[smile] Love the last one Chris. I bet you would have felt differently if you had found the very thing you wanted at the LMA!!!
Anne
* I wish someone had told me . . . When I started
I wish someone had told me . . . When I started
When we got back so far with research (using Ancestry) that marriage records did not always show a wife's maiden name we were entering the christian name only. What a mistake! Now we put, for example, ANN(UNKNOWN)DAGWOOD where Dagwood is the husband's name and (Unknown) highlights in the family list that we do not have a maiden name. It may not be the best method but we now realise that we were missing all the subsequent records eg census and death that related to the wife which Ancestry would have flagged sooner. Hopefully this makes sense (and suggestions for a better method appreciated!)
Dagwood[wink]
Dagwood[wink]
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davidm_uk
- Megastar
- Posts: 740
- Joined: 20 Mar 2004 12:33
- Family Historian: V7
- Location: St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK
I wish someone had told me . . . When I started
I always put in the equivalent of Ann /Dagwood (WIFE)/ in FH, then every so often export a 'sanitised' (eg. dates for those still living truncated to just the year - using Res Privata) ged file to Ancestry and Genes Reunited.
Not sure what Ancestry or GR would make of this, but it raises an interesting question. I've found quite a lot of useful information via the Hints feature on Ancestry, particularly links to other peoples trees who may have the same person.
Not sure what Ancestry or GR would make of this, but it raises an interesting question. I've found quite a lot of useful information via the Hints feature on Ancestry, particularly links to other peoples trees who may have the same person.
I wish someone had told me . . . When I started
Choose a Program (Family Historian) preferably, make yourself
at ease with using the program before you start, and follow the advice of people like Jane. Easy[confused]
at ease with using the program before you start, and follow the advice of people like Jane. Easy[confused]
I wish someone had told me . . . When I started
Use the one source per census entry method, not the one per census year method. I decided to change five years ago when I already had 250 census events entered and it took me six months to re-enter them and clean out all the old references. If I hadnt used Gedcom Census I would probably still be doing it.
Use Gedcom Census (sorry Nick I havent tried Ancestral Sources yet) as it makes sure you are entering data in a consistent format across multiple similar events.
If you use software like Gedcom Census, Ancestral Sources or other add ons, then make a donation to the person who wrote it. They have written this in their own time and allowed you to use it, saving you a huge amount of time in entering your data and making it consistent. Surely thats worth something to you.
Also make a donation to FHUG from time to time (or just use the link for any Amazon purchases you make). Although there are many here who share their experiences and provide help, there is no doubt that Jane provides most of the support and gives a huge benefit to us all by creating and maintaining this site. Where would we be if the hosting costs become too much and she had to close the site.
Dont trust anything on the LDS website that says submitted by a member unless you have verified it. I have seen birth records 100 years out of place as they sometimes assume parents were twenty when their child was born, ignoring the fact that your ancestor may have been the last child when the parents were in the forties. Once this adds up over a few generations the errors soon mount up.
Be careful when sharing your data with the new sixth cousin who has just contacted you via GenesReunited or Ancestry. They may well upload your data to another website which then charges people for your research.
Be very careful about putting details of yourself or any living relatives on the internet. In these days of identity theft you may have given them your data of birth and mothers maiden name. These are the two security questions that most banks ask. Again be careful of that new sixth cousin who might have no reservations about publishing the data on living people that you have kept private.
Use Gedcom Census (sorry Nick I havent tried Ancestral Sources yet) as it makes sure you are entering data in a consistent format across multiple similar events.
If you use software like Gedcom Census, Ancestral Sources or other add ons, then make a donation to the person who wrote it. They have written this in their own time and allowed you to use it, saving you a huge amount of time in entering your data and making it consistent. Surely thats worth something to you.
Also make a donation to FHUG from time to time (or just use the link for any Amazon purchases you make). Although there are many here who share their experiences and provide help, there is no doubt that Jane provides most of the support and gives a huge benefit to us all by creating and maintaining this site. Where would we be if the hosting costs become too much and she had to close the site.
Dont trust anything on the LDS website that says submitted by a member unless you have verified it. I have seen birth records 100 years out of place as they sometimes assume parents were twenty when their child was born, ignoring the fact that your ancestor may have been the last child when the parents were in the forties. Once this adds up over a few generations the errors soon mount up.
Be careful when sharing your data with the new sixth cousin who has just contacted you via GenesReunited or Ancestry. They may well upload your data to another website which then charges people for your research.
Be very careful about putting details of yourself or any living relatives on the internet. In these days of identity theft you may have given them your data of birth and mothers maiden name. These are the two security questions that most banks ask. Again be careful of that new sixth cousin who might have no reservations about publishing the data on living people that you have kept private.
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fred_calgary
- Silver
- Posts: 7
- Joined: 05 Jan 2011 12:22
- Family Historian: V6.2
I wish someone had told me . . . When I started
How to organize PC files in terms of file naming and folder location (the thread below discusses file naming conventions and provides folder storage /organizing options)
http://www.fhug.org.uk/cgi-bin/index.cg ... y&num=4698
Earlier in this thread julielou2 (point 1) and goodwin2 (point 2) made similar observations.
PS I've found everyone's contributions to this topic very interesting -- Jane's booklet will undoubtedly be a must read!!
http://www.fhug.org.uk/cgi-bin/index.cg ... y&num=4698
Earlier in this thread julielou2 (point 1) and goodwin2 (point 2) made similar observations.
PS I've found everyone's contributions to this topic very interesting -- Jane's booklet will undoubtedly be a must read!!
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Wilfreda99
- Diamond
- Posts: 97
- Joined: 27 Aug 2010 09:29
- Family Historian: V7
- Location: Beds/Bucks border - England
I wish someone had told me . . . When I started
I wish someone had told me when I started family history research - by entering verious family names into search engines, usually during a wet lunchtime at work, that websites disappear, or information on them changes.
Fortunately I printed the only photos I have of my grandfather but this was mainly because there was a good quality printer at work and I was not connected to the internet at home (10 years or so ago). Other data I found seems to have disappeared without trace - though of course it possibly is elsewhere on the net and I will find it again.
I also didn't realise that images of web pages saved to my pc were links to the web page rather than stand alone pictures. I spent a tedious period going through them all and saving them as pdf images.
Fortunately I printed the only photos I have of my grandfather but this was mainly because there was a good quality printer at work and I was not connected to the internet at home (10 years or so ago). Other data I found seems to have disappeared without trace - though of course it possibly is elsewhere on the net and I will find it again.
I also didn't realise that images of web pages saved to my pc were links to the web page rather than stand alone pictures. I spent a tedious period going through them all and saving them as pdf images.
I wish someone had told me . . . When I started
With regards to sources, it's more a case of I which I'd listened!
What I wish people had told me:
Moving Gedcom from program to program corrupts it. You'll find loads of weird entries by the time you settle on a program. Therefore don't start entering serious data until you're settled. Resist the temptation to continue the tree you started in another program and use it in the new one. Start again, it's the best way of finding out if the program does what you want without corrupting your file. Otherwise on every import you'll spend ages correcting 'mistakes' introduced by the last program, only to do it all again and again until you finally find FH or realise how good it is.
PDF printers. Get one off the net and print webpages to pdf if you can't print there and then or if you want an electronic record. As Wilfreda99 said, they change.
File everything, either paper or electronic, in 1 place. Do an export/save as/pdf print if you have to, but make sure everything is in your control. Emails are a great example of this as some internet providers clear out your old emails (ie more that 6 months old) without you moving them to trash! So you could be looking for an email about your relative that someone sent you last year and you will not find it again.
What I wish people had told me:
Moving Gedcom from program to program corrupts it. You'll find loads of weird entries by the time you settle on a program. Therefore don't start entering serious data until you're settled. Resist the temptation to continue the tree you started in another program and use it in the new one. Start again, it's the best way of finding out if the program does what you want without corrupting your file. Otherwise on every import you'll spend ages correcting 'mistakes' introduced by the last program, only to do it all again and again until you finally find FH or realise how good it is.
PDF printers. Get one off the net and print webpages to pdf if you can't print there and then or if you want an electronic record. As Wilfreda99 said, they change.
File everything, either paper or electronic, in 1 place. Do an export/save as/pdf print if you have to, but make sure everything is in your control. Emails are a great example of this as some internet providers clear out your old emails (ie more that 6 months old) without you moving them to trash! So you could be looking for an email about your relative that someone sent you last year and you will not find it again.