Need some software advice for genealogy and family web pages

[csziggy]

I've been using Personal Ancestry File for years. It's fast, stripped down, easy to use, and the price is right - free. Recently I joined Ancestry and Footnote - I had the basic research, but wanted copies of the original source documents to support the research. I'm nearly half done downloading census reports, military records, and pension files. I am beginning to delve into local place and family histories and other resources - for those I save an image of the page for reference and the title and copyright pages.

I want to make sure I do not leave a future family historian in the position my mom-in-law has - she has the data listed, but not the sources for it. Sometimes she might have a note "VR" meaning vital records, but most of the time not. And since I am certain she did not go to the towns across the country and actually look up the original vital records, I would like to know which transcriptions of those records she used.

In addition, I have scanned several hundred, maybe a few thousand, family photos, scans of newspaper clippings, scans of wills and probate records, scans of birth and wedding announcements, scans of family Bible records, etc. These are archives of information my family has collected for over a hundred years.

I want to link all the appropriate information to each family and individual electronically. I know I can do that with PAF but I am not clear what happens when I export a GED file. Do those images and records go with the GED file? Or does the program just link to the location on my hard drive so I would need to copy them over in the same relationship if I want to share.

I'd like to be able to make web pages of the information. I could do that manually, but I've got thousands of names in my files and it would take me years. I understand many programs can now do it automatically, even constructing a narrative from the data. I've got the feeling it is time for me to upgrade my software and actually put money into it. I have an ancient version of Family Tree Maker that has lead to a real hatred of that program.

Any advice for a program that can do all of this?

[eleny]

1. I'm new to gen research and am using The Master Genealogist

A friend of mine who has been doing gen research for decades is now using it and suggested I also use it because it can do a lot.

I'm only getting started with it but so far, so good. I can see that by using it I'll be learning a lot about how to document my findings. It allows for pictures and narratives about the people as well as generating reports from the data..

I also wanted to do the genealogy of the house in which I grew up and TMG has a way of allowing that.

[csziggy]

2. I've read about The Master Genealogist for years

I guess it is one of the better ones. For some reason I thought it cost a couple of hundred bucks, but the God Edition is only $59. That is twice what a little amateur level program like Legacy is, but I guess it is well worth it. I did some poking around last night and found sites with tips on how to use it. One even had a link to their own genealogical web site - apparently many of the sites I have found that are really easy to use are made by TMG. SO I guess that is it.

My husband did a sort of genealogy on our farm when we bought it. He did not research all the branches of the families that had owned it. Thirty plus years ago that was not as easy as it is today. I should try to find his research and see what I can add to the information he found. What was cool was that he traced ownership back to the original grants during colonial times. Several times the farm was somewhat abandoned - after the Civil Way, during the Depression, and just before we bought the place.

Good luck with researching your house. It will be fun for you!

[sybylla]

3. I bought a copy of MG after I got tired of FTM's constant upgrades

and report/tree/documentation inflexibility. MG does a really good job with documentation. You can track sources for every event, even the name or photographs, and even rate the source. For instance, you can give a vital record a high rating for reliability and your grandmother's first cousin who swears g-g-g-great grandma was a gypsy a low or middle rating pending further evidence. You can also rate the source on each vital tidbit. If informant for a death certificate didn't know mom was born in Berlin, Germany but had the date right, you can rate them on the date and leave the location blank. Plus, you only have to enter a source once. For example, I have a general entry for each state's vital records, but when I list the citation for each person, I specify the vital record volume and page numbers.

Then, when you print out your reports, all of these sources can appear with annotations.

There are some tricks to using MG, though. The interface is a little clunky. And finding the reports you want to print and getting them to look nice - or at least the way you'd like to see them - is not so easy. MG offers loads more charts, trees, and reports than FTM, but you have to have patience in getting them out of the dang thing.

What I do is keep an old copy of FTM for printing the research materials I need - like family charts, etc, just because it's easier. I use MG for tracking all the research and printing the more detailed reports and trees.

So don't delete your old freeware right off the bat.

[csziggy]

4. I'm getting used to TMG and pretty much like it

Tonight I even tried to set up a custom tag with a sentence for generating a report! They do not have a built in land patent tag so I set one up based on deeds, then set up a sentence for it. I can't figure out how to get some of the information in the automated parts but it works in the Memo box.

I am not so worried about generating great reports or narratives, though what TMG does looks pretty darned good. Mostly I want to make sure I get sources for everything possible and I really like having that column showing what is and is not sourced.

Right now I am mostly working online so I do not need to print out research materials. I keep a smaller TMG window open on one side, the browser window on the other and the folder for the individual floating behind those two. I'm going through all the data I have collected and getting it all properly entered. Then I need to get the images of documents, census reports, photos and such attached to each individual.

When I get all of that done, I will worry about printing out the info on my dead end lines and go after them. Actually, I will need to print reports for my Mom since she will not do genealogy on the computer and she would like to see the new stuff I have found.

[sybylla]

5. I love the custom tags

I put one in for whether someone was a direct descendant so that I can select a name from the list and know if they are a cousin or grandparent. I haven't come up with a way to use the custom tags other than that.

Glad to hear it's working for you!

I'm trying to print a report for my brother-in-law who's suddenly interested in genealogy and can't seem to get it to generate right. It means I have to go through line by line and fix 75 pages of an ahnentafel report by hand. That's the only drawback I've found so far. What really stinks is that I used to have a report for this family and somehow deleted it in the last couple of years.

[furgee]

6. I have many custom tags

Just to name a few:
WWI Draft
WWII Draft
Detained Passenger
Prison Records, just to name a few.

I never thought of a direct ancestor tag - instead I use flags. I have custom flags for each line so I can separate them easily and also a flag for direct lines. I can then filter using the flag and create a report from that.

I guess that is the beauty of TMG - you can do it the way you want.