Book Review – Building a Legacy by Rebecca Shamblin

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.

We all love research, but sometimes we forget to keep our family trees safe from simple errors or unexpected disasters. Rebecca Shamblin to the rescue! Her latest book, Building a Legacy: A Guide to Combining Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker, is a step-by-step guide to preserving your hard work.

Not sure why you should sync your Ancestry tree? The explanations are clear and concise. Rebecca provides excellent ideas on how to make the most of both tools. Connecting with distant cousins is crucial for gaining valuable information about ancestors. Remember, not everything is available in record sets! A photo, oral history, or a Bible entry might help you overcome a brick wall in your research. The best way to obtain these family-held items is to make connections via your tree. For those needing to keep their information confidential, Rebecca explains how to ensure complete privacy in Figure 59.

Rebecca noted that Ancestry.com once owned Family Tree Maker (FTM). Although it had a checkered past with several owners (Banner Blue Software, Broderbund, The Learning Company, SoftKey, Mattel, and Ancestry), FTM has improved through Software MacKiev. I had frustrations with the older versions, but repurchasing the updated software was a good decision, and Rebecca’s book is an excellent resource I wish I had last year.

Whether you prefer Ancestry.com or FTM, Rebecca’s instructions are easy to follow, with examples for both programs. Your view might differ slightly from the examples in the book. For instance, when I sync Ancestry to FTM as shown in Figure 12, I don’t need to sign in to Ancestry again. If yours is set up like mine, just skip that step.

With my large Ancestry tree, I sometimes have to re-sign into Ancestry during a sync. FTM’s 24/7 tech support helped me find a workaround for this issue. Rebecca recommended checking the box for Ancestry Citation Media when downloading. For large trees with heavy media, this might not work well. Instead, download the tree without citation media (Figure 19). You can easily obtain citation media later by clicking on any thumbnail under the Media tab and pressing Ctrl + F5. Choose to add all citations, then repeat the process to add only the missing ones for extra security.

Tree Vault is mentioned as a valuable add-on for data safety. However, be cautious. I accidentally deleted files from OneDrive that Tree Vault used, causing issues. FTM flagged the problem, and I had to resync the trees. Lesson learned!

Rebecca mentioned that some Ancestry features are available to free account users. For those on a budget, here’s a link to get a free Ancestry membership: Free Registered Guest Accounts. Note that with a free account, you can’t search all records. Keep in mind if you use Ancestry at your local library, you can’t view or create your own tree.

One of Rebecca’s most helpful tips is how to set up FTM on more than one computer. This is great if you use a desktop at home and a laptop in archives. Follow her directions, and you’re good to go.

I’d like to add a tip for dealing with Newspapers.com’s OCR. If you’re unsure about confusing words, try using AI to make corrections. However, always verify with the original source to ensure accuracy. Your local library might offer free access to Newspapers.com so check that out.

Rebecca shared issues she encountered when backing up and compacting her tree, which I’ve also faced. Her book is a must have if you are using FTM to avoid those problems!

Building a Legacy is a valuable resource for researchers at all levels. I highly recommend purchasing this book . It’s offered in a variety of ways – digital pdf, black and white paperback, spiral bound color or a hardcover color edition.

RootsMagic10 Frustration Update

I am happy to say that RootsMagic did agree to refund my $20.00 for version 10 that would not sync with Ancestry.com. Unfortunately, the email that they sent me stated the refund would occur on August 19 but as of today, still has not shown on my credit card statement. So, I’ve reached out again to RootsMagic asking when this will occur. Sigh.

I will be travelling for the next two weeks so I won’t be blogging for a bit. In the interim, Happy Hunting!

Making the Most of Maps

Photo taken at Indiana Historical Society by Lori Samuelson

I came upon this map when I visited the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis in July with the Society of Indiana Pioneers (SIP). The map was devised by SIP in 1932 to assist potential members with locating their ancestor’s county’s founding between 1790 and 1844. Indiana became a state in 1816 but had become part of the U.S.’s Northwest Territory in 1787. After statehood, as the population rose and scattered, larger counties were made into smaller ones. The pioneer settlement period in Indiana ended in 1849 so this map noted most of those changes.

Here’s a recommendation if you find a unique map either in person or online – look for another. I realize my photo is a tad hard to read but under each county there is a code of “S, O, C, L.” What does that mean?

I searched online and found the identical map with notations that explained it: S was the date of the first white settler, O was the Date of Organization, C means the first Count Occurred, and L is the first Land Entry. The codes and a blow up of the map is available online here.

Maps are an important part of genealogy. Checking to see if the resource is widely available can help you get the most out of your research.

RootsMagic10 Frustration

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Did you receive an offer in June to upgrade your RootsMagic for $20.00 to the new version 10? I did but it took me a bit to decide if it was worth it to do or not. Here’s why…

I’m a long time RootsMagic user and was using version 7 because version 8 never worked for me. It couldn’t handle syncing my large Ancestry.com family tree. Last December I had to purchase version 9 since Ancestry.com changed to two-factor identification. The tree still didn’t sync correctly, however, I was able to transfer my working version 7 to it.

Enter Mid Summer’s Day when I receive another email from RootsMagic with the limited offer to upload to their supposedly latest and greatest version. It hadn’t even been six months since I bought the last one!

I did decide to purchase it but I’m getting a tad tired of forking over $20 every six months, especially when I wasn’t sure if it would even synch with Ancestry.

I have made radical changes to the last tree that I synced with RootsMagic7 so I deleted the tree and decided to start fresh with version 10. They have already updated to a version 10.1 or something in July so I updated again as I tried to get my files transferred.

I made 10 attempts to sync in July. Each time the program timed out at some point – anywhere from a few minutes to 10 hours. You read that right – 10 hours as I let it go overnight. Once it times out RootsMagic is supposed to retry connecting with Ancestry.com, however, it won’t reconnect whether you click “reconnect” or let it try to do it on its own.

I reached out to RootsMagic’s IT Department on 29 July as I did when I had a problem with RootsMagic8. Thirteen messages back and forth and the final verdict:

…“I am sorry I do not know why it times out and will no longer sign back onto Ancestry.  I can see where it did many times, disconnect to Ancestry, but signed back on, after so long it just did not sign on anymore.“…

I have followed their process to get a refund. It’s a software company that doesn’t allow you to do that process online. Sigh. Snail mail only. Their chat is also hidden so I had to rely on email to get help. The IT worker wrote that they would try to sync on their home computer as they didn’t have space on their work computer. Although I greatly appreciate someone going to that extent to help a customer, I do question why a software company doesn’t have enough RAM on their work computers to test their product. How can the sell it if it hasn’t been tested on large trees? Why haven’t they tried to fix the problem that I made them aware of 21 months ago?

The response now was not much better than on 8 December 2022 when they responded:

…”I too could not download your Ancestry tree, I do not know if it is because it is so large.  The number of individual is okay, but you have so many citations.  It might be how they are linked to different sources and some may not be linked to any source.  
 
Downloading your file would take many many hours since you also have lots of photos.
 
If I find out what might be the problem, I will let you know. 

Make sure your find is not being downloaded to oneDrive, iCloud or Dropbox
When downloading make sure you have lots of Ram.  I download to an external drive which had more than enough room.“

That response never made sense to me – IT tried to save to an external drive that had enough room and it still didn’t work but I should try that?! I also didn’t understand the reasoning about the citations possibly being linked to different sources or none at all.

I am able to sync my tree with Family Tree Maker. The issue is not with storage on my end or the amount of media and sources.

The issue is that RootsMagic10, like RootsMagic8 & 9 software, cannot handle large trees if you have media for the individuals. The problem is on their end and perhaps they don’t have many customers with large fully cited trees so they don’t care to fix their problem.

Next month, I’ll share how Family Tree Maker’s software works as I have an upcoming blog book review about that product.

In the meantime, if you decided not to upgrade with RootsMagic because you’ve experienced what I have, you might want to take advantage of Legacy Family Tree’s latest version 10  which is FREE! Here is how to obtain that software. Although you can not sync with Ancestry.com, you can save your .gedcom so you can still work on your tree without being on Ancestry. The difference between sync and download/upload is that your media (photos and documents) does not transfer with download/upload. So you don’t see the picture but the data is still transferable.

Farewell, RootsMagic, I will miss using it. Like you wrote 21 months ago, let me know when you fix your software.

Thank you, Software MacKiev for fixing FamilyTreeMaker as years ago the former owners wouldn’t do that and LegacyFamilyTree for offering your product free. It’s good to know we still have a back up for our online tree.

Genealogy Field Trip

Indiana Historical Society Archives, Indianapolis. Photo by Lori Samuelson

In June I had the pleasure of taking a behind the scene archive tour at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis. This was a field trip sponsored by the Society of Indiana Pioneers. It is a lovely archive with interesting and informative exhibits. Different than most archives I’ve visited, I was permitted to touch the items in their collection. That included a 2500 year old Akkadian cuneiform tablet, an original copy of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, and one of only three Book of Enoch circa 1450-1500 written an ancient South Semitic language known to be in existence. We also saw the box in the archives that held President William Harrison’s quilt, several busts of Abe Lincoln, and loads of photos and postcards.

Using Perplexity.AI To Find Archives & Record Sets

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Last month I blogged about my latest genealogy trip to Chicago in May and my disappointment at visiting many archives and not finding the information I sought. I wish I had read about Perplexity.AI BEFORE my visit.

Typically when I plan a research trip, I consult FamilySearch.org’s Wiki for the area. There, I find the libraries, museums, societies, and other archives that may hold the information I seek. Going to each website, I look at the card catalog and note any record sets that seem promising. I list the address, note closures, add hours of operation, any fees, and where to park. If an appointment is needed I request via email a day and time. Then, I arrive early and am ready to research.

My experience in Chicago, however, was rather bleak. I’d arrive and ask to see a record set. A librarian would then tell me it wasn’t going to hold the answer and I should go to another archive. Or, they’d give me the record but had no knowledge about how it was acquired, what the cryptic notes written on a page meant, etc. I would then get in my car and drive to the next location and go through the same process. Consequently, I came home with finding some information but not everything I had hoped to.

A week after I returned I read an article in American Ancestors about Perpexity.AI and I decided to give it a try. I entered my research question regarding where to find records for a possible 1890s scam of a Civil War Union veteran in Indiana. I wanted to know what record in Indiana could help me uncover who was the individual impersonating a deceased soldier. I received a list of archives and what their record collection held. I haven’t gone to those archives yet but it does look promising. Having a free AI tool to use to not only identify an archive but a record set in it based on information you uploaded for analysis is a gamechanger!

German Genealogy Hints

Graphic by AI

Last week I wrote about solving a genealogical newspaper translation mystery with the help of my extremely knowledgeable cousin Gerhard. Gerhard gave me more useful information when doing German genealogy that I’d love to share with you.

First, he provided me with a resource that would help me transcribe older German alphabet letters. This resource is online here but I never used it. Old handwriting is difficult to read even in English so when I came upon a German document, I simply found someone else to transcribe and translate for me. Gerhard encouraged me to give it a try using the resource which I plan to do.

My family was from the Palatinate region which today encompasses Bavaria. Because that region was torn apart by war for years, the records were sometimes written in Old German, French, and Latin. It even belonged to Austria at one point in time. That’s a lot of customs from lots of regions! What I never understood was the meaning of the word Pfalz. I thought that was a county in Germany. Gerhard explained that Pfalz simply means Palatinate. Duh!

I had used FamilySearch for my German family church records but I wasn’t aware that FamilySearch also contained civil records from the region to the 1880s. Since my folks were here long before that time period, I will be exploring civil records to add to their vital info that I have already discovered.

Tracing Roots: An Afternoon with a Distant Cousin Exploring German Genealogy

Gerhard and I 23 May 2024

Last year I blogged about meeting a distant cousin through Whova, a conference ap. I also mentioned it in the lecture I presented for the National Genealogical Society in May. Social media is a wonderful way to connect with your disconnected relatives. We are 7th cousins. Definitely not close but we have been able to connect through a share German great grandfather Kettering.

On May 22, Gerhard and his girlfriend, Rita, visited my home. It was a wonderful visit! In the morning we visited our local farmer’s market, toured my town, went for brunch, and then returned to my home where we spent hours doing genealogy together.

Gerhard looked over my online family tree and corrected the many German name misspellings I had, particularly regarding locations. I have terrible trouble with diacritical marks!

He brought me updated tree info with sources found in German archives that are not accessible online. I agreed to create a tree for his colleague who found an old genealogy that claimed that some of his family emigrated to Indiana in the 1800s. I confirmed that indeed, they did, after stopping first in Kentucky. I was able to find living descendants for the colleague to contact.

The best part of our genealogical afternoon, besides spending time with a new cousin, was his explanation of a mystery newspaper article that I have written about previously. I had a dickens of a time initially getting native speaker consensus on the word “birthshaus.” I used a German teacher who was born and raised in Germany, some of my family members, a Facebook posting, and a posting to a genealogical group I belong to and received the translation as tavern or coliseum. I have even tried AI and gotten the same results. Clearly, there was no coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1834.  I did find a tavern so I selected that word to use in the lineage society application I was submitting.

Gerhard laughed when he saw the word. He explained a better word usage would have been “beer house.” I was confused so he explained German culture from that time period. After church on Sundays, the ladies would congregate together and spend the day chatting. Their husbands would retire to the house next door to the church that served beer. There, they would drink the day away until their wives came to get them to go home for dinner. Gerhard did not know that the culture had been brought with the immigrants to the U.S. Apparently, it had in Ohio, all because of the newspaper article I found and Gerhard’s knowledge of the customs of people from the home region.

In the United Kingdom, a public house where beer was sold and consumed was known as a beerhouse (Beerhouse act 1830 (11 Geo. 4 & 1 Will. 4 c. 64). That would have been the best term to use in the translation.

Having someone who was knowledgeable about the language, customs, and culture was what I needed to solve my genealogical mystery.

Next week, more helpful hints from Gerhard!

Disappearing Genealogy Books

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Are books disappearing from your local library or archive? I’ve heard concerns locally from several patrons and I do share their concerns. The books are showing up at library book sales and even Goodwill.

I asked a local librarian why this was occurring and was told that the books weren’t being used. I asked how would they know if the books were being used or not since they were all reference books not available for check out. Didn’t get an answer.

Last month I spent the day at the Indiana Historical Society. I asked Suzanne Hahn, VP of Archives and Library and Bethany Hrachovec, Director, Education and Engagement if there was a trend towards purging genealogical tomes. There is for the following reasons:

  1. They are a duplicate copy
  2. They have been digitized (though not necessarily by the library who is purging it)
  3. There is a copy at a larger library. In northeastern Indiana that would be Allen County Public Library, Indiana State Library, Indiana Historical Society, or a university library.

Many libraries are now moving to a theme – only railroad books, for example, or only books for their particular county. Could be but I’m seeing books meeting the purported theme also removed. I’m also not seeing communication between libraries so one removes a book that would be a great addition for another library’s theme. Instead of contacting the library it goes to the resale bin.

Which gets me to the current situation I see in my local library. Too many books for resale and not enough storage so they are giving the books to Goodwill. If they don’t sell they are then disposed of. So very sad!!!

There are people who cannot read digitized books. Perhaps they don’t have the tech or their eyes will not handle it. I see no sense in removing a book that has been digitized, especially not by the entity that was purging it. How do they know that book will stay available to the public? Think about the recent law suit with Internet Archives! The case is back in court again but that doesn’t mean that Internet Archive will survive their appeal. What a loss that will be for all of us.

Maintaining only one regional copy is also problematic. When it starts snowing here people stop driving, especially older folks. Having to travel up to two and a half hours to look at a book that used to be available five minutes from your home is a ridiculous waste of time and money.

If shelf space was at a premium I could understand thinning the ranks but in most cases, it’s not. If the library had funds to purchase new materials I could understand it but that’s not happening, either.

If this situation is occurring in your region speak up. Complete library surveys to voice your concerns. If you have the funds and space, purchase the volumes. Perhaps a genealogy club or society can scoop up the works and create their own check out system. Genealogy books need to be treasured and available to future generations. Help make that happen.