, just how far the technology has come. The choices can be overwhelming. Alot of guys like me tend to stick to what has been best for us in the long run. It has been my experience that: Sta-Rite used to be considered the best until they started having problems with their hair and lint pots. Hayward stepped up in the 90s, re-tooled and re-invented themselves. They took a big chunk of the market and then pi__ed it away by not honoring their warrantry on any of their product. Pentair stepped in and changed the market from there and in the process, they backed their product with an unsurpassed warranty. Now they seem to question every warranty. Everyone has had a different experience which of course will shape their views. Here is the question I have of all of you: Do you do the right thing? Do you take care of your customers and do you honor your word? Whether you are a builder or service person or manufacturers rep, do you show by you actions that you have integrity in a business that has been known to be full of thieves,liars and cheats? I love doing what I do, and it is always so rewarding when you have a client that has had a bad experience with somebody else that has done work for them, tell you how much they appreciate someone that did what they said they would do and did it when they said they would do it, for the price they said they would do it for. You can argue all you want about what equipment is best or what computer software is best but the most important thing should be to set yourself apart by doing the right thing by people. The homowners in this forum look to all of us as professionals to steer them in the right direction before, during and after their pool or spa experience. Let's concentrate on that above all else. The one poster that should be crowned King for all of his insight and help to homeowners and professional alike is "repair guy". You are the man!!!
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I use family tree maker because it syncs with my on line tree. I would like to have the update because it gives the family view just like the web site but it wasn't worth 30 bucks to me. I work on line so I can see which William and which Elizabeth I'm working on. Apparently my ancestors could only spell two names. I think Legacy also has a free version. Also Myheritage. The only thing about those two is they don't sync with computer programs and you are limited to how many people you can put in your on line free tree. I won't do familysearch tree because there are already too many trees out there with totally wrong information on them. Did you sign up for the Legacy newsletter? Have you watched any of their free webinars? I watch all the free stuff I can find. There's plenty out there.
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I, too, highly recommend Family Tree Maker. Let's face it -- if you're serious about doing genealogy research, you're going to be searching on Ancestry.com; and the latest version of Family Tree Maker actively synchronizes with Ancestry.com so that both your software and online tree are the same. Yes, in order to really get the benefit of Ancestry.com you'll need a paid membership; but, again, if you're serious about your research, it's worth it. I have access to everything that Ancestry has, worldwide, and it costs around $0.80 per day over the course of the year. More than worth it. Yes, the LDS web site, FamilySearch.org, is free, but if you want to see the actual documents (Census pages, etc.), you'll need the Ancestry membership because FamilySearch.org will simply link you to it. Family Tree Maker also will create all sorts of wonderful charts, etc.
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owbist
17 years ago
Casi, I used Family Tree Maker from Broderbund. It suited my purpose at the time. Not sure that you can simply copy over all your data with a few mouse clicks sadly.

However the upside of using the Familysearch program is that they are not going to disappear any time soon so there is little fear of becoming outdated. I never used it but did download a few times - in case I plucked up the courage to start the transfer of all the data. Moving the names and stuff did not seem daunting but adding all the notes as well made it a serious proposition.

Much of my data was stored on XL where I could add any variables I needed. My family is from the UK so I sorted the names as I found them in the 1850,1860,1870, 1880 and 1890 census. Plus there were columns for church records and birth, marriage and death columns.

I enjoyed it for over 3 years but got side tracked easily trying to understand the way of life back then, plus through family contacts my photo album of the departed grew steadily and I spent a lot of time repairing damaged photos.
bob414
17 years ago
I also use Family Tree Maker and like it. If your older program will export your data as a GEDCOM file most other genealogy programs will import a GEDCOM file. Family Tree Maker does. Another possibility is Legacy which will import and export GEDCOM files. The standard version is free to download but they will keep trying to induce to upgrade to the professional version. You can check it out at Legacy.com.
casi
Original Author
17 years ago
On an Amazon community someone recommended Legacy. My old program is Family Ties which was discontinued. It does use the gedcom file system; I just am not sure how to use it. I wasn't supposed to able to transfer my information but somehow???? I have always been able to move it from computer to computer. I'm just not very good with gedcom. My experience with the Latter Day Saints web site is I found some very not true information there. I haven't been there now for a long time. Is there anyone monitoring what is put there? I'll have to check it out. I could still use that site to store my information?
bob414
17 years ago
I don't know anything about Family Ties but if it will export (or save as) a gedcom file and you decide to give Legacy a try Just open Legacy and click 'File' > 'Import' > 'GEDCOM' and navigate to the file. I have exchanged files between Legacy and FTM that way and it works very well.

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