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Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
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Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe |
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Click Here for Dick Eastman's Archive |
| July 27, 1999 |
- Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe Two weeks ago I published a press release from The Learning Company announcing their new Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe for Windows. This week I used the new version for several hours. The Learning Company has indeed improved what was an already excellent product. Ultimate Family Tree has always been one of the most powerful genealogy programs available. Many other genealogy programs are simply databases where you store information you have found. That is, after you do the research, you enter the data that you found into the database. However, Ultimate Family Tree is one of a handful or programs that is truly a research project management system. Not only do you manage information about people, but you also use the program to track all the records you searched and the locations where you found them. Besides keeping track of the records you found that contained information you wanted, you should also record the sources you searched that did not produce results. After all, you don’t want to waste time searching them again in the future! Several years from now, you can look in your database and say, "Oh, I already searched that one." As for the information that does yield results, Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe does not refer to a collection of facts as a database. Instead, each database is called a project, which seems to be a more accurate description. Each fact is entered along with "proof." Quoting from the program’s Help file: "The Proof window provides tools to organize and weigh evidence used as proof for information contained in a Ultimate Family Tree field. Evidence can include formal source citations and free-form notes. The evidence is analyzed, taking into account its type, quality, consistency and directness, to achieve a quantitative judgment of certainty called a sure level. Information entered in the Ultimate Family Tree project without this process has a sure level of 0, while a fact that is proven clearly and convincingly is given a sure level of 4." Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe not only stores names, dates, locations, source citations and repository information, it also will store any textual information along with separate database fields for medical information, digital pictures and images, and video and audio clips. Installation of Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe was simple. If you have installed other Windows software, you can install this one. According to the spec sheet in the user’s manual, Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe requires Windows 95 or Windows 98. However, it will not operate on Windows 3.1. I installed it on Windows NT and found that it ran well. . On a Windows 95 or Windows 98 system, the software requires Super VGA video, a CD-ROM drive, at least 16 megabytes of RAM memory and 70 megabytes of disk space. Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe will also support a scanner, a modem, sound card and speakers. These last items are not required, however. Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe uses a "wizard" to help guide the new user through data entry. It always prompts you for the next piece of information. If special formatting is required, the wizard will tell you. UFT does require a rather unusual method of entering names: You use the forward slash ("/" character) to enter a surname and parentheses to show a title suffix or prefix. The example shown in the wizard is: John Fitzgerald /Kennedy/ (Jr.). Ironically, I started using Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe and came upon this example on the same day that John F. Kennedy Jr. died in his widely-publicized aircraft accident. The wizard is a big help for the newcomer. However, once the new user becomes familiar with the program, the wizard can be turned off. The program has wizards for new individuals, new events, new proof, and for family tree reports. Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe data entry can be done quickly once the user becomes acquainted with the shortcut keys. The program uses the ALT, Shift and Control keys heavily. Most Windows programs use shortcut keys, but Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe seems to use a lot of them, more than most other programs I have used. Luckily a chart is printed on the back of the user’s manual, showing all the shortcut keys. When learning the program, I kept the manual beside the keyboard. Again, these shortcut keys are optional; you always have the option of performing the same tasks by moving the mouse around normal pull-down menus in the same manner as most other Windows programs. I imported a GEDCOM file of about 3,000 people and used that as the basis for my new UFT project. The import process worked well, and the data ended up in the appropriate places. Of course, importing GEDCOM data is an inexact science in any genealogy program. Text notes, source citations, repository information and the like can be problematic when importing from GEDCOM’s simple file structure into a sophisticated genealogy program. Ultimate Family Tree imported more than 12,000 footnotes from the GEDCOM file. While I did not check each and every one, those that I did see all ended up in the appropriate places. Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe is a program with hundreds of features and options. Writing a complete review of the program would probably fill several newsletters. Instead, I will write about some of the features that particularly impressed me and then will describe the new features found in version 3.0. One impressive feature is the search capability. Every genealogy program has the capability to search its database. Simpler programs allow you to search for a person’s name; better programs also allow searching for place names. Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe allows database (project) searches for: Individuals Names -- Search for individuals by name. Other Events -- Search for events. Another nice feature is the Multi-Language Records Requester. Using this tool, you can create letters requesting your ancestors' records in 13 languages for 37 countries. Want to write to Germany asking for records about a particular ancestor? Multi-Language Records Requester will write the letter for you in German, complete with the appropriate mailing address. Ultimate Family Tree has always been famous for its excellent printed reports. The user can create hundreds of reports, including family trees, register-format books, all sorts of lists, and more. You can even print a family book in English, French or German, complete with Table of Contents and Index. Of course, the text notes will not be translated. The books can contain photographs and scanned documents. Ultimate Family Tree will print mailing lists, calendars, and historical timelines. It will create your HTML-format web pages from your database. It also will create scrapbooks and even a multimedia slide show that would be nice to have at a family reunion. All of the above items were available in earlier versions. Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe now adds the following: Ancestor Box Chart shows all your ancestors for any given individual. Depending upon how many generations of ancestors you have typed in and displayed, the shape of this tree will look more like a real tree, starting with a narrow trunk and developing wider branches as the generations expand upward and outward. Ancestor/Descendent Box Chart displays a person’s ancestors and descendants together on one family tree. This report provides a broader view of an individual’s family. Heredity Statistics Report allows you to easily analyze your family data, gaining a better understanding of your family’s dynamics. Track your family’s medical history, and discover the average number of children per family group, age of parents at children’s births, number of male and female children, age of death, age at first marriage, etc. User Editable Short Footnotes allows you to customize how you want your short footnotes to print in reports. Use the latest in source citation documentation to correctly cite your research or create your own short form templates. Indented Descendent Report now lets you print the marriage date in addition to the full birth and death dates for each descendent of any given person. Customize Reports - Select which data from the individuals in your project you want printed out on lists and reports. New clipart images – over 10,000 images, including: borders, fonts, holiday themes, etc. Spreadsheet-like data input lets you rapidly enter a large group of people associated with a single event or source into your database using a spreadsheet like interface. For example, certain records, such as census pages, contain information on numerous people. This new feature lets you enter all the information from the census document in one place, then the program links all of the people listed in the census document to the census event and automatically updates each individual’s record. Separate Place and Source Libraries allows you to create a project with separate libraries so you don’t have to import a GEDCOM file into an existing project / library. In addition to being able to keep projects totally separate (i.e. if you have one project for your mother’s side of the family and another project with your father’s side of the family), you can import GEDCOM files without fear of bringing misspellings or incorrect source citations into your existing libraries. Import only the information that meets your standards, merging libraries when you merge projects with separate libraries. (Image libraries remain shared across projects.) The Ultimate Family Search feature searches the Internet and CD-ROM resources and reports back on exactly where to find historical records about your ancestors. It automatically searches for information on everyone in your project. Private Text lets you share your information easily and without the worries of divulging confidential information. With a one-click ability to hide private information about any family member, you can make printouts and export or copy your file for others to use without the concern of distributing personal data. You can also decide to print this information by setting a switch in the software. Importing Family Tree Maker GEDCOM Files is now easier and more accurate. With this new version of Ultimate Family Tree, you can now quickly and accurately import from and export to Family TreeMaker Version 6, using GEDCOM 5.5. Global Find and Replace allows you to quickly make changes to the database. Supports all records of a given type, individual groups and last search lists. Even the above descriptions only scratch the surface of all the features of this powerhouse program. To really see for yourself, you can obtain a free Ultimate Family Tree Trial Version. It is an exact replica of Ultimate Family Tree version 3.0 with one exception: you can only use it for 15 days. After the fifteenth day the program stops working. However, if you do buy the regular version you can then use the data that you entered during the fifteen days; your hard work will not be lost. The Trial version can be downloaded from the company’s website. All in all, Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe remains as one of the most powerful genealogy programs available today. I have never been able to decide which program qualifies for the title of "the best genealogy program." However, this one obviously is a candidate. If you are serious about your genealogy research, I propose that Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe is one of the top two or three programs worthy of your consideration. It has more of a learning curve that some other programs, but its research and publishing capabilities are impressive. I suggest that you download the trial version and take a serious look at Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe. Retailers are free to set their own prices, but a computer store near me is selling Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe for $29.99. Even more enticing, there is a $10.00 mail-in rebate coupon on the front of each box. This results in a final price of $19.99. The rebate offer may be a short-term promotion, or it may not be available in all stores. Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe also has a ninety-day satisfaction guarantee. Ninety days should give you plenty of time to really put the program through its paces. If you decide you don’t like it, return the program for a refund. Make sure you save the receipt. For more information about Ultimate Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe, or to download the 15-day evaluation copy, look at: http://www.uftree.com - Ancestry.com Adds Irish Records Ancestry.com has added a new 10,000-name database to its many other services. The following press release from Ancestry.com describes the newest addition: Ancestry.com ( http://www.ancestry.com ), the premier service for tracing family history online, today announced the addition of the Irish Vital Records Database to its fast-growing online collection of genealogical information. The database represents one of the first major collections of records from outside the United States and kicks off Ancestry.com's efforts to bolster its international reference materials online. The Irish Vital Records Database, a result of many years of research into Irish heritage, contains records of births, marriages, deaths, burials, and other specific information pertaining to Irish ancestry. Encompassing more than just raw data, the database includes a significant amount of contextual and historical information. This will help genealogy experts understand the significance and source of the data and extend in-depth research beyond the names available in the database. At the same time, the collection simplifies family history research for hobbyists with familial ties to Ireland. "Between 1851 and 1901, 3,846,393 people emigrated from Ireland," said Dr. Lyman Platt, compiler of the data. "Figures for the years 1891 through 1900 show that ninety percent of these emigrants settled in the United States. It is estimated that at least fifty million Americans have one or more Irish lines at this time." About Ancestry.com Launched in 1996, Ancestry.com is the first and most inclusive service online committed to providing you with the most credible and comprehensive genealogical databases for tracing family history, whether you are a professional genealogist or hobbyist or just curious about your family name and origins. Ancestry.com harnesses the power of the Internet to bring consumers the largest and most diverse collection of quality databases online. As part of a family network, which includes MyFamily.com, Ancestry.com enables consumers to go beyond genealogy and use their family history research to strengthen family bonds. Grounded in a 15-year heritage of genealogy publishing, Ancestry.com is a service from Ancestry.com, Inc. - New Acadian-Cajun Family Trees CD-ROM Progeny Software also issued a press release this week. This one will interest anyone with Acadian or Cajun ancestry: Progeny Publishing, a division of Progeny Software Inc., developers of quality genealogy software and CD-ROM products, today announced the release of a one-of-a-kind Acadian family history resource -- the Acadian-Cajun Family Trees CD. This CD is being be launched this summer in conjunction with the second Congrès Mondial Acadien (CMA) that is being celebrated in Cajun Country, Louisiana, August 1st-15, 1999. Coincidentally, this event corresponds with the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, August 12-14, St. Louis, Missouri, where it will also be premiered to the genealogy community for the first time. The Acadian-Cajun Family Trees contains over 600,000 lineage-linked, family history records of Acadian descendants. Data was submitted by individuals doing personal genealogy research to Yvon Cyr at the website http://www.acadian.org. As with other Progeny CD-ROM products, the Acadian-Cajun Family Trees CD includes the unique Progeny Family Explorer™ software that provides powerful search and report capabilities. Using Family Explorer, users are able to quickly search names and print standard genealogy reports, as well as create family tree and fan style charts. A new feature in Family Explorer now makes it possible to export records in GEDCOM format for import directly into any popular genealogy program. "The release of this product at the CMA is auspicious," said Bob Thomas, Partner of Progeny Software, "Particularly since our company is located in the heart of what used to be Acadia, three miles from the point of the expulsion! Because Family Explorer makes data so accessible, we expect this to be a popular product among all those of Acadian-Cajun descent, even those who are not formally building their own family history database." Yvon Cyr, whose enthusiasm for Acadian genealogy along with his website ( http://www.acadian.org ) got him an interview in Time magazine’s recent Roots Mania articles (April 1999), sadly will not be able to attend the CMA this summer due to health problems. "This project was a labor of love for me," says Cyr, "I was devastated to have to cancel my plans to be at the Congrès this summer. I only hope that those attending will connect through my website, and that way continue to share our Acadian roots." The Acadian-Cajun Family Trees CD operates on Windows 95/98/NT, requires a 486 CPU or better, and 8 MB free hard disk space. The Acadian-Cajun Family Trees CD is now available direct from Progeny Publishing or through participating dealers. To order direct, call toll free 1-800-565-0018, or send a check or money order for $39.95 USD plus $5 shipping to Progeny Publishing, Olympic Towers, Ste. 200, 300 Pearl St., Buffalo, NY, 14202. For more information on other Progeny products visit http://www.progenysoftware.com Last week I wrote about a huge collection of French-Canadian genealogy books that are available online. I received several e-mails about that and other websites. Suzanne Sommerville described one of her favorite sites. I checked it out and must say that I agree with Suzanne: this one is a winner. Early Canadiana Online is a full-text online collection of more than 3,000 books and pamphlets documenting Canadian history from the first European contact to the late 19th century. The collection is particularly strong in literature, women's history, native studies, travel and exploration, and the history of French Canada. The books on Early Canadiana Online are fully searchable. You can search the full text or just the title or author or subject or publisher. You can do simple Boolean searches searching for combinations of words. Both French and English books are part of the collection, and both French and English directions for browsing are available. I searched the website for one of my ancestors: Mathurin Dubé. Here is one of the citations returned: Histoire de l'Île d'Orléans Matching pages: 153. The page number of "153" was highlighted as a hyperlink. I clicked on that, and a few seconds later an actual image of page 153 from the original book "Histoire de l'Île d'Orléans" appeared on my screen. The image was a .GIF file, which I quickly printed on my laser printer. The print was a bit small but quite readable. A longtime dream of genealogists is available now: sit at home and browse through major genealogy reference books, printing pages of interest on your own printer. Early Canadiana Online certainly is not the first site to offer online books, but it is one of the most important sites for people with Canadian ancestry. Early Canadiana Online can be found at: http://www.canadiana.org/ - Announcing BostonFamilyHistory.Com The following is an announcement from the Broderbund division of Mattel, Inc.: BostonFamilyHistory.Com Helps Visitors Discover Ancestral Footsteps - website Encourages Boston Visitors to Learn about Family History BOSTON, MA- An innovative new tourism program that combines internet technology and genealogical research with immigrant history is being launched by the Boston History Collaborative, along with Genealogy.com and the Saunders Hotel Group. Boston's Family History website - http://www.BostonFamilyHistory.com - will provide online research assistance to the estimated one in six Americans whose ancestors emigrated through or settled in Boston over the last four centuries. The website includes maps, demographic information, and links to libraries, archives, religious organizations, ethnic associations, and information on ethnic heritage sites located in Boston. "This project utilizes the latest in information technology to make genealogical research accessible," says Boston History Collaborative executive director, Dr. Bob Krim. "It combines demographic and family history information, including directories of several ethnic directories of various ethnic communities flourishing in the Boston area, as well as current visitor information." The site also allows visitors to create a virtual roadmap of where their ancestors settled in Boston that they can then retrace when they visit the city. Visitors can use the website to reserve hotel rooms through the Copley Square Hotel and the Lenox Hotel, two family hotels in Boston's Back Bay owned by the Saunders Hotel Group. Phase One of the project includes information on African-Americans, Chinese, Irish, Italians, Jews and Puerto Ricans. "Eventually almost every ethnic community in Greater Boston will be represented on the website," says Maureen Taylor, a professional genealogist and the project manager for BostonFamilyHistory.com. BostonFamilyHistory.com is a collaborative effort of over 30 organizations, including the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Boston Public Library, the International Institute of Boston, the Mayor's Office of New Bostonians, and the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. Funding for this cutting edge project is being provided by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and corporate sponsors Genealogy.com, a division of Mattel, the Lee Kennedy Company, Inc., the Saunders Hotel Group/Copley Square Hotel and Lenox Hotel and the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GBCVB). BostonFamilyHistory.com is one of five new projects devoted to historical tourism being developed by The Boston History Collaborative. The Boston History Collaborative is a Boston-based, not-for-profit alliance of leaders from the visitor industry, the business community, local government, historic attractions and senior historians. Established in 1997, the organization's mission is to spearhead the development of a new model of historical tourism in Boston and to increase tourism by making Boston's authentic historical attractions more exciting and interactive for both visitors and local residents. Genealogy.com, the leading resource for online family history, enables visitors to begin exploring their roots online, and to quickly create their own family tree online. The site is published by the Broderbund division of Mattel, Inc. (NYSE:MAT), which also develops Family Tree Maker, described by Time Magazine as "the easiest and most complete (genealogy) software program available." - Native American Heritage on the Web I do not claim any expertise in Native American research. Nonetheless, this week I looked at a website that impressed me. "Native American Heritage" is filled with information on how to trace your Indian ancestry, how to identify your tribes, where to find original records and even how to claim your fair share of various government benefits available to those of Native American descent. The website includes many pictures and even video clips. The Native American Heritage website can be found at: http://www.nativeamericanheritage.com - Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly CD-ROM The following is an excerpt from an announcement by GenQuest, Inc.: GenQuest, Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA is excited to announce the availability of volumes 1-23 of the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society's quarterly publication. Also included are all 7 volumes of Allegheny county naturalizations, 1798-1906 and 3 volumes of Lists and Indexes to the Legal, Court and Municipal Records of Allegheny County. Researchers now have the opportunity to search all these volumes quicker and more comprehensively than ever before. Especially, the quarterlies for which there is no comprehensive index. CONTENTS The Quarterly Issues of the quarterlies contain marriage records, family histories, church membership rolls, church histories, marriage and death notices from area newspapers, family Bible records, land records, tax lists, cemetery transcriptions, articles pertaining to Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War combatants and PA regiments, etc. from the various counties comprising Western Pennsylvania. See the map at http://www.genquest.com/wpgsmap.html. The Naturalizations These volumes contain the names of the 60,960 emigrants, the date filed in the Prothonotary's office of Allegheny county, the country or kingdom of birth, date of declaration of Intent and Petition, the date of final papers and the sponsor. In some cases the residence at the time of final naturalization is given along with the port and date of entry and the age of the emigrant. Legal, Court and Municipal Records These volumes contain abstractions or lists compiled from many different record groups, which though obscure are important. One of the best examples are the naturalizations from the mayors court in volume two, which supplement county's early records. Examples of other records in these publications are Allegheny City Arrest records, 1891-1896, Births and Deaths in Allegheny County Home, 1885-1904, Births and Deaths in the Allegheny City Home, 1871-1904,etc. What can you do with this database? You can fully search all text for names, places or any word. System Requirements Pricing The actual press release is a bit longer than the above. Full details are available at: http://www.genquest.com/catalog.html - Kindred Konnections: Largest Ancestral Database? Kindred Konnections is an online database that obviously has been growing rapidly. This week the company announced that they now have the largest ancestral database available anywhere. Note that they are talking about pedigree-linked databases only. With more than 36 million names in the online database, there is a very good chance that you can find information that you seek. Here is the announcement from Kindred Konnections: It's simple. To experience the greatest possible success in doing genealogy research, you search for pedigree linked data within the worlds largest research archive. We are announcing a new industry leader in Pedigree Linked Databases. Kindred Konnections Ancestral Archive: 36.4 million names Searching in the world’s largest pedigree linked archive significantly improves your success. We recommend that you search all of the major archives for your family history. Each archive holds its own unique names that you should consider. But your best success will be to do research with the world leader in pedigree linked databases at http://www.mytrees.com - GENTECH2000 Program Now Available GENTECH sponsors the world’s largest "technology in genealogy" conference. These two-day annual conferences are held in a different city each year. The next conference will be in San Diego next January 28 and 29. Now GENTECH has announced the program for next January’s session. The list of speakers includes many of today’s leading technology speakers, including (in alphabetical order): Bob Anderson, Randy Bryson, Tony Burroughs, Michael Caito, Karen Clifford, Leslie Collier, Steve Fox, Jim Gegan, Jake Gehring, Bob Harris, Matt Helm, Paul Hightower, Gary Hoffman, Birdie Holsclaw, Cyndi Howells, Everett Ireland, Evan & Robert Ivie, Elizabeth Kelly Kerstens, Cliff Manis, Alan Mann, Rhonda McClure, Kory Meyerink, Barbara Renick, Mike St. Clair, Blaine Schmidt, Beau Sharbrough, Jim Slade, Jeri Steele, Brad Steuart, Bob Velke, Richard Wilson and Curt Witcher, One other entry simply lists the speaker(s) as "the LDS Staff." The GENTECH2000 program, a one-page conference flyer, and information about hotels and travel arrangements can all be found at: http://www.gentech.org/2000home.htm Charles A. Culman says that he had frustrations when trying to search different genealogy databases on the Web. Each database has its own interface with its own set of commands. This makes it difficult to switch from one to the other. Perhaps even worse, it is easy to overlook a vital database. Culman decided that he could invent a better method. "Primarily, I built the tool for my own use," said Culman. "When I couldn't find anything on the web to do the same thing (a Dogpile for genealogy), I thought others might like it as well. I am also enjoying the ego boost of generating a lot of hits. And, I admit, I think it would be great to have someone come along and pay me to put an ad on the page, but I think that's a pipe dream." MultiGen is simplicity itself. Go to the MultiGen home page, fill in an ancestor’s name, click on which of the seven databases you wish to search and then MultiGen does the search for you. You didn’t find the desired information on the first database? All you need is two mouse-clicks to search the next database. Simply click BACK in your Web browser and then click on the next database in the list. The seven databases available are: Ancestry.com, Family Tree Maker, Gendex, Genealogy.com, JewishGen FamilyFinder, the LDS FamilySearch, and the Roots-L surname list. MultiGen is entirely web-based; it does not require any special software in your computer. It should work with any modern web browser on any PC, Macintosh or even on WebTV. MultiGen is available at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/CACulman/MultiGen.htm Gaylon Findlay of the Hope Foundation sent an e-mail this week correcting a couple of items in the review of personal Ancestral File for Windows version 4.0 that was published recently in this newsletter. Here is Gaylon’s message in its entirety: As the original author of Ancestral Quest, I've been reading with interest your columns on PAF 4.0/AQ 3.0. In your 7/6 article, you missed a couple of things that weren't corrected in your 7/13 article, and I thought you'd appreciate being filled in with some details: 1) You said, "You can search the database of PAF 4.0 by name and by RIN (Record Identification Number). However, there is no capability to search by Soundex. You also cannot search by places or by dates." Starting with version 2.1 of AQ (and continuing into version 3.0 and PAF 4.0), AQ has had a very powerful search engine -- I feel the most powerful of any genealogy program. PAF used to call this FOCUS. AQ calls it Filtering. If you go into the screen that lets you see a list of individuals, you can sort it by RIN or by name. If you open the 'Advanced' portion of the screen, you open up the 'search' or 'filter' engine. You can 'define' a 'field filter' -- filter the records in your database to show only those records that match certain criteria. You can ask for all records whose "surname sounds like Eastman". Or you can ask for records whose birth place includes "Germany". Or you can ask for records whose birth date is between 1825 and 1845. Or you can ask for records who have all three of the above qualifications. You can also use 'relationship' filters. You can ask for all ancestors of John Smythe. Then you can combine this list with the list from above - as a result, you get all ancestors of John Smythe whose surname sounds like Eastman, and who were born in Germany between 1825 and 1845. You can now have AQ/PAF show you ONLY the few people who match these criteria, sorted either by RIN or by name. Once you create a list, you can use it to find someone, or to export the list to a gedcom file, or to produce a custom report, or to DELETE the entire list. This gives AQ/PAF the ability to split databases and prune unwanted sets of records easily. If you take a few minutes to play with this feature, I think you'll be impressed by the completeness and power of this search engine. 2) You said, "There is no capability to code sensitive data, such as illegitimate births, so that they can be excluded from certain reports." AQ/PAF does have some capability to code sensitive data. You can enter notes with a '~' (tilde) as the first character in the note block. This indicates the note block is confidential, and by default will not print on any reports. Also, the new 'other' events for individuals and marriages have a Confidential checkbox. Again, by default these events will not print on reports or go to web pages. So there are many things that can be entered into an AQ/PAF database that are confidential. I hope you will find the space to report corrections on these items. Gaylon Findlay - Society of Genealogists Presents An Award To GENUKI The Society of Genealogists has awarded one of their new "Certificates of Appreciation" to GENUKI "for services to genealogy in the United Kingdom by promotion of the use of the Internet". A copy of the certificate is to be found at: http://www.genuki.org.uk/images/SoG500.gif When was the last time you backed up your genealogy database? I hope that you do that often. Now for the second question: Where do you store that backup copy? I remember watching a television news broadcast a few years ago showing one of the huge brush fires in California. This particular fire raced through a residential neighborhood, and many homes were lost as the fire departments could not keep up with the spreading flames. A news reporter was interviewing one resident whose home was in flames. The reporter was asking the usual inane questions that almost all news reporters ask in such situations. The woman was obviously crying and, when asked what was her biggest loss, she replied "the twenty years of genealogy research that I have in filing cabinets in the house." I hope that you never suffer a disaster at your home. But, if you do, your backup copy could easily be destroyed along with the original. Computer professionals have always kept backup copies "off site" in a different location. I keep a backup copy of my genealogy database at the office just in case my home suffers such a disaster. I also keep electronic copies of my checkbook and tax records at the office. I even have scanned a few images of birth certificates and other documents, all stored on floppy diskettes in the office desk drawer. However, there are other methods of making off site copies. Now a free service is available that will appeal to many people. FreeDrive is an online service that will give you 20 megabytes of storage. Best of all, this off-site storage is completely free. Once you sign up, you¹ll receive 20 megabytes of hard-drive space maintained over the Internet. That should be enough to backup most genealogy databases and still have room left over for a few other files as well. Best of all, the information is always there waiting for you, ready to be accessed on the Internet. You can access the files from anyplace that has Internet access. Are you visiting your cousin and want to look up some data? If your cousin has Internet access and a genealogy program that can import your database, you can go online, download your backup copy, and then view it on your cousin’s computer. Obviously there are many non-genealogy uses as well. FreeDrive will store any kind of data. You can also grant rights to other people allowing them to see your files. This multi-user access can be useful for large family projects involving multiple people at widely dispersed locations. You can all access the same master files. FreeDrive can upload and download files through any modern Web browser. It works equally well on Macintosh and UNIX systems as well as on Windows. So who pays the bills for this free service? FreeDrive is supported by advertising. At any given time, FreeDrive web pages may display advertisements from various sponsors. All FreeDrive subscribers also agree to receive 1 weekly promotional e-mail message and occasional e-mail newsletters that focus on utilizing FreeDrive. If you don’t mind receiving a weekly advertising e-mail, this is a small price to pay. Anyone who really dislikes receiving advertisements via e-mail, however, probably will not want to sign up for this free service. You can cancel your FreeDrive membership at any time, which, in turn, will stop the flow of the advertising e-mails. Read FreeDrive’s detailed Privacy Statement on their website before signing up. For more information about FreeDrive, or to sign up for the free service, go to: http://www.freedrive.com The following is a list of some of the genealogy-related World Wide Web home pages that have been listed recently on http://www.rootscomputing.com. Some of these sites may charge a fee for their services: A web page for Bethune, Beaton, Bethuyne, Bethane and de Bethune family members: A web page for Scown, Scawen, Scowen family members: Genealogy of the descendants of Thomas Stevens and Matthias Chitwood; allied family line of Buford also included: Mickelsen family site that has family history databases, a little trivia, some family photos and humor: Bansch Family from Germany to USA: The Estep Connections website is for anyone researching EASTEP/ESTEP/ESTEPP ancestors. There are sections for lines, queries, URL links and more. It also includes cemetery listings, reunions, etc.: The Flippin Files website is for anyone researching FLIPPEN/FLIPPIN/FLIPPING ancestors. There are sections for lines, queries, URL links and more. Its special section is the Flippin Families which covers from the earliest generation down to the 4th generation: To submit your home page 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.
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