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BOOT CAMP 54
PCS AND FAMILY TREES
Your PC's ability to gather, store and process information makes
it a perfect tool for genealogical research, and this time of year -- with
family connections at their strongest -- is the ideal time to make a start on that
family tree you've been meaning to compile. It can be an absorbing and
rewarding pastime and who knows where it might lead? You might discover royal
ancestry, a hereditary title and coat of arms, a forgotten legacy or even an
infamous mass murderer in the family… The point is you'll be creating a unique
and valuable resource to share with the whole family and a fascinating insight
into your own life and times for future generations.
A computer makes the task so much easier by creating a
dynamic database and archive that can be easily updated as family members arrive
and depart, but the real advantage lies in the ways different types of information
can be collated and presented. The traditional hand-drawn family tree usually only
has room for names and key dates; a PC family tree can incorporate so much more,
including almost unlimited amounts of background notes, stories or anecdotes, photographs,
drawings, scans of old newspapers, even sound and video clips. The PC has
another equally important role to play, as a finder of information. The Internet
is brim-full of genealogical sites, family home pages and e-mail provides a
fast and efficient means of communication for family members, wherever they may
be.
So where do you start? You will of course need a PC but this
kind of application isn't particularly demanding and any reasonably recent
multimedia model (Pentium 90 or faster) will suffice. An Internet connection is
vital and since you will be handling photographs and documents, a scanner is
invaluable. Again, you won't need a particularly elaborate model indeed any of
the current sub £100 models should be more than adequate.
The right software is important too. It is possible to
create a basic graphical tree with standard Windows applications like a word
processor. Better still would be a spreadsheet program, such as Excel. Cells
can contain a mixture of information and the tabular presentation is well
suited to the tree layout. However, to do the job properly and make maximum use
of your PC's processing power it's a good idea to get hold of a
purpose-designed family tree program. There are plenty to choose from,
including some excellent freeware and shareware titles that can be downloaded
from the Internet (see contacts).
Programs to look out for include Broderbund Family Tree Maker,
GSP Family Tree, Cumberland Family Tree, Family Origins and Generations, most
of which sell for between £20 to £40.
In addition to displaying the tree in a visually attractive
format, and making it easier to access or update the archive, most family tree
programs will allow you create detailed printouts or even help compile an
illustrated book for wider distribution. Many family tree programs use a common
file format, called Gedcom (extension *.gft), which will allow you to exchange
data with other researchers, using other types of software.
It can be a lot of hard work so before you begin ask around to
see if any of the initial research has already been done. Most families have at
least one amateur historian -- past or present -- whose records may be able to
get you off to a good start. Older family members can give you first person access
to recent family history, though remember to exercise some tact and always be
sensitive to any skeletons and scandals that you may uncover. Illegitimacy and
extra marital affairs were just as common 100 years ago as they are today, our
forebears were just more adept at keeping them secret…
Official documents such as old birth, marriage and death
certificates are an invaluable source of raw data and family photo albums can
provide a wealth of information. Don't dismiss the apparently mundane; postcards
and letters often contain useful historical snippets and even obscure photographs
of places or buildings can provide additional avenues for exploration.
Back to the PC. Start with an Internet search of your family
name on search engines like Altavista, Yahoo and Lycos; don't forget to try
some of the more obvious alternative spellings. You may well come across a
family home page a link to long-lost relations or overseas branches of the
family. In the UK genealogists are well served by our long history of bureaucracy
and record keeping by Government agencies. The Public Records Office Web site
(see contacts) has some excellent information and advice for novice family historians.
Try also the Office for National Statistics and Family Record Centre and the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, all of whom host informative web sites. You
will also come across numerous historical societies, research agencies and
magazines that specialise in genealogical research.
Be realistic in your research and set yourself achievable
goals. At first it is highly unlikely you will be able to trace your ancestry
back more than a few generations, so aim to complete a tree for the past 200
years and take it from there. Most researchers begin with the paternal or
family name but from a genetic perspective the maternal line is equally valid
and in some societies it is considered more important, though it may involve considerably
more effort.
Next Week -- formatting and partitioning
JARGON FILTER
FREEWARE
Shareware programs that are free to use, but the author
retains control and copyright over the original programming code
SEARCH ENGINE
Internet sites that seek out information, by topic, keyword
or name. Good places to start are: www.yahoo.com www.lycos.com www.altavista.com
SHAREWARE
Software programs that you can
try, before you buy. If you decide to use it you are obliged to send a payment
to the author or publisher. Some programs are automatically disabled when the
trial period has expired
CONTACTS
Family Tree programs to download
http://www.hotfiles.com/home/genealogy.html
Genealogical advice and surname finder
http://www.familychronicle.com
UK Public Records Office
http://www.pro.gov.uk
Office for National Statistics & Family Record Centre
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons_f.htm
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org/cwgchome.htm
TOP TIP
Send To is one of the most useful facilities in Windows Explorer. By
right clicking on a file, the Send To option will instantly copy the file to another
folder, a floppy disc or the clipboard, but it can do many more things besides.
You can add any application or drive destination to the Send To list and save
yourself a lot of time moving files and opening applications.
Go to the Start menu then Programs and open Windows Explorer. Scroll down
the list to the Windows folder, open it, locate and double click on Send To.
Now go up to File on the menu bar, select New, then Shortcut and use Browse to find
the application you are interested in. Open the folder and look for the relevant
*.exe file, single click to highlight and select Open. You will be asked to
give the program a name -- if you don't want to use the default -- then click
Next and Finish and the item is added to the Send To list.
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