At our September meeting we were discussing the use of commercial software to build our family trees and I promised to give you a link to some websites where they were reviewed. This Best Genealogy Software site is dated June 2017 so is reasonably up-to-date and looks at 10 available programmes. It really is a personal choice but remember that as with any comparison sites the results may be biased in favour of the compiler’s preferences – even the capabilities questioned asked may not be the ones which are important to you. Several of them will link to sites such as Ancestry and Findmypast but to use that facility you need a subscription to those sites. Note that RootsMagic offers “RootsMagic Essentials” :- a free version of their software with a limited set of features tailored towards beginners.
In an attempt to familiarise myself with different methods I have recently been using Family Tree Maker with its direct links with Ancestry and Familysearch. I have been very critical in the past about the accuracy of some of the online family trees and I can now see how easy it is for a beginner to be seduced into believing that all the hints offered are the ones for them! Anyone without the basic understanding of the resources may not realise the pitfalls – and using this method of creating a tree I felt disconnected from the results with no ownership of the tree.
This has reinforced my feelings that the rush to do everything at speed these days can result in hours of work trying to undo the connections on our trees and you do not get the thinking-time to consider the implications of this new fact. For example:-
- Were there other members of the same family living nearby on the census?
- Other children baptised with the same parents?
- Other members of the family buried in the same churchyard?
- Has this fact already been added to your tree?
When offered hints I now initially ignore all those from family trees (which are usually offered first!) and then carefully review the rest of the hints making sure that the image offered actually matches the person on my tree and not someone else with the same name! This is not to totally ignore the family trees - there can be some vital information in them - but just to question everything.
We can all make mistakes - and it is also good practice to go back to your own research and question that as well. As you go through your research try asking yourself – “How do I know that?” This doesn’t mean “Where did I find that?” My research is well sourced but looking at it again recently I became aware that in at least two places I couldn’t be sure that I had the correct person. At the time I originally did the research I think I must have thought that there were no other possibilities but now that there are more images of nearby parish records available I have picked up other clues and am doubtful of my initial findings.
Online Resources
- Knowing where to look for information is important and the Lost Cousins Newsletter for October lists the parishes which have images of their records available on Ancestry and Findmypast as well as heaps of other useful advice – This newsletter is free - why not subscribe to it?
- Another site which lists the latest resources available is Genealogyintime although they do seem to be a little late in catching up with the GRO Index!
- As a Society we belong to the Federation of Family History Societies and they are currently offering this advice to new researchers including a link under Guides to their Really Useful Leaflet.
- In my research I have become interested in a family with Romany connections and at the Bristol & Avon Fair in September I was persuaded to join the Romany and Traveller FHS I have already made some progress with help from other members who are researching the same name – so for a modest outlay I have been side tracked into the rich and varied life of Romany Gypsy, Traveller and Fairground People.
- If any members have come across any sites or resources which have been helpful to them perhaps they will add them as a comment to this update.
Sharing Family Information
The family tree entered under JAKEWAY on our site is inspirational and I hope that others will follow Julie’s example. One small point – make sure that information about living people is not included in any tree which you post. It has to be in PDF format and can be entered under any name which you already have put on under the Members’ Surname Interest
Help Sessions
Apologies to those who turned up for a Help Session at Worle last Friday – there was an error on our diary where although it said we would be there on the 4th Friday of the month on the calendar it was listed on the last Friday for which we are very sorry. We were there on the 4th Friday of September and will see you next on Friday 27th October (the 4th Friday). The Weston Help Sessions are continuing every Saturday afternoon and the Portishead Sessions are on the 2nd Wednesday.
Weston U3A
The Family History Group of the Weston U3A meets on the first Friday of each month at St Paul’s Church Hall in Weston from 2.15 – 4.00 pm. The new session starts on Friday October 6th and will be a general introduction to research and people attending are asked to bring along any items or pieces of research which told you something news about your family. The full programme can be seen here. If you are not a member of the U3A you can attend one meeting as a visitor to see if you like it before joining the U3A. N.B. Several members of our society are also members of the U3A and a full list of U3A groups can be seen here.
Society Meetings
There is to be a slight change in the format of Society meetings. The doors open at 7.00 pm and tea or coffee will be available from 7.00 pm before the meeting starts at 7.30 pm. This time can be used to consult a Help Desk operated by Graham Payne or talk to others about your family history, look at the Society Library and Exchange Journals etc.
October Meeting
We will welcome Dr Adrian Webb to talk to us about his interest in maps to assist all forms of research. Adrian, who has a strong interest in family history and has been a member of this society has promised a light-hearted look at maps of this area.
DNA Testing
As a follow-up to the talk in July about DNA testing Jenny and Peter Towey have offered to host a small group at their home in Bleadon to discuss the implications. These will be on the 2nd Thursday evenings of Oct, Nov and Dec between 7.00-9.00. Please contact Jenny and Peter if you would like to be included or for more details
Society Events
Tomorrow, some of us local members will be attending a Society Lunch in response to a request for more social events – we will consider whether this becomes a regular occurrence. Thanks to Peter de Dulin for arranging this one.
If you have any ideas for other events please let us know
Visit to The National Archives at Kew
We are considering whether there would be sufficient interest to run a trip to Kew in April 1018. Please will you give your names to Brian Airey if you would be interested in such a visit.
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