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Why Genealogists Should Use Computers by Paul Blake President, Rochester Genealogical Society

Why Genealogists Should Use Computers by Paul Blake President, Rochester Genealogical Society. Rochester Computer Society April 8th, 2003 Webster, NY. Agenda. Definition of Genealogy & some background As a genealogist why do you need a computer Organization Discipline

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Why Genealogists Should Use Computers by Paul Blake President, Rochester Genealogical Society

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  1. Why Genealogists Should Use Computersby Paul BlakePresident, Rochester Genealogical Society Rochester Computer Society April 8th, 2003 Webster, NY

  2. Agenda • Definition of Genealogy & some background • As a genealogist why do you need a computer • Organization • Discipline • Facilitation of storage • Communications • Research • Genealogical Software Offerings • Q&A

  3. Definition of Genealogy • The study of family origins & History • The word comes from 2 Greek Words • genea meaning race or family • logia meaning theory or science • i.e. to trace ancestry • Genealogists compile lists of ancestors • arranging them in pedigrees • or other written forms

  4. Definition of Genealogy • Thought pedigrees were what dogs had • Pedigree comes from Latin • pes which means foot • grus which means crane • derived from a sign resembling a crane’s foot • used to denote lines of descent by early west European genealogies

  5. Some More Background • Genealogy has gone through 3 periods • Oral tradition - memorized list of names • Written pedigrees - primarily nobility • About 1500 AD in western Europe and later in the English-speaking world during which the whole basis for genealogy widened to such an extent that the majority of people in western Europe can trace their ancestry.

  6. Some More Background • Modern Genealogy • Has increased dramatically since 1945 • The United States has had a long interest • Societies like the New England Historic Genealogical Society • The Augustan Society & many other state societies • The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS or Mormans)

  7. Some More Background

  8. Why do Genealogists need computers • Organization • As you research you accumulate information • The more years - the more paper • How do you find anything?

  9. Why do Genealogists need computers • Computers bring organization & discipline • Key data required • Syntactical checks for date fields • Error checking, i.e. person born after death of mother

  10. Why do Genealogists need computers • Computers facilitate storage of data • Digital images require much less space

  11. Why do Genealogists need computers • Communications • Electronic Mail to fellow researchers and relatives • Bulletin Board and chat rooms for genealogists researching the same lines • Sharing research

  12. Why do Genealogists need computers • Research • Incredible wealth of information on CD ROMS • Complete books • Indexes • Pictures • etc.

  13. Why do Genealogists need computers • Research - CD ROM Example

  14. Why do Genealogists need computers • Research • The internet • Literally millions of sites http://www.cyndislist.com/

  15. Why do Genealogists need computers • Research • Many are voluntary organizations http://www.usgenweb.org/

  16. Why do Genealogists need computers • Many are commercial and require subscription • Research http://www.ancestry.com/main1.htm

  17. Why do Genealogists need computers • Some are sponsored by local government agencies • Research http://www2.cityofrochester.net/cs/MarriageRecords/index.cfm

  18. Why do Genealogists need computers • Some are sponsored by US government agencies • Research http://www.archives.gov/index.html

  19. Why do Genealogists need computers • LDS Church is a huge sponsor for genealogical research http://www.lds.org/

  20. Why do Genealogists need computers • Plug for Rochester Genealogical Society web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyrgs/

  21. What to Buy - Software • There several popular Genealogical programs available • PAF is supplied by LDS for free • Family Tree Maker is the most popular program in the RGS CIG • Generations, Ultimate Family Tree, Master Genealogist, Family Tree, etc.

  22. What to Buy - Software • Genealogy programs seem to have similar features • The Rochester Genealogical Society CIG from time to time does presentations on various genealogical software. • It is important to select a product that supports the GEDCOM standard which will allow you to share your data

  23. Last but not least • Lets look at Family Tree Maker

  24. In Summary... • Definitions • Organization • Discipline • Facilitation of storage • Communications • Research • Brief Look at Software

  25. Q&A Pedigree GenWeb FTM Cyndi’s List

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