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Archive for November, 2010
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Two weeks ago at Boston Ancestry Day, I was asked a lot of questions about how to download an Ancestry Member Tree into Family Tree Maker. I think there are many of us who have a main “working” Family Tree Maker database but also have trees on Ancestry.com that we use for sharing and gathering information. And if you’re like me, you’re not very diligent about making sure that all your trees contain the same information. Fortunately, in Family Tree Maker 2010 and 2011, you can quickly download your Ancestry tree into Family Tree Maker and either keep it as a separate tree or merge it with one of your existing files.
Obviously, I can’t mention Ancestry Member Trees without raising the synchronization issue. As someone who uses Family Tree Maker on a daily basis and also has multiple Ancestry Member Trees, I understand everyone’s desire for this feature–and the urgency behind it. As I am sure many of you have questions about Ancestry.com is handling this issue, I am including this official statement, which I hope clarifies the company’s position. “Our customers frequently ask for more ability to synchronize and transfer data between Family Tree Maker and Ancestry Member Trees, and we want to assure you that we are listening. This is a complex issue and while we cannot say for certain when it will be resolved, it is an important priority that we are actively working on.”
Now, back to downloading trees. When you download your Ancestry tree, it will include all the facts, sources, and images you have manually attached to individuals. If you have linked Ancestry.com records to your tree, the downloaded tree will include only the information and sources associated with the records, not the actual record images (I’ll show you how to reattach these records below).
- Go to the New Tree tab on the Plan workspace.
- Make sure you are logged in to your Ancestry.com account. If you aren’t, you can log in by clicking the Login link on the Web Dashboard.
- Click Download a tree from Ancestry then click the Export button next to the tree you want to download.
- Click Import to save the file as a new tree; click Merge to merge the file with the tree you currently have open.
If you choose to import the tree, you will be prompted to enter a name for the tree and save it; if you choose to merge the file with an existing tree, the Merge Wizard will open and guide you through merging the trees. A message tells you when the process is complete.
Now to reattach a record image, go to the Sources workspace. Double-click a source citation. The Edit Source Citation window opens. Click the Media tab then click the Download Image if Available button. The image will download to your Media Collection and be linked to the selected citation.
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Just for fun on a chilly Friday afternoon: We created a
fun genealogy quiz that will tell you what kind of genealogist you are and what
classes can help you learn more about tracing your family!
Click
here to take the quiz. (Note: The Lady Gaga tickets being offered at the end aren’t
from us — it’s some kind of automatically generated ad. Sorry to disappoint any Gaga
fans. 
)
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Ancestry.com has launched the long-awaited Mac
version of its Family Tree Maker genealogy software.
The press release states Family Tree Maker 2010 for Mac “is constructed from the bottom
up to take full advantage of the Mac platform in terms of technology and user experience,”
but the features listed are very similar to those in the PC version:
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Ancestry.com searching: Search subscription genealogy site Ancestry.com from
Family Tree Maker and merge historical records and information you find into Family
Tree Maker. You’ll need an Ancestry.com subscription to view most search results;
the software comes with either a free trial or subscription to Ancestry.com, depending
which you opt to purchase. -
Multimedia support: You can add photos, documents, audio, video and other media
files to the people in your tree. Tools let you scan photos and document images right
into your tree. -
Family books, charts and reports: A strength of Family Tree Maker is the ability
to publish attractive family tree charts and books. - Slideshows: Create slideshows from photos in your tree
- Source citation: Standard source templates and other tools to help you cite sources.
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Migration information: Timelines and interactive maps help you visualize family
migrations and other events.
If you’re switching from the PC version, you’ll be able to transfer files directly
into Family Tree Maker 2010 for Mac from Family Tree Maker version 4 through Family
Tree Maker 2006. To import files from Family Tree Maker 2008 or a later version, you
can use the Windows-based conversion tool included with Family Tree Maker for Mac.
Look for our review of Family Tree Maker for Mac in an upcoming issue of Family
Tree Magazine.
Pricing starts at $69.99
at FamilyTreeMaker.com. (The PC version starts at $39.95.) You also can pick it
up in retail stores, including Apple Stores, Amazon, Best Buy, Office Depot and Office
Max.
System requirements include an Intel-based Mac with OSX 10.5.8 or later, 500MB available
disk space for installation, and internet access (for web integration).
(Just a reminder — Family Tree Magazine is not affiliated with Family Tree
Maker software.)
If you’re in the market for Mac genealogy software, check out the product ratings
in the July
2008 Family Tree Magazine, available as a digital download from ShopFamilyTree.com.
Get the lowdown on genealogy software for Macs or PCs in FamilyTreeMagazine.com’s
free Software Guide.
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Since we introduced
our Family Tree Magazine Plus membership a year ago, this online
archive of expert how-to genealogy advice has continued to grow.
Plus
members receive:
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online access to articles from past issues of Family Tree Magazine, right up
through the current issue
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guidance on family history research strategies, finding ancestors in the United States
and your ancestral homeland, online genealogy, using a wide variety of genealogical
records, preserving family photos and heirlooms, new and improved genealogy resources,
and more
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US research tips and state and county resource listings from the recently released Family
Tree Sourcebook
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the convenience of being able to keyword-search this genealogy knowledge base
(Of course, many of the articles on our site ,
as well as all the genealogy forms and cheat sheets, are freely accessible by anyone,
and we regularly add new free content.)
If
you become a Family
Tree Magazine VIP, you get the Plus membership and:
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a subscription to the print Family Tree Magazine
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10 percent off any Family Tree University course registration
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a 10 percent discount at ShopFamilyTree.com (log
into your store account before you shop)
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our exclusive Family Tree Toolkit of genealogy forms and a frameable decorative family
tree chart.
Click
here for FAQs about the Plus and VIP programs and how to use your membership.
News from around the web.
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FamilySearch’s new technology-focused genealogy conference, RootsTech, has opened
attendee registration at RootsTech.org.
Organizers of the conference, taking place Feb. 10-12 next year at the Salt Palace
Convention Center in Salt Lake City, aim to bring together creators and users of genealogy
technology to accelerate innovation in the field and “define the future of genealogy.”
FamilySearch RootsTech chair Anne Roach and marketing magazine Anne Harrison, who
talked about the event at last month’s Blogger’s
Day, say it’ll educate technology users on the best technological practices and
applications to use in their research, and educate software developers on the best
technological solutions to genealogical problems.
Attendees can improve their genealogical know-how through classes, hands-on workshops,
“birds of a feather” discussions and technology demonstrations that cover
- Using social networking to collaborate as families and genealogical societies
- Using cameras, scanners, and other preservation devices in your research
- Using cloud computing
- Using mobile devices and smartphone applications in your research
- Handwriting recognition and automated transcription
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Using web search engines and other finding tools GPS mapping for cemetery research,
finding ancestral homes and more
- Leveraging records digitization and preservation techniques and programs
- Capturing your research in a range of media, and converting files from medium to medium
- Understanding new genealogy markets
… and more. Opportunities for dialogue will include an “unconferencing hall” where
anyone can give a spontaneous presentation. Roach said there will be classes for the
technology novice (though people who have never used a computer might struggle), and
the syllabus will indicate which classes best suit which skill sets.
A few sessions will likely be broadcast free on the conference
website; in the future, a virtual attendance option might be available.
RootsTech combines the BYU Conference on Computerized Family History, the BYU Technology
Workshop, and the FamilySearch Developers Conference into one event.
Registration costs
$99 per person until Dec. 31, with a student rate of $35. The regular fee rises to
$150 on Jan. 1. Conference
hotel rates are $89 per night if you book in time.
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As you cast your vote today, after you first rejoice over the imminent disappearance of political ads, you may wonder if you can use voter records to track down your ancestors.
Maybe you can. State and local archives and libraries, town halls, and the Family
History Library (FHL) may have town or county lists of registered voters or those
who paid poll taxes.
Search your ancestral state archives website for voting, and try running a
keyword search of the FHL
online catalog on the town, county or state name and the word voting. You
can rent promising microfilm by visiting your local FamilySearch
Center. Subscription website Ancestry.com has
some voting-related records and digitized books, so if you’re a member, run the same
search of its
online catalog.
Here are some examples of the records you can find for various states and counties:
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Every four years from 1803 to 1911, Ohio counted men age 21 and older in various
counties to determine voting districts. These quadrennial enumerations are on FHL
microfilm and in some local genealogical society collections. An 1863 list of Fallsbury
Township voters is part of RootsWeb’s
free Tax and Voter lists search.
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Chicago voter records, which can help you substitute for the missing 1890 census,
are available for 1888, 1888 to 1890, and 1892, at the FHL, as is a 1937 voter registration
list. Lists for 1888, 1890 and 1892 are
on Ancestry.com.
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Ancestry.com also has a list of registered
voters in New York in 1880, as well as digitized books of poll lists for
1761 and 1765.
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California‘s “Great Registers” are county voting registers compiled roughly
every two years. Early registers included naturalization data and even physical descriptions.
The state library has
registers from 1866 to 1898 and 1900 to 1944, and reisters
from 1900 to 1968 are on subscription site Ancestry.com. They’re also on microfilm
by county at the FHL.
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Arizona has similar Great Registers, located at the Arizona
State Library and on FHL microfilm.
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In Kansas, members of the New England Emigrant Aid Society are thought to have
settled the area in order to influence voting on the slavery issue. A
list of those individuals and the territorial citizens deemed eligible to vote in
1856 is free on the Kansas GenWeb site.
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The Wyoming state archives’
collection includes poll lists for various counties (type voting into the search box
on the home page). You’ll find voting lists for part of Fremont County from 1907 to
1913 on microfiche at the FHL.
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Massachusetts towns kept lists of freemen (landowning men of legal age, usually
21 but as young as 16) who were eligible to vote. An 1890 list of poll tax payers
for the town of Maynard is part of RootsWeb’s
free database of tax and voter lists. The state
library has voting lists along with city directories in its special collections.
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We get plenty of questions around here about citing sources in genealogy research—what sources to cite, how to cite them, where to put all those citations, how to include citations in genealogy software, etc., etc.
That’s why I’m pumped about our upcoming Family Tree University class, Source
Documentation: How to Cite Genealogy Sources Accurately and Effectively.
Source citation can sound complicated, but you’ll learn that it’s just a way of making
sure you—or anyone else—can go back to the original source of the genealogical information
you’ve recorded.
Different kinds of genealogy sources—books, census records, online databases, oral
histories—require different citation styles. For books, for example, record the title,
author, publisher and location, year of publication, where you found the book, library
call number (if applicable), and the pertinent page numbers, like so: “Carmack, Sharon
DeBartolo and Erin Nevius, eds., The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists (Cincinnati:
Family Tree Books, 2004), 219-220.”
Our downloadable
Source Citation Cheat Sheet has examples of citations for censuses, vital records
and other sources. ProGenealogists
also has a guide to citing online sources, including databases such as those on Ancestry.com.
Where you cite sources is important, too. Some genealogists include a full citation
on the front of every photocopied record so the citation doesn’t get separated from
the data. Most genealogy software lets you type in citations or link to a digitized
record when you add information to your tree. See
our article for advice on adding source citations in your genealogy software.
The classic tome on source citation is Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources
from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Genealogical Publishing
Co.), also downloadable
in digital format from Footnote.com.
The Family Tree University course Source
Documentation: How to Cite Genealogy Sources Accurately and Effectively, taught
by Charlotte
Bocage and available for the November session (starting Nov. 8), goes into depth
about why to cite sources, how to cite them, including them in genealogy software,
and using them in the course of your genealogy research.
(To register, click the “view upcoming course schedule” link or the Register link,
then scroll down a little to find the Source Documentation course link.)