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Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
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Hello from Portland |
| October 26, 1998 |
The conference was well attended and had many presentations on a wide variety of topics. The vendors’ area was also larger than I expected and very well attended. Several senior staff members of the National Genealogical Society were there as well. Obviously they are laying the foundation for a very good conference to be held about 18 months from now in Rhode Island. One major new software program was introduced at the conference: Genelines. I have written a bit more about that program a bit later in this newsletter. As a result of the conference, this newsletter is a bit late "getting out the door" this week. But you’ll have to excuse me; I have a lot of Maine ancestry, and I was off attending a genealogy conference in Maine. Need I say more?
Speaking of conferences, mentioning a 1999 conference seems a bit strange right now. After all, "next year" sounds like a long way in the future. However, the date of the GENTECH99 conference is only three months away. This is the only national conference that focuses solely on the use of technology in furthering genealogy research. The conference always has a mixture of beginner, intermediate and advanced topics. The 1999 GENTECH conference will be held in Salt Lake City. If you are thinking of taking a trip to Salt Lake some time to use the Family History Library, this might be a good time to go. Not only is the GENTECH99 conference being held there on January 22 and 23, 1999, but also the month of January is usually one of the slowest months in the Library. In January you do not normally have to stand in line to use the computers or the copying machines. You probably can receive a bit more personalized attention from the staff as they are not as busy serving crowds of visitors. For more information about the GENTECH99 conference, including a list of all the scheduled presentations, look at: http://www.gentech.org
In the past 18 months or so I have written twice about a new Windows genealogy charting program that has been under development. If you would like to read the older articles, look in the May 11, 1997 newsletter at http://www.ancestry.com/home/Dick_Eastman/eastma11.htm and at the November 17, 1997 newsletter at http://www.ancestry.com/home/Dick_Eastman/eastnov17.htm. The program has been in development a long time, but then again, some babies take more than nine months. Genelines is now about to be released, seventeen months after the first public mention of it. I had a chance to use a late beta version of the program this weekend and can report that it is indeed "ready for prime time." Genelines, Inc. has an agreement with Progeny Software to produce the discs and manuals and to market the program. The user manuals are being printed this week; the late beta copy that I used is probably the final version, assuming that no last minute bugs are found. Progeny Software and Genelines both told me that they plan to ship the program on or before November 30, 1998.
Genelines produces charts on any Windows-compatible printing device. It will print on dot matrix, inkjet or laser printers. It will even print on large plotters to make wall-sized charts in full color. Some of the examples that Genelines exhibited at the New England Regional Genealogical Conference were spectacular. They had several charts that appeared to be about two feet by five feet, and apparently they can produce even larger charts if the hardware is available. If you do not have a $5,000 plotter in your living room, you can still produce large charts in Genelines and save them to a disk file. You can then copy the file to a floppy disk and take it to a commercial service, such as Kinko’s, and have the charts printed there. You can also e-mail the file to Progeny Software, who will produce a chart and send it to you in a mailing tube. There is a fee for the printing, and you pay the shipping charges. If you are in a hurry, they can even send it by overnight express shipment. Genelines will also copy any of the charts to the Windows Clipboard. You can then insert the charts into almost any Windows program, such as a word processor or a spreadsheet. Trying to describe these visual charts in a text-only newsletter is a bit of a challenge; you will have to use your imagination here. If you have seen timeline charts elsewhere, you probably have an idea of what these new charts look like. All I can say is that they look better than any other timeline charts I have seen and can be customized in an almost infinite variety of ways. Quoting from the information supplied with Genelines:
This statement is true, but it doesn’t do justice to the charts. An example that I looked at was based upon the life of John Alden of Mayflower fame. The name John Alden was in a large red bar that covered the entire chart. The left side of the bar signified his birth in 1599 in Southampton, England. The right side was labeled "Died Sep 12, 1687 Plymouth, MA." Three divisions under the red bar illustrated the events of his life. The three were labeled Political, Relationship and Residential. The Political section had blue bars and text signifying the events in which John Alden participated. It showed that he signed the Mayflower Compact in 1620, helped found Duxbury, Massachusetts, then served as Governor’s Assistant from the 1630s through the 1670s. He also had to pay a fine at one time, and he was a member of the Council of War. All of these events are shown on the chart; each one starts and ends below the appropriate years. In the Relationship section you can see the date of his marriage to Priscilla Mullins (the example has no mention of Myles Standish, but I know you could add that, if you wished) and the dates of birth of each of their children. The Residential section shows the day John Alden left England, the time of his residence in Plymouth and then the dates of his later residence in Duxbury, Massachusetts. The above describes just one example. The dates and the sections are fully customizable. The user can add any events or titles as desired. When I have a chance, I hope to create a similar chart for my great-great-grandfather showing not only the events I just described, but also the year when New England had frost in the summer that destroyed crops and caused bankruptcies, the dates he bought and sold land, the dates the local church was established and then later merged with another, the date the railroad opened in his town, etc. The Comparative Geneline Chart is loosely similar but normally depicts the lives and events of multiple people. Again, quoting from the Genelines advertising:
Genelines had an example of a Comparative Geneline Chart at the conference this weekend. Again, it was based upon the life of John Alden although this one also shows several of his descendants. You see significant life events for all the individuals, including their dates of birth and death, their marriages and the birth of children. This particular example also showed significant world events that affected them, such as the sailing of the Mayflower, the English occupation of Quebec, King William’s War and the Salem Witch Trials. A very different Comparative Geneline Chart described at the conference illustrates the lives of all the U.S. Presidents. It shows on one page those men who took office at an early age or in their senior years. Again, the charts can be customized in many different ways. Genelines, Inc. has one example of a chart on their Web page. They hope to expand and add many more examples on their Web pages in the near future. However, for the next two or three weeks everyone is busy getting the new program ready for shipment, so don’t look for the Web page changes until after shipment. Genelines is a 32-bit program for Windows. It requires Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT. The requirements for disk space and memory seem very modest. The installation of Genelines was about the same as any other Windows program. The late beta copy that I used was on two diskettes; later ones may ship on CD-ROM. I inserted Disk #1 into my PC, clicked on START, then selected RUN and then typed: A:\SETUP.EXE. After that, I simply followed the instructions displayed on the screen. About a minute later the software was installed. Use of Genelines seemed easy and intuitive most of the time. Even though the user’s manual hasn’t been printed yet, I was able to use the program without difficulty. The online Help information seemed complete the few times that I looked at it. I first launched Family Tree Maker version 5.0 and then imported a GEDCOM file that was created by another genealogy program. I then saved the data as a Family Tree Maker version 4.0 file before starting Genelines. Genelines will read data from either Personal Ancestral File 3.0 or from Family Tree Maker version 4.0. However, anyone using Family Tree Maker version 5.0 must first make a copy of the database in Family Tree Maker 4.0 format. Saving in version 4.0 format does not affect the main database. The 4.0 version is a separate copy of the database; the primary database is still preserved in 5.0 format and is still on the disk drive. Genelines will only read data from the version 4.0 copy, however. Personal Ancestral File users must be using version 3.0; older versions of PAF will not work with Genelines. As with Family Tree Maker, Genelines only reads data from the other programs’ database. It never writes to the database. I was a bit disappointed to find that Genelines would not read GEDCOM files. At first glance, it would seem that users of other genealogy programs would not be able to use Genelines. When I asked about this, the producers of the program agreed. However, they also pointed out that the two programs are very popular; many people have one or the other installed as "secondary programs" even if they do not use PAF or FTM for their primary database. In addition, Personal Ancestral File can be purchased for only $15.00. Anyone using a different genealogy program can create a GEDCOM file and import it into the $15.00 PAF program and then use Genelines. While I agree that such action is possible, I would still like to see GEDCOM built into Genelines. Maybe in version 2.0? Genelines looks like a nice utility to have. I particularly want to use it just prior to going to my next family reunion. I suspect that a lot of genealogists will find it under the Christmas tree this year. Genelines will have a retail price of about $30.00 U.S. funds. It was created by Genelines, Inc., but is being marketed by Progeny Software. Keep in mind that it isn’t quite ready yet but should be shortly. For further information, keep an eye on http://www.genelines.com and http://www.progenysoftware.com. I suspect that both sites will be updated as soon as the software is available.
Next Thursday’s Oprah Winfrey show should be interesting to many family historians. The show will focus on the impact of slavery even in today’s world and on the impact that Oprah’s new movie "Beloved" had on many Americans. "Beloved" is a story about slavery in the United States a few years before the Civil War. It depicts the lives of slaves and their owners. "Beloved" stars Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. Director/Producer Jonathan Demme is well-known as the winner of an Academy Award for Best Director for his earlier work "The Silence of the Lambs" in 1991. Through her company, Harpo Productions, Oprah Winfrey produces and hosts "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the highest-rated talk show in television history. On October 29, 1998 the guests on the show will include a number of people who viewed "Beloved." They will describe their reactions and the impact the movie and the subject of slavery had on their lives. The show is not a genealogy program although it will focus on "family history;" that is, the impact that slavery has on American families even several generations after it was abolished. One of the guests will be Audrae Mathis, who is well-known to many genealogists. Audrae is a member of the Board of Directors of GENTECH and is a frequent genealogy lecturer. Audrae reports that her fourth-great-grandfather was a slaveowner. Another guest on the show is the fourth-great-grandson of one of the slaves that Audrae’s ancestor owned. Several other guests are expected, and this probably will be a very interesting program. Oprah Winfrey also wrote a book about the filming of this movie; the book is called "Journey to Beloved." Oprah wrote the following dedication in the book: "For all the ancestors whose lives were a bridge to this moment." Check your local listings for the exact time the Oprah Winfrey Show is broadcast in your area. For more information about the movie "Beloved," look at: http://www.movies.com/beloved.
- Ultimate Family Tree Rebate Update In the September 12, 1998, newsletter I wrote about a $45.00 rebate offer for anyone purchasing the Ultimate Family Tree. In that article I said that I saw the offer at a local CompUSA store and that the rebate coupon was good for purchases made between September 5 and October 6, 1998. Following that article, several people wrote to ask if the offer was good only at CompUSA stores or if it could be used at other stores as well. Robert Naify of Palladium answered the question this week:
- Recording Tombstone Data Online The Copley Newspapers carried an interesting article recently about Brenda Frazer of Joliet, Illinois. Brenda is one of many people who are recording tombstone inscriptions in local databases and then making the data available online. Staff writer Cindy Wojdyla Cain describes the work of Brenda Frazer and then also gives references of where to find more information about the project. To read the article, look at: http://www.copleynewspapers.com/Features/stories/1018/gene1.htm.
I suspect that we all use Internet search engines. Frequently the first search engine you use doesn’t have the information you want, so you try a different search engine. And then maybe a third. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to search all the major search engines at once? Several programs have been available for months that will automate the process of searching several search engines at once. I have written about them before. There are even some search engines that search other search engines. The best known one is Dogpile, although I believe there are others as well. This week I found a new program that looks good; I have now deleted the older one I used and have switched to Copernic 98. Copernic 98 makes it easy to search for all sorts of information on the Web or in newsgroups. Copernic 98 simultaneously looks for information on Alta Vista, AOL Netfind, Excite, Hotbot, InfoSeek, LookSmart, Lycos, Magellan, WebCrawler and Yahoo. When searching newsgroups, it searches AltaVista Usenet, Deja News and Reference.com. To find e-mail addresses, Copernic 98 searches BigFDoot, Four11, InfoSpace, Internet Address Finder, Mirabilis, Switchboard and WhoWhere. To be sure, I am not certain that Copernic 98 does anything that the other "search the search engines" programs cannot do. But the Copernic 98 is very easy to use, works quickly, and best of all, is free for personal use. Quoting from the program’s advertising:
While the above says it "integrates seamlessly with the IE interface," I found that it also works perfectly with Netscape. I have been using Copernic 98 and Netscape on CompuServe’s network; it should work on any standard Internet service provider’s network. Copernic 98 generates inquiries to all major Web search engines, newsgroups, and a number of e-mail directories used to find people, such as Four11.com and Bigfoot.com. The program features multithreaded, full Boolean searches. Results are compiled and presented in an Explorer-style results browser. Copernic 98 is a 32-bit program that works with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT. The producers offer it as a free program, but they also advertise a "high powered" version that adds more features; Copernic 98 Plus costs $29.95. I haven’t upgraded to the Plus version, as the free one seems to meet my needs. To obtain the free version of Copernic 98, go to: http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?fcode=000PBB
Dutch mourners who are unable to attend cremation ceremonies in person will soon be able to watch much of the ceremony on the Internet, according to the Dutch news agency ANP. The manager of the Internet site said the idea was aimed at helping people who were not able to attend in person. He said the site, which will soon stage a trial run for the media, was a sign of new ways of thinking in the funeral business. The general public will not be able to tune in to watch cremations, however, as only relatives and friends will be given the password to log in.
The following is a list of some of the genealogy-related World Wide Web homepages that have been listed recently on http://www.rootscomputing.com. Some of these sites may charge a fee for their services:
To submit your new genealogy-related homepage to this newsletter, enter the necessary information at: http://www.rootscomputing.com/register.htm. Due to the volume of new Web pages submitted, I am not able to list all of them in the newsletter.
If you would like to submit news, information or press releases for possible inclusion in future newsletters, send them to roots@compuserve.com. The author does reserve the right to accept or reject any articles submitted.
DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is being written and sent via e-mail at no charge. I expect to write one new issue on a more or less weekly basis. However, life sometimes interferes, and the need to earn a living may create an occasional delay.
COPYRIGHTS: While the contents of this newsletter are copyright by Richard W. Eastman and by Ancestry Publishing and by others so designated, you are hereby granted rights, unless otherwise specified, to redistribute articles from this news letter to other parties provided you do so strictly for noncommercial purposes. Please limit your redistribution to one or two articles per newsletter; do not redistribute the news letter in its entirety. Also, please include the following words with any articles you redistribute:
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Genelines is described as "a charting companion" for use with Family Tree Maker or with Personal Ancestral File version 3.0. It will read data from either of those programs and then will create some very interesting charts. All of the charts are well done, and two of them are new to genealogy software. I have not seen anything to match the "Individual Geneline Chart" or the "Comparative Geneline Chart" in any other genealogy program. A few other programs do have timeline charts, but none of them approach the two new ones in Genelines. In addition, Genelines also produces pedigree charts, direct descendant charts and family group charts. Those last three charts are available in other genealogy programs; Genelines simply produces better-looking charts than most other programs.