Some people will tell you that it cannot be done, but it can, and it is easy.
What cannot be done is downloading pedigrees in GEDCOM format.
But if you use RootsMagic or Ancestral Quest that is not an issue. You simply download the data directly into your RM or AQ database. No GEDCOM file is needed. It should be possible using Legacy Family Tree as well, but I have not tried it personally.
Last week a patron came into the FHC with her MacBook and asked if we could help her download a copy of her genealogy from the Family Tree.
Step 1 was to download and install the free Macintosh versions of RootsMagic and Ancestral Quest. After looking at them both, she decided that AQ was most similar to PAF and so she decided to use it for now.
Step 2 was to create a new (empty) database in AQ, then sign into FS using the FamilySearch menu in AQ.
Step 3 was to create a record of herself in her AQ database, and record the ID number from Family Tree.
Step 4 using the FamilySearch menu she chose to import 10 generations of family lines from Family Tree. She forgot to put a check mark in the box to import spouses, but still ended up importing records for nearly 900 people from Family Tree into her new AQ database.
Step 5 was to link her parents to herself. in her AQ database. I am not sure why this did not happen automatically, but it was easily accomplished.
She was very pleased with the results. From AQ (or RM or Legacy) it is possible to print charts and do searches and analyses that are not possible in FT.
For example, you are going on a family history trip to Chippewa County, Michigan and want to create a list of everyone in your database who was born, married or died there? This is easily done using the software but not on the FamilySearch website.
If patrons come to your FHC with similar requests, this posting will help you provide any assistance needed. If their questions become too technical do not hesitate to refer them to the support system of the appropriate software company, They have instructions for doing this process with their own software.
CAVEAT: FamilySearch does not provide support for "third party" software. i.e. software that is certified by FamilySearch but produced elsewhere, So this is one instance where you would NOT call FamilySearch Support.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Friday, March 17, 2017
New Tool for Maiden Names of Mothers (England and Wales)
Those who research England and Wales in the time period starting on 1 July 1837 probably have FreeBMD already on their Bookmarks Bar. This is the free index to the civil registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths. It is especially useful for finding the maiden names of brides. (From the census or other records you determine the probable time and place of the marriage, and search for it by using the husband's given name and surname and the wife's given name. Bingo! There they are with the wife's maiden name... if there is only one woman on that page with that particular given name.) http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
What is new?
The General Register Office, the agency of the UK government that looks after government records, now allows the general public to register for online accounts, where they can do free searches for births, where the mother's maiden name is given. And searches of deaths where the age at death is given. This information has been available in FreeBMD for searches of births after 1910 and deaths after 1865, but these new searches give that information for earlier births and deaths. Suddenly you may be able to research the ancestors of mothers where you did not know their maiden names. Note that Free BMD has a more powerful search engine, but once you have identified the year and place of an event in FreeBMD, the new tool becomes very useful.
Example:
I have known for a long time that Robert Teal and Jane Constable had a son Robert Teale, christened 13 Jul 1845 at Holme Upon Spalding Moor, Yorkshire, England.
Searching with the new tool I found the death of a Robert Teale aged 2 in 1847 in Howden registration district (which includes Holme). So obviously, our little Robert died at the age of 2. Without the age, I might have thought it was the death of a different Robert Teale.
Then I discovered:
Name: Mother's Maiden Surname:
TEALE, ROBERT CONSTABLE Order
GRO Reference: 1850 S Quarter in HOWDEN Volume 23 Page 60
Obviously, this Robert Teale is also a son of Jane Constable (and Robert Teal). "Order" is a link so I can easily order an official birth certificate, if I want to pay for it.
To set up your free account, go to https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ and click Order certificates online. On the next screen, click Order Certificates Online and search the GRO historic birth and death indexes. And click Register as an Individual
Another companion to FreeBMD is FreeReg, which is becoming a "must use" tool in its own right. https://www.freereg.org.uk/ You might want to check it out too, if you have not checked it lately.
What is new?
The General Register Office, the agency of the UK government that looks after government records, now allows the general public to register for online accounts, where they can do free searches for births, where the mother's maiden name is given. And searches of deaths where the age at death is given. This information has been available in FreeBMD for searches of births after 1910 and deaths after 1865, but these new searches give that information for earlier births and deaths. Suddenly you may be able to research the ancestors of mothers where you did not know their maiden names. Note that Free BMD has a more powerful search engine, but once you have identified the year and place of an event in FreeBMD, the new tool becomes very useful.
Example:
I have known for a long time that Robert Teal and Jane Constable had a son Robert Teale, christened 13 Jul 1845 at Holme Upon Spalding Moor, Yorkshire, England.
Searching with the new tool I found the death of a Robert Teale aged 2 in 1847 in Howden registration district (which includes Holme). So obviously, our little Robert died at the age of 2. Without the age, I might have thought it was the death of a different Robert Teale.
Then I discovered:
Name: Mother's Maiden Surname:
TEALE, ROBERT CONSTABLE Order
GRO Reference: 1850 S Quarter in HOWDEN Volume 23 Page 60
Obviously, this Robert Teale is also a son of Jane Constable (and Robert Teal). "Order" is a link so I can easily order an official birth certificate, if I want to pay for it.
To set up your free account, go to https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ and click Order certificates online. On the next screen, click Order Certificates Online and search the GRO historic birth and death indexes. And click Register as an Individual
Another companion to FreeBMD is FreeReg, which is becoming a "must use" tool in its own right. https://www.freereg.org.uk/ You might want to check it out too, if you have not checked it lately.
The Consultant Planner
At RootsTech 2017 last month, a new tool was introduced for general use by Temple and Family History Consultants. It is referred to as the Consultant Planner. Its aim is help consultants easily access the accounts of the people they are helping on an on-going basis, and to create lesson plans for finding family names to take to the temple.
To use it, click Get Help in the upper right hand corner of the screen and select Help Others.
To use it, click Get Help in the upper right hand corner of the screen and select Help Others.
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