Geneology software packages

**Kornkob** · 24th July 10, 06:19 AM

I am getting married soon and a collection of uncles who have had a ... strained... relationship for several decades have started to reconnect. Age, sometimes, can help take the edge off old feelings and, frankly they are ranging in age from 60-90 so perhaps they are starting to put things in perspective.

In any case, as part of this the old boys have been sharing old family stories and memories, including genealogical information in a variety of formats and quality levels.

I've decided it might be a good idea for me to start compiling this information and perhaps correcting/validating it while the old boys are still around to help validate the results.

So--- any suggestions on a software package to help me accomplish this? I was thinking about Family Tree Maker but I thought I'd see if anyone had other suggestions.

**Kilted Rogue** · 24th July 10, 06:54 AM

I use both the software from the mormon church, and an online software called Geni both can be found Geni.com and family search

Geni you wont need to download anything, but to use the advance search features you will need to pay a monthly fee. the graphical interface is very nice and easy to navigate.

Family Search PAF 5 is a simple version not as pretty but it gets the job done.

hope this helps

**ctbuchanan** · 24th July 10, 07:02 AM

I have been using Family Search PAF 5 for many years and have found it to be very easy to use with all the features I need. AND it is free. I added an inexpensive report creator called Companion which gives it even more flexibility.
I currently have 2,913 individuals entered into PAF.

**bricelythgoe** · 24th July 10, 07:13 AM

I use family search as well. Simple and free.

**BLHS209** · 24th July 10, 07:58 AM

You may want to consider GRAMPS, a cross platform genealogy program (meaning available for most operating systems). It is open source so there is no cost to download. The link is: http://gramps-project.org/

**Kilted Rogue** · 24th July 10, 08:33 AM

Originally Posted by BLHS209

You may want to consider GRAMPS, a cross platform genealogy program (meaning available for most operating systems). It is open source so there is no cost to download. The link is: http://gramps-project.org/

Thanks for the info on GRAMPS.. i have not heard of that one, and it seem to do both what GENI.com and PAF 5 do together. I may have to take it for a test run

**Lyle1** · 24th July 10, 10:16 AM

I bought Legacy, but I haven't done much with it. I do most of my work on Ancestry.com, and I really use Legacy as a place to dump a back up of my tree. I need to look at the formatting and printing options on Legacy. Whatever you choose, remember to back up your files on a separate drive of some kind, even if you opt to use an online vendor.

**Riverkilt** · 24th July 10, 05:59 PM

Do back up!! I lost all my family treemaker info when a hard drive crashed. At least I'd printed it out.

Another form of back up was to print out my most extensive family tree and make copies and send them to all my brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles.

Not much interest in genealogy in my family but figure all the kin would at least tuck away the work that has been done so far and who knows who might find it in 50 years.

I got started from a letter a great great uncle wrote detailing one branch's family history back to the Mayflower. Somehow that letter survived 70 years until it fell into my hands.

Thanks for the suggestions too - gotta replace my crashed family treemaker - keep them coming.

**BobsYourUncle** · 24th July 10, 07:05 PM

All good suggestions. The best advice may be to choose something you are comfortable with, that way you will actually use it.

Personally, I am very concerned about citation form and being able to have the program write a report closer to the format that would be required for publication. I actually use two programs. For initial data entry, especially while just starting to research a family line, I use Family Tree Maker. That way, if I have attributed the wrong person to the wrong generation, or have made some other mistake, it is relatively easy to fix. For keeping track of source citations, and more publisher-friendly format, I use The Master Genealogist from Wholly Genes software: http://www.whollygenes.com/.
A bit more of a learning curve, but it has "professional grade" features, and is much more customizable than Family Tree Maker or many of the others. Good luck! Regards, BYU