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Archive for December, 2011
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An update for Family Tree Maker 2012 (Windows) is now available. It contains a number of improvements and fixes of reported issues. Some examples are:
- Improvements to TreeSync performance, media download times, and fixes for sync errors
- Faster importing of all file types
- Added support for tags and media links when importing and exporting GEDCOMs
- Increased accuracy when pinpointing locations on the map
A detailed list of enhancements and bug fixes and instructions on installing the update is available in the KnowledgeBase. In addition, this update includes a number of new features:
TreeSync Hints
If you’ve used TreeSync to create a linked Family Tree Maker and Ancestry tree, Hints will also sync. For example, if you accept a Hint for an individual in Family Tree Maker, you won’t see that same Hint in your online Ancestry tree.
Ability to Exclude Record Images When Downloading Ancestry Trees
When you download your Ancestry tree into Family Tree Maker, you can decide whether or not you want to download images of Ancestry records you’ve attached to your tree. You may not want to download images if you’re worried about hard drive space or have a slow Internet connection. If you don’t download the images, you can still view the records easily because Family Tree Maker includes links to the online records.
New Undocumented Facts Report
For years we’ve heard that our users want a report that shows which individuals and facts in their trees haven’t been sourced. And now they find this information using the new Undocumented Facts Report. To access the report, go to the Collection tab on the Publish workspace. Choose Source Reports and double-click the Undocumented Facts icon.
Streamlined Task List Report
When you generate a task list, you can now include or exclude categories, dates, and individuals the tasks are attached to. To access the task list, go to the Collection tab on the Publish workspace. Choose Person Reports and double-click the Task List icon.
New Option in the Outline Descendant Report
Now you can create an Outline Descendant Report that shows only direct descendants between an ancestor and one of his or her descendants. To access the Outline Descendant Report, go to the Collection tab on the Publish workspace. Choose Relationship Reports and double-click the Outline Descendant Report icon.
New Option in the Data Errors Report
The Data Errors Report can now list instances where you’ve entered invalid dates. To access the report, go to the Collection tab on the Publish workspace. Choose Person Reports and double-click the Data Errors Report icon.
Simplified Sourcing
When you link an individual to a source citation (on the Sources workspace), you can now select multiple facts at the same time.
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I’m not sure why I am surprised by how many of you were there or had family who were there. I have read every one of your stories as they have streamed in over the past week. Those first hand accounts help us remember the living history of pivotal events in the world. You remind us of the emotions and the details that often get scrubbed from the factual retelling of circumstances from which we are far removed.
Most of us weren’t there. We didn’t have family there. Seventy years ago my grandparents and great-grandparents were living in California, Arkansas, and Texas. None of them lived in Hawaii. None of them had even been to Hawaii. But, what happened on the morning of December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor echoed all the way to the mainland.
One grandfather was in the National Guard out of Arkansas. He was ordered to active duty in 1941. Stationed first at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, then moved with his regiment to Camp Bowie, Texas for additional training, he maintained a long distance courtship with his sweetheart. Before long he wrote her to join him in Texas where an army chaplain officiated my grandparents marriage on December 6, 1942. They had a short time together before my grandfather was shipped overseas. My grandmother moved to California where she was employed at Douglas Aircraft. They didn’t see one another again until the war was over.
My other grandpa, raised in the home of a World War I veteran and career army man, enlisted less than eight months after he married my grandma. He served first in the European Theatre and was then transferred to the South Pacific without a visit home in between. My grandma, Doris, worked, took in roommates, and saved to purchase a home before he returned in late 1945.
Grandma Doris is now 89 years old. She is the only one of my grandparents still alive. I spent the Thanksgiving holiday with her at her home in Los Angeles last month. While there I thought about the significant historical events that have occurred in her lifetime. I asked her a lot of questions and realized that sometimes her memory requires a little bit of encouragement.
One afternoon I played for her an audio of President Roosevelt’s speech to Congress on the day following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I asked if she remembered December of 1941.
“The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation…All measures must be taken for our defense…No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”
“Oh, yes!” she said. “I remember. We were huddled around the radio for days. We talked about the war before that – what was going on in Europe. After that, the war is all we talked about. I had friends there. Fellows I went to school with. Lots of them never came home.”
I tried to wheedle a few more details out of her. But, they got lost or confused in a mind dim with age. So, I turned on some Glenn Miller music and had her re-tell the story of how she met my grandfather that same year, 1941. Not a detail lost in THAT story.
As I have read through your memories, in preparation for this National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, I am again reminded of how important it is to record our living history. Family history isn’t just about names and dates and places. It’s about real people who experienced very real things, people who often made difficult decisions and great sacrifices. Capture the emotions and the personal perspective of pivotal events in the world, or crucial events in our individual lives, before they are lost. Then, share them with others so we can all gain a greater understanding of our common history.
Until next time…
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Join Ancestry’s own barefoot genealogist, Crista Cowan, as she shows you the answer to this week’s question: How do I find the maiden names of women in my family tree?
The event will be happening today, December 6, @ 8 pm EST (5 pm PST).
The broadcast will be aired on the Ancestry.com Livestream channel, as well as from our Livestream Tab on Facebook.
And if you can’t make it? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to watch the event recording right after it’s over on the Ancestry.com Facebook page.
About our experts:
Crista Cowan has been with Ancestry.com since 2004; her interest in family history, however, reaches all the way back to childhood. Send Crista questions for future events at ask@ancestry.com.
Watch the Livestream broadcast below:
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Today’s installment of our 12 Days of Savings will help you complete a nagging item
on your genealogy to-do list: Getting your research organized.
Now you can
get the Organize Your Family History Value Pack for just $49.99 with code DECDEALS.
That’s $20 off the regular price of this kit (which is already discounted over the
cost of buying each component separately).
What’s inside? Instructions and tools to guide you through the process of decluttering,
sorting and filing your research (on paper and on your computer), and maintaining
a system for organization.
Here’s what the Organize
Your Family History Value Pack includes:
- Organize Your Genealogy: Family Tree University Independent Study Course download
-
Organization Made Easy: 5 Simple Ways to Get Your Family History in Order on-demand
webinar - Organize Your Genealogy Life! CD
- Organize Now! book
Get
more details on the Organize Your Family History Value Pack here. You could devote
some of your holiday time off to starting the projects in this value pack, and start
the new year feeling in control of your research.
Click
here to take advantage of this deal.
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Today’s 12 Days of Savings bring you 50
percent off the Family Tree Magazine 2012 Genealogy Desk Calendar when you use
offer code DECDEALS.
The lovely family photos and stories in the calendar deliver research inspiration,
and at the 12 Days of Deals price of $6.50, it’ll pay for itself with the included
ShopFamilyTree.com coupons.
It would make a great little gift for your genealogy pals and your favorite librarian. Click
here to get this deal!
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Seventy years ago today, the Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, sent this dispatch to major navy commands and fleet units.
It was the first official word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS
Arizona was destroyed, killing 1,177 officers and crew. The USS Oklahoma capsized.
About 2,400 Americans were killed.
As the number of survivors of the attack—now around 2,000—dwindles, the Pearl
Harbor Survivors Association has elected to dissolve
at the end of this year.
Now it’s even more important for those who didn’t witness the attack firsthand to
preserve the memories of that day. Here are a few places to start:
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The free Interactive
USS Arizona Memorial on Fold3.com lets you search for a name and leave a virtual
tribute, story or photograph of a crewmember.
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National
Archvies digitized records related to the Pearl Harbor attack, including military
dispatches regarding the attack, photos of the aftermath and official correspondence.
You also can watch the Archives’
video about US Navy deck logs, records that contain sailors’ accounts of the day’s
events. -
WWII
genealogy resources
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If you love historic houses and you’re in a holiday kind of mood, see if a historic
house museum near you is decorated, vintage-style, for the holidays. You’ll get a
feel for Christmases before plastic tinsel and the crazy Target lady.
Run a web search or check the events section in your newspaper for events at museums
near you, or tours of private homes. You also can browse the historic house museums
in the MuseumsUSA
directory. I did a little Web surfing, and my personal jet, if I had one, would
fly me to these holiday houses:
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Belle
Meade Plantation, Nashville Tenn. A Century of Christmas: 1853-1953, shows how
Christmas celebrations here evolved from fresh greens and a simply decorated tree
in 1853 to 20th-century electric tree lights and characters.
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Glessner and Clarke
House Museums, Chicago. Two museums display different aspects of holiday celebrations.
Clarke House exemplifies emerging holiday customs of the 1850s with simple decorations,
and more elaborate decor at Glessner House reflects the growing interest in the celebration
of Christmas.
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Pabst Mansion, Milwaukee. This
beer baron’s mansion features a nationally recognized Christmas display representing
America’s Gilded Age.
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Kimball
House Museum, Battle Creek, Mich. A lovely Victorian house museum features lavish
decorations.
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Aiken-Rhett
House, Charleston, SC. This home re-creates the Victorian Age in its holiday decor.
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Mackenzie
House, Toronto. This row house belonging to Toronto’s first mayor is decorated
in holiday greenery. -
Christmas
at Arlington, Birmingham, Ala. Flowers transform this Antebellum home, built by
one of Birmingham’s founders, into replicas of Christmas past.
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A Christmas Story House,
Cleveland. So this isn’t exactly pre-outdoor electric lights, but it’s definitely
nostalgic for those who remember Ralphie’s quest for an air rifle and Randy’s immobilizing
snowsuit. You can tour the house where much of the 1983 movie was filmed and and get
your own version of the Old Man’s leg lamp.
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Today you can save an extra 20 percent on our on-demand
Virtual Conference videos with code DECDEALS. That first-of-its-kind online event
featured half-hour video classes from Family Tree Magazine experts. (Click
here to learn more about the Virtual Conference.)
Even if you missed the conference, you can take advantage of 17 great classes, including
-
Irish
Genealogy Online with Rick Crume -
Finding
Your East European Ancestors’ Village with Lisa A. Alzo -
Build
Your Research Toolbox with Thomas MacEntee -
Platting
Metes and Bounds Properties with Diana Crisman Smith -
Digital
Preservation for the 21st Century with Sunny Jane Morton
Virtual Conference video classes are available individually or in packages. They’re
already on sale—now’s your chance to save another 20 percent. Click
here to check them out.
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Do you go on family history research benders every once in awhile?
I do: I’ll get inspired after a genealogy conference or when I read about new records
on a database site, and I’ll spend any spare time on research for days. Then regular
life takes over until the next spree.
Family Tree University‘s new Power
Courses are designed for genealogists who do their family history research (and learning)
in spurts. When you sign up for one, you’ll have access for one week (Monday through
Sunday) to a number of learning tools: videos, lessons, downloadable guides and forms,
even coupons good for 25 percent off future FTU courses.
You pick the topic you need and the week you want, and we’ll be ready to teach you
what you need to know to immediately tackle the problems you’re facing in your research.
Two Power Courses are coming up in December. Click each course name for more details
about it:
-
Coming
to America: Learn all about how to trace your immigrant ancestors, from their
departure from the old country to their new life as US citizens. -
Tear
Down That Wall! Bust through the brick walls that keep you from furthering your
genealogical research. Got ancestors who seem to have beamed down from outer space?
This course is for you.
We’ll be offering many more Power Courses in 2012. In fact, there’s quite a bit of
new stuff coming at Family Tree University. Stay tuned!
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Today’s deal is brought to you buy our 12 Days of Savings Event: Buy
the Family Tree Magazine 2011 Annual CD and get another CD of equal or lesser
value for 50 percent off.
You can update your paperless Family Tree Magazine library with our 2011 issues
on a convenient CD, and boost your genealogy know-how with a specialized CD such as
Browse
all Family Tree Magazine CDs here.
Click
here to get our 2011 annual CD and take advantage of today’s deal.