Genealogy Tools

The primary purpose of this blog, if I didn't make it clear in my previous post, is to post pictures and family history from time to time. The starting point for the diverging lines of family tree remains at my own children shown here. They are, from left to right, Holly Marie Seward, Melanie Lynn Seward, William James Seward. 

So, a few of the associated names involved are Seward, Berry, Adams, Tucker, Millard, Hunt, Stanley, Salyer, Norvell, Word and many more.

I haven't quite figured out how to post a family tree here, but I will eventually. In the meantime, if anyone out there is doing genealogy and using a program I will be happy to send a gedcom file of what I have gathered so far. All you have to do is ask. My email address is lastromantic49@yahoo.com. You ARE using a program for you genealogy aren't you? I would not suggest doing it any other way these days.

There are a lot of useful genealogical programs out there and they all have great points. Some can be very costly, there are even a few free ones. Whichever one you decide to use, be sure it can generate the reports you want. Even more important, be sure it will import and export files using the .ged or gedcom format. This will allow you to get files from others, offer your files to others, and migrate all your files to another program if you decide you like it better. Otherwise, guess what? You'll be re-entering reams of data you've collected if you ever decide to change.

Personally, I use Personal Ancestral File, or PAF, the program put out by the Church of Jesus Christs of Latter Day Saints. However you feel about their religion, they have come to set the standard for genealogical work. Their program is free and very good.  It can be downloaded here. I have been using PAF for many many years. I have accumulated a few related tools and other programs, like Brother's Keeper and Family Tree. They have some slightly different reports they will print out that are sometimes neat. However, I always return to PAF. That's the beauty of using the .ged files.

In later posts I will talk about methodology I've learned in doing genealogy. Here I'm just hitting the high points.

Websites. There are tons of websites. Most cost money and can be worth it. Ancestry.com  is one good one. There are lots of free resources there, as well as "for money" ones. Don't pass up government resources and other free sites. Sometimes you can get the same information that you might have to pay a fee for elsewhere. There is a lot out there. One place to start is USGenWeb. The previously mentioned LDS Church has many local genealogy data centers as well as a web site.You don't  have to be a member to use their facilities or their data.

That brings us to libraries. Many local public libraries, especially near county seats, have genealogy sections and associated genealogical organizations. I am from Williamson County, Texas. The county genealogical society there is the Williamson County Genealogical Society. They maintain books and records at the Round Rock Public Library, at Round Rock, Tx. The counties where your families have lived is a logical place to start.


Books. Once again, there are lots out there. My first suggestion would be Emily Croom's book "Unpuzzling Your Past". I consider it an absolute must for a beginner, or anyone who wants a solid foundation for their research. Emily's website is great too. That book and others are available there.


VERY IMPORTANT. One of the best things you can do is to document your work. Start a log file, on computer or in a notebook. EVERY TIME you get a letter with information, or pictures, or anything that adds data to your files, number it IMMEDIATELY and include it in your log. Put that number down, the date, who gave it to you and a short description of what it is. It might be a web page, or an email, or an entry in a book or magazine. Put it down immediately. You'll thank me when you need to look it up later. When I started doing this I had already been doing genealogy for awhile. I went through everything and started numbering and writing down. Now, PAF also has that facility included in the program now. You can reference everything in the program as well. I like to do both.


You may think you are only doing this for yourself, but some day someone will take a look at it and ask you, "Where did you get that information, I didn't know that!" or "I have a different birth date for Uncle Festus, who told you that?" Believe me, it helps.