Evaluating family tree records

[sandraquick]

This forum has been totally crucial to me getting back into genealogy after a 20 year gap. (It has also been involved in uncooked meals, undone housework and neglected children. Mercifully for our long term survival, I've kept going to work!) I'm loving it, and really appreciate everyone's generosity.

I have another question. Now that I've accepted that pieces of paper everywhere are not a long term solution to my curiosity, I'd like some feedback on the pros and cons of different databases for all of my information. Tonight I tried entering my details on ancestry.com. It's pretty interesting when links to my tree come up, but I don't want to just paste other people's info onto my tree. I'm not sure yet what capacity there is on ancestry.com to print out information?

I'm happy to buy software to store my family information more privately if that is a better option, and am open to other online options.

Thoughts?

[white]

Hi Sandra,
Please be cautious about what you put on sites like Ancestry.
There are quite a few good programs to store your details.
2 freebees
Legacy 7.5 downloadable
PAF (personal ancestry file) from the Mormon site, Family search org.
Also at a reasonable price Family Tree Maker.
I have used an older version 5.0 for many years and it is good.
The later cersions do not seem quite as good (to me).
Roy

[sandraquick]

Thanks Roy. Can you be more explicit about the ancestry reservations please? Instinctively I'm uneasy with the level of sharing and the way that only living relatives are blocked from open viewing. I've started looking up the programmes you have mentioned.

[londoner]

There is an option on Ancestry to make your tree private, which means that only people you invite can view it. You will still get hints which you can decide whether to follow up or not. sometimes they are really useful and sometimes complete rubbish.
I also use an ancient version of Family Tree Maker which is quite simple. the more up to date ones link closely to Ancestry and I believe allow you to add pictures etc.

[white]

I use Ancestry quite a lot, but do not have my details on it.
I have shared some of my details with contacts I have made from it only to find that they have altered some details to suit their own, often mistaken,details.Also they have then uploaded the wrong lines and as CT has previously mentioned and others have then followed suit. In the end the whole line has been corrupted.
I thimk that you willfind either of the frebees good and would recommend having both. Both programs accept gedcoms, so you would not have to type the input twice.
On thesubject of Cornish research I presume that you are aware of this site
west-penwith.org.uk
Lots there.
Good hunting, Roy

[sandraquick]

Thank you Roy and Londoner for your useful comments. I have indeed found the West Penwith website and love it - fantastic and inspiring source of information.

[white]

you may also like to look at the St.Erth site
Look at Kathies site on this and you will find a load of wills and other details.
Do also try using your search for individual parishes. many have their own sites.
Roy

[trencrom]

Sandra,

In relation to your comment "I don't want to just paste other people's info onto my tree":

I would not add information you find on other people's trees to your own without thoroughly checking the information in those trees first for yourself. There is a lot of speculative or inaccurate information to be found in pedigrees that have been put on the Internet, and which is then copied and recopied by others. In many instances only a prior detailed knowledge of the families in question may allow one to recognize errors existing on other trees. Always also check for what is said about the source(s) of the information.

Trencrom

[waldrons2000]

I'm relatively new to this, and use Ancestry.com and the related software Family Tree Maker. My tree is private, and if you wish to keep yours completely so, you can opt out of inviting anyone to view it, and also opt out of "linking" to others researching your family (as I believe if you link, they get updates as to your activities and discoveries).

I second the advice to use other people's trees simply as a clue to follow up with your own research to verify the info... I've found people ascribing additional wives and children to my grandfather, having my relatives living in two places during the same census, children born when their parents were 10 years old or the mother dead two years, etc.

I look at hints showing other trees, then click on the name and check out the sources. At that point, I evaluate the source the same way I would if I'd found it myself... and only if it passes that "sniff test" do I add it to my tree.

Be aware that Ancestry's transcriptions are fallible and you sometimes have to cast a wide net in name variations. I've also developed a large bookmark list of online resources outside of Ancestry. It's a bit of a pain to create a PDF for a webpage at FamilySearch or some other site, create a fact, then create a citation, source and repository for it in Family Tree Maker, but it means that all of my facts are sourced. Which is useful when I look at something months later and go "why the heck did I think that was true?"

[myghaelangof]

Hi all,

I've been struggling with Family Tree Maker for a while now, and keep going back to Generations8. Whilst this works alright for me, Generations is not compatible with new software and I find I cant load it onto my new laptop. Hence the old and very slow laptop stays on the desk. 
As touched on in the posts above I am wary of what FTM will post on the internet, or what they upload themselves from my info, even with 'private' settings.

Also I have just spent an age trying to find the 2nd wife of someone, and then to update her. Yes I could just have searched her name, but tried clicking through the family to get to her. I find this method keeps you in touch with who's who much better.
Does anyone have suggestions for other programmes, and has FTM improved drastically since my 2009 version?

Really must get to grips with this, or I'll be going back to paper records lol!
Thanks all in anticipation, Mike

[Deleted]

Hello Mike

Seeing is believing and I would suggest that you download the free version of LEGACY and drop your gedcom into it. Then you can have a play and see what you think. It does all I want and I have used it for many years now. There are a few knacks on searching but once you know them finding anyone is a breeze. Reports are good and on line training etc is plentiful.

Lannanta

[myghaelangof]

Thanks Lannanta. I'll check out Legacy next week when I get home from St. Just.
Mike