Review: Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook

Somehow I missed the release of the Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com by Nancy Hendrickson. When I reviewed Unofficial Guide to FamilySearch.org, I became a big fan of Family Tree Book's unofficial series, so I was very happy when I received a review copy of the new Ancestry book, Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook: A How-to Manual for Tracing Your Family Tree on the #1 Genealogy Website.

Chapters are organized around record types. The chapters of the book are:

1. Search and the Card Catalog
2. Census Records
3. Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
4. Military Records
5. Immigration Records
6. Historical Maps, Images, Newspapers, and Publications
7. Social History [directories, tax records, land records, histories, etc.]
8. AncestryDNA

Each chapter contains overviews of the databases of the chapter’s record type and helpful instructions on using that type. For example, from the vital records chapter:

Death records can open up new lines of research, primarily because they can contain the name of the person’s parents (including the mother’s maiden name) as well as where the parents and the decedent were born.

Each chapter has a number of exercises. Don’t think workbook quizzes; think step-by-step walkthroughs. 

Each chapter also contains some helpful “search strategies” for the chapter’s record type. Here is an example search strategy from the census chapter:

Don’t assume your ancestor was skipped during an enumeration. Look for alternate surname spellings, first name shown as initials, or location in a neighboring county.

Each chapter contains workbook forms and worksheets for things like searching the census and abstracting birth records. Appendices have additional checklists, worksheets, and census abstract forms. While a book obviously isn’t going to contain enough copies of each form or worksheet, additional copies can be downloaded from the Family Tree Magazine website.

 

Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook: A How-to Manual for Tracing Your Family Tree on the #1 Genealogy Website Nancy Hendrickson 8.2 x 0.6 x 10.9 inches, 192 pp., paperback. 2017. ISBN 1440349061 Family Tree Books 1-855-278-0408, shopfamilytree.com $10.99 Kindle $13.19 Google eBook $14.57 Amazon $21.99 Paperback/eBook list price, plus shipping.

Don’t Let Your Research Be Flushed Down the Toilet

The Monday Mailbox, “17 Years of Research Being Flushed Down the Toilet,” drew lots of great suggestions on ways Larry—or anyone else—can preserve your research before you are gone.

Doris Wheeler suggested the many copies approach to sharing your tree online:

I still advocate also using GEDCOM to post my tree (without images) to Wikitree, RootsWeb WorldConnect, Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and any other place I can. The thought of losing the fruits of all that hard work is unbearable.

(Sarah V offered to help out if you wish to go the Wikitree route. Just reply to her message.) I said in my article that no one could see your Ancestry tree but subscribers. Barry M Spinner reminded me that Ancestry is available in many libraries, whose patrons will also be able to see your tree.

While some people are concerned about sharing, Carol Yocom said, “I've always shared my work gladly. There are mistakes, but most of it is well sourced.” She said posting several thousand images is “labor intensive, but I'll be damned if 45+ years of work ends up in a dumpster.” She hopes “it proves useful to others after I've collected my ticket outta town!”

Proofreader said, “It's hard to beat good old fashioned paper.” Plenty of people agreed, and again advocated the many copies approach. Mary Chamberlain said,

I think it's important to get hard copies of the tree and any source documents to as many libraries, historical societies, and genealogical societies as possible. Not just those in the area where Larry lives now, but those in areas where branches of the family once lived.

Jim Culbert said that some societies accept paper, some electronic, and some will not be interested at all.

Cat fan said,

If you can create a report with all your family research information and images,and save the document (MS Word or PDF); you can send it to the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne IN. They will print a copy for reference at the library and send you a copy.

For more information, see http://www.genealogycenter.org/Donate.aspx.

If you check with them beforehand, the FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City also accepts donations of books you’ve written. However, they are very picky. Books must be readable, very well organized family history books, rich in standard, genealogical information about people. The preferred format is electronic: a Word or PDF file. Next best is unbound, double sided printed pages. You must be the copyright holder and sign a document giving FamilySearch permission to freely make copies of your book. (I’m pretty sure this includes digital copies posted for free use on the Internet.) They do not accept family tree databases, nor collections of pedigree charts and family group sheets. (I assume that these can be elements of your well-written family history book.) Don’t think you can print out your GEDCOM, throw a hard cover on it, and send it to the Library.) Before donating, contact the donation staff at bookdonations@familysearch.org or call 1-801-240-1855.

I think if you produce a book of Family History Library quality, you should have no problem placing copies in several libraries of various types and town, county, and state genealogical and historical societies. Nancy Smith Gibson warned not to forget your local genealogical society:

I would suggest donating your research, both your tree(s) and back-up information to your local genealogical library or organization. Our local genealogical library benefits greatly from donated research, books, pictures, etc. Sooner or later, somebody either comes in, calls, or emails looking for information and we are so happy to be able to provide some detail that gets overlooked when the majority of information is digitalized. We have many volunteers who work one, two, or more days a month to organize and file. Don't forget your local organizations.

Nancy Smith Gibson
The Melting Pot Genealogical Society and Library
Hot Springs and Garland County, Arkansas

Joseph Martin additionally sent his books to some 65 family members and published about 30 articles in various genealogy magazines, “trying to assure that my 45 years of research will be preserved.”

Connie Moretti pointed out that if you qualify for membership in a lineage or heritage society like the DAR, SAR, Mayflower, and Jamestowne societies, they will preserve your application and all the documentation.

 

Regarding saving your photos and document images to FamilySearch.org: I had asked Legacy, “Does Legacy allow uploading source images to FamilySearch Family Tree?” Legacy responded: 

We would LOVE to see this but FamilySearch does not allow this, at least not yet.  We can only do what FamilySearch allows (they call the shots on what features we can have).  As soon as they give us the go ahead our programmers will make it happen.  For now, you have to upload photos manually on FamilySearch itself.

Signed,
Michele
Enhancement Requests
Legacy Family Tree

According to P Walker, Ancestral Quest is already doing it:

I imported my RootsMagic gedcom into Ancestral Quest (wasn't happy with how images were treated during the import, however, but maybe other imports, such as from Legacy and PAF would do better) and then synched those with FamilySearch Family Tree and it's really going quickly getting images up into FS and also downloading any new ones anyone has added.

It's taking longer for RootsMagic and Legacy to add this as it's not a priority of theirs right now…

The Ancestral Quest page on FamilySearch.org indicates P. Walker is correct.

As I reported last Monday, RootsFinder will soon (if they don’t already) have the capability to upload to FamilySearch Memories the photos associated with a GEDCOM.

More Accusations of Plagiarism Leveled at Barry Ewell

Accusations of plagiarism have once again been made against author, speaker, and website publisher, Barry Ewell.

On 11 March 2016, Thomas MacEntee presented evidence of alleged plagiarism by Barry Ewell of information written by Kimberly Powell. See “Review: Google Guide for Genealogy: 1001 Ways to Search the Internet Like a Genealogist,” GeneaBloggers (http://www.geneabloggers.com). Thomas purchased a copy of Barry’s book, Google Guide for Genealogy: 1001 Ways to Search the Internet Like a Genealogist. In reviewing the content he found “much of the information can easily be located on the Internet, including entire articles by other authors.” As an example, Thomas presented a side-by-side comparison of about 20 paragraphs from a Kimberly Powell article, copied without attribution. Thomas verified with Kimberly that she had not given permission to Barry to copy her work. Here are a few of the paragraphs Thomas presented:

Kimberly Powell	Barry Ewell Alleged Plagiarism
Step One: Search for the Source	Step One: Search for the Source
Whether its a personal Web page or a subscription genealogy database, all online data should include a list of sources. The key word here is should. You will find many resources that don’t. Once you find a record of your great, great grandfather online, however, the first step is to try and locate the source of that information.	Whether it’s a personal web page or a subscription genealogy database, all online data should include a list of sources. The key word here is should. You will find many resources that don’t. Once you find a record of your great, great grandfather online, however, the first step is to try and locate the source of that information.
Look for source citations and references – often noted as footnotes at the bottom of the page, or at the end (last page) of the publication	1. Look for source citations and references – often noted as footnotes at the bottom of the page, or at the end (last page) of the publication.
Check for notes or comments	2. Check for notes or comments.

This is not the first time Barry has published a book containing information copied from the web without attribution. In 2012 Barry Ewell published a book that copies from the website of the 1997 KBYU Ancestors series.

KBYU Ancestors Series Website	Barry Ewell Book
The content varies somewhat by religion with Scandinavian Lutheran, for instance, generally providing more details.	Information will vary somewhat by religion, with Scandinavian and Lutheran, for instance, generally providing more details.
Minutes or communicant lists can also be helpful in reconstructing family history. The sudden disappearance of a couple from the list may signify their departure from the community. The disappearance of one but not the other may indicate death, an important clue if the death records no longer exist. They may also contain information as to where some moved… They also help you to learn more about what your ancestors were like and how they worshiped.	Minutes or Communicant Lists. These records can be helpful in reconstructing family history. The disappearance of a couple from the list may signify their departure from the community. The disappearance of one but not the other may indicate death, an important clue if the death records no longer exist. These lists may also provide insight as to where persons have moved. These records also help to build a picture of what your ancestors were like and how they worshipped.
Source: “Other Church Records,” Ancestors (http://www.byub.org/ancestors/records/religious/intro4.html).	Source: Barry J. Ewell, Family Treasures: 15 Lessons, Tips, and Tricks for Discovering Your Family History (Cedar Fort, Utah: Plain Cite Publishing, 2012), 326; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=mjkJ0TmDOu4C).

Other parts are obvious copies as well. The list of denominational archives on pp. 81-2 of Barry’s book is such an exact copy of the list at http://www.byub.org/ancestors/records/religious/extra.html, he even copied the alphabetization problems of the BYU website.

Barry Ewell has also copied information from the web for newspaper articles. On 27 April 2013, the Salt Lake City Deseret News published a story written by Barry Ewell titled “Genealogy: Use and Record What You Learn.” The editor has appended this notice:

Editor's note: The original version of this story posted on April 27, 2013, failed to properly attribute all source materials, which violates our editorial policies. The story was revised on March 19, 2014, and attribution to original sources were added. A version of this column also appeared in the print edition of the Deseret News on August 8, 2013. The Deseret News demands accuracy in attribution and sourcing and considers any lapses to be a serious breach of ethics. The Deseret News is no longer publishing Barry J. Ewell's writings. (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865579049)

That story presently attributes information to a FamilySearch wiki article, “A Guide to Research.” (https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/A_Guide_to_Research)

The Deseret News published another Barry Ewell article on 6 July 2013 (“Genealogy: Five steps to finding ancestors”) which now bears the same notice (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865582698). That story presently attributes information to the same FamilySearch Wiki article.

The Deseret News published another Barry Ewell article on 7 September 2013 (“Use Your Camera to Document Family History Research”) which now bears the same notice (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585957). That story presently attributes information to a Dennis Ridenour article published in the 1 February 2003 issue of UpFront with NGS newsletter (http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NGS/2003-02/1044160664) and a Maureen Taylor article, “Tips for Photographing Gravestones: Documenting Without Damage” (http://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/64_gravestones.html).

Sound like a broken record?

The Deseret News published another Barry Ewell article on 14 September 2013 (“Share Oral History Between Generations”) which now bears the same notice (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865586360). That story presently contains one unattributed quote and attributes a FamilySearch wiki article, “Involve Children and Youth in Family History” (https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Involve_Children_and_Youth_in_Family_History). Ironically, an Iranian website plagiarized Barry’s original article, should you wish to read it. (Google search for “ever be grateful that I was able to visit my relatives in Iceland.”)

The Deseret News published another Barry Ewell article on 30 November 2013 (“Sharing family history: Write and share your story”) which now bears the same notice (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865591494). That story presently attributes information to FamilySearch, Kimberly Powell, Laura Weldon, Lorelle VanFossen, and a Ginger Hamer.

Barry Ewell has also copied information from the web for his videos, according to Thomas MacEntee in a 10 March 2014 article titled “Plagiarism: A Venereal Disease in the Genealogy Community” (http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-plagiarism-venereal-disease/).

One trick that Ewell uses is to embed content in videos – content which is not easy to compare with an original source since much of it is in the form of audio or images: Listen to the audio at http://genealogybybarry.com/7-slideshow-series/arician-american-research/ and then read http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/afam/index.aspx?id=3000#Why.

On 6 July 2013, DearMYRTLE published an example alleging Barry Ewell had plagiarized Cyndi Howells’ interview on the Ancestors television show. (See “Is There Such a Thing as Ethical Plagiarism?” on DearMyrtle: Your Friend in Genealogy Since 1995.)

Cyndi Howell	Barry Ewell Alleged Plagiarism
It is important to know that vital records searches are most useful for finding relatively recent information. With some exceptions, most U.S. states did not assume legal responsibility for vital records until around the turn of the last century. The first to start keeping vital records was Massachusetts in 1841 and the last was New Mexico in 1920.	It is important to know that vital record searches are most useful for finding relatively recent information. Most US states did not assume legal responsibility for vital records until around 1900. The first state to start keeping vital records was Massachusetts in 1841, and the last was New Mexico in 1920.

Barry also copies other people’s information for his blog. Consider a single article, “Sharing Family History: Write and Share Your Story” (http://genealogybybarry.com/sharing-family-history-3-write-share-story/ : 21 November 2015). As of the date of this writing, none have attribution even though Barry copied the entire article almost word-for-word.

Originals	Barry Ewell Blog
Create a Family Newsletter Consider creating a family newsletter. Get others involved. Be creative. A well-written newsletter is a wonderful way of keeping families together. Newsletters can include stories about an ancestor or share research successes and assignments. You might have an entire issue dedicated to family history or a regular feature on family history… Create a Family Web site A family Web site is a wonderful way of involving family members who have computer skills. Let them design, create, and maintain the Web site, while you and others contribute the information. The Web site … encourage extended family members to take an interest in the family’s history. … Write a Family History Book A family history book is a major undertaking, but it might provide a wonderful opportunity to involve extended family members. You might ask them to contribute information on their own family or research information on a specific ancestral family. Source: “Involve Your Extended Family in Family History,” FamilySearch [Wiki] (https://familysearch.org/wiki : rev 14:33, 30 May 2012).	Create a family newsletter Consider creating a family newsletter. Get others involved. Be creative. A well-written newsletter is a great way of keeping families together. Newsletters can include stories about an ancestor or share research successes and assignments. You might have an entire issue dedicated to family history or a regular feature on family history… Create a family web site A family Web site is a great way of involving family members who have computer skills. Let them design, create, and maintain the Web site, while you and others contribute the information.  The website … encourage extended family members to take an interest in the family’s history. Write a family history book A family history book is a major undertaking, but it might provide a wonderful opportunity to involve extended family members. You might ask them to contribute information on their own family or research information on a specific ancestral family.
Scrapbook Your Family Heritage The perfect place to showcase and protect your precious family photos, heirlooms, and memories, a heritage scrapbook album… Source: Kimberly Powell, “10 Ways to Celebrate Family History Month,” About Parenting http://genealogy.about.com/od/holidays/tp/family-history-month.htm : rev. 29 October 2014), no. 6.	Scrapbook your family heritage Showcase and protect your precious family photos, heirlooms, and memories in a heritage scrapbook album.
Develop a book of family lore. Compile family recipes and any anecdotes that go with these foods. Add family sayings, funny stories, traditions, timelines, anything you’d like to record for coming generations. Source: “26 Ways to Make History Relevant,” Laura Grace Weldon (http://lauragraceweldon.com/2011/08/10/making-history-relevant/ : 10 August 2011).	Develop a book of family lore Compile family recipes and any anecdotes that go with these foods. Add family sayings, funny stories, traditions, timelines, anything you’d like to record for coming generations.
A family history blog is a chronological posting of articles, stories, news, tips, and information on the family’s history. The website is dynamic, with the front page changing with the addition of new material. It is also interactive, as comments are allowed, giving people an opportunity to comment and give feedback on the information you have to offer. A family history blog can be maintained by one person or dozens. Source: Lorelle VanFossen, “What Do You Put Into Your Family History Blog?” Family History (http://family.cameraontheroad.com : 30 January 2007).	Write a family history blog A family history blog is a chronological posting of articles, stories, news, tips, and information on the family’s history. The website is dynamic, with the front page changing with the addition of new material. It is also interactive, as comments are allowed; giving people an opportunity to comment and give feedback on the information you have to offer. A family history blog can be maintained by one person or dozens.
Sundays are a good time for making weekly entries. Remember to make it a family rule that each person’s journal is private and must not be read without the owner’s permission. If your children are too young to keep journals themselves, you can start a notebook for them. Use plastic protector sheets to preserve birth certificates, blessing and baptism certificates, and other important papers. Ask your young child to tell about an event in his own words and write it down for him. Each year on the child’s birthday write a short history of the preceding year, recalling the child’s growth and recording amusing anecdotes so quickly forgotten otherwise. Source: Ginger Hamer, “Family Fun with Genealogy,” Ensign, online edition (https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/09/family-fun-with-genealogy : September 1984).	Encourage family members to keep journals Sundays are a good time for making weekly entries. Remember to make it a family rule that each person’s journal is private and must not be read without the owner’s permission. If your children are too young to keep journals themselves, you can start a notebook for them. * Use plastic protector sheets to preserve birth certificates, blessing and baptism certificates, and other important papers. * Ask your young child to tell about an event in his own words and write it down for him. * Each year on the child’s birthday write a short history of the preceding year, recalling the child’s growth and recording amusing anecdotes so quickly forgotten otherwise.

These examples have been easy to find, but I’ve run out of time. I will leave you with one final example.

Michael Hait reported on 7 July 2013 that some of his work had been plagiarized by Barry Ewell. (See “Copyright, Plagiarism, and Citing Your Sources” on Planting the Seeds: Genealogy as Profession.) In the slides attached to the blog post, he presented side by side comparisons to illustrate the plagiarism. For example, one set of slides shows this:

Michael Hait	Barry Ewell Alleged Plagiarism
GET LOCAL	Get local
Know the geography of the area in which your ancestors lived, not just physical terrain but also political jurisdictions.	Know the geography of the area in which your ancestors lived, not just physical terrain but also political jurisdictions.
Know the laws that governed your ancestors’ time. Know the local history – the local leaders, the local churches, the common occupations of the area at that time.	Know the laws that governed your ancestors’ time. Know the local history – the local leaders, the local churches, the common occupations of the area at that time
All of these help to recreate the world in which your ancestors lived, and all of your “evidence” was created.	All of these help to recreate the world in which your ancestors lived, and all of your “evidence” that was created

After 26 slides of comparisons, Michael asks, “Plagiarism? You Be the Judge.”

 

---

Note: Sources are either cited inline or, in the cases of examples from other websites, cited in those respective articles. All websites were accessed the weekend of 27 March 2016. The illustration comes from Merlin2525, “Do Not Copy Business Stamp 2,” Openclipart (https://openclipart.org/detail/172061).

Review: Unofficial Guide to FamilySearch.org

When I first heard about the book, Unofficial Guide to FamilySearch.org, I expected I wouldn’t like it. That was many weeks ago and I don’t even remember why. As it turns out, I like it. A lot. I consider myself pretty familiar with FamilySearch.org, but even I learned from this book.

I received a PDF copy for review, which is part of what I really like about this book. I’m converting more and more of my library to digital format so I can carry it with me where ever I go. I’ve marked it up extensively using the annotation features of Adobe Reader. I hope the PDF available to the general public doesn’t require Adobe Digital Editions. Adobe Reader has more natural reading control and has much more sophistical markup capabilities.

One weakness of a book about a website under current development (as FamilySearch.org is), is the shifting sand upon which it is built. In the short months since the book’s release FamilySearch.org has changed a dozen or more, mostly minor, features explained in the book. The book’s instructions on deleting a person from FamilySearch Family Tree no longer apply. (FamilySearch no longer allows users to delete persons. They want users to merge instead. Only imaginary persons should be deleted and this must be done for you by a support representative. But I digress…) As another example, the book does not explain user-to-user messaging. I’m hoping the publisher, Family Tree Books, finds a way to offer free updates to purchasers of the eBook editions. I think that is one of the powerful opportunities made possible by eBook publication.

Perhaps the biggest reason I like this book is because author Dana McCullough does more than explain how to use FamilySearch.org. She does so in the context of teaching how to do genealogy. For example, the “Getting Started” chapter briefly introduces the features of FamilySearch.org, but then immediately launches into genealogy basics. She counsels readers to start by recording what they already know about parents, grandparents, and so forth. She then instructs readers to start looking for documents, beginning in their own home. The first chapter continues with information on organizing your records, creating a research plan and research log, and citing your sources. At that point she returns to the topic of FamilySearch.org, with specific instructions on establishing a user account.

Dana closes the first chapter, as she does all chapters, with a short “keys to success” list and a helpful checklist to use when applying the principles taught in the chapter.

In the second chapter, “The FamilySearch Family Tree,” I was uncomfortable with her treatment of the one, shared tree concept. In her paragraph introducing Family Tree she states that “whether you’re viewing a family tree you created or one someone else posted, the information you can view on each person remains consistent across all family trees.” Does that sound like one, shared tree to you? She later explains that “you can search for family trees others have posted on the website by going to the Family Tree tab.” Again, this sounds like multiple trees.

She’s eight pages into the chapter before she obliquely addresses the one, shared tree concept. After she says “you can post your family tree for free on FamilySearch.org” she warns that “as you create your tree, keep in mind that anyone can change anything in any family tree on this website. So if you create an ancestor listing in your tree, someone else researching the same family could go in and update or change the information for each ancestor.” Nowhere did she try to teach the concept that this is a single tree representation of, someday perhaps, all recorded mankind.

Author Dana McCullough really understands the FamilySearch ecosystem. FamilySearch enables other companies to extend the capabilities of FamilySearch Family Tree. On p. 20 she explains the Tree Connect bookmarklet from RecordSeek.com. The bookmarklet automates creation of Family Tree sources. This level of detail shows that Dana has done extensive research so that her book is the best it can be.

As I mentioned, Dana goes beyond teaching about FamilySearch.org. She teaches about genealogy. Starting with chapter 5, she teaches about different, albeit mostly US, record types: census, vitals, immigration, naturalization, military, probate, court, and more. She even suggests some key, non-FamilySearch.org databases. As I also mentioned, a challenge of writing about a constantly changing website is currency. Dana provides lists of available record collections, but these are quickly becoming out-dated.

I have a bunch of nitpicks. This is a review, after all.

• The PDF was a bit wonky in organization. When I opened this book, I looked for publication, copyright, and printing information on the back of the title page, but it wasn’t there. After reading the book for days I happened across it inside the back cover.
  
• It also seems from the PDF version that the book begins chapters on left-hand pages. Is that true of the print edition? It feels weird.
  
• My “go to” test for polish in a PDF book is page numbers. Has the publisher gone to the extra effort of making the logical page numbers (the ones in the box up on the toolbar), match the page numbers printed on the pages? That’s the kind of finishing touch that a truly professional publisher makes. This book’s publisher did not. If I want to jump to page 100 and I enter 100 in the page number box, I land on another page.
  
• I think FamilySearch doesn’t do a good enough job explaining how users could use the Reason Statement field offered whenever users make a change. On p. 44 in the illustration of adding a source, Dana’s answer to the question “Reason this source is attached[?]” is “Listed in record.” I think we’re missing an opportunity to supply a proof statements or short proof summary. I think the question being asked is really “Why do you think this record applies to this person?” This decision is the atomic conclusion upon which all correct genealogies are built. If the source provides direct evidence with no contradictory evidence, the answer may be a simple sentence or two. “The name, birth info, and parents’ names on the record match what is in the tree.” Again, I lay the blame for this shortcoming on FamilySearch, not Dana. She addresses this concept admirably on p. 67.
  
• On p. 65 I’d like to have seen more hints on how to find records in unindexed collections.
  
• On p. 81 I think she missed the point that the Indexed IGI results are actually regular, old historical records that can be accessed via the normal historical records search.
  
• Unfortunately, when acknowledging the contributions of FamilySearch’s Robert Kehrer, she calls him Richard.

Yikes! I’ve run way too long and still have so much I could say about this book.

The author, Dana McCullough (Milwaukee, WI, www.danamccullough.com), is a former assistant editor at Family Tree Magazine. She currently is a freelance writer and editor who frequently writes and edits content on genealogy and higher education topics. She has written or edited content for twenty magazines and has contributed to the editing of eight books. Her writing has been published in Family Tree Magazine, The Artist's Magazine, Family Circle, Brain Child, Better Homes and Gardens' Simply Creative Weddings, My College Guide, The Iowan, Wisconsin Woman, and Scrapbooks, etc., among other national and regional consumer magazines. Dana has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Iowa State University..

This book is available for review on Google Books and for purchase on Google Play.  It is available in paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon. It is available in paperback and PDF formats on ShopFamilyTree, brought to you by Family Tree Magazine.

Unofficial Guide to FamilySearch.org: How to Find Your Family History on the Largest Free Genealogy Website 9.1 x 0.6 x 7 inches, 240 pp., paperback. 2015. ISBN 1440343284 Family Tree Books 1-800-?, shopfamilytree.com $12.99 Kindle $15.33 Google eBook $25.99 Paperback/PDF list price, plus shipping.

Review: Research Process QuickSheet

Today I’m reviewing Elizabeth Shown Mills’s QuickSheet: The Historical Biographer’s Guide to the Research Process. This QuickSheet consists of four models.

Page one contains “the Research Process Model.” Mills describes a research process consisting of four stages, beginning with preparation and ending with reporting. Page one also contains “Your Research Report.” In this part she advises that you “create a formal report of the same quality you would expect from the best professional.” She describes the four sections to include in your research report.

Page two contains “the Research Analysis Model.” This is an elucidation of the evidence analysis process map found on the flyleaf of her book, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. She gives elements to be considered when analyzing evidence. Evidence comes from information, which comes from sources. Each of these three, sources, information, and evidence, can be classified in ways that assist analysis.

Since release of this QuickSheet, Mills has added additional classifications. The QuickSheet lacks the additional classes of sources (authored), information (undetermined), and evidence (negative). To see the additional classes, see “QuickLesson 17: The Evidence Analysis Process Map” on Mills’s blog, Evidence Explained: Historical Analysis, Citation & Source Usage.

Page three contains “the Identity Triangulation Model.” The model suggests identity is more than just a name and “random data [extracted] from convenient records.” Identity requires triangulation of persona, relationships, and origin.

Page four contains “the Reliability Model” which has almost twenty questions divided into seven groups. The questions help determine if a conclusion is reliable. One such question, categorized as conflict resolution, is “Has the researcher adequately investigated any and all evidence that contradicts the proposed conclusion?”

QuickSheet: The Historical Biographer’s Guide to the Research Process 8.5" x 11", 4 pp., folded and laminated. 2012. ISBN 978-0-8063-1892-9 Genealogical Publishing Company 1-800-296-6687, www.genealogical.com $8.95 plus shipping. Also available as a digital publication from the author. www.evidenceexplained.com $8.95.

Review: The FAN Principle QuickSheet

Has it been three years since Genealogical Publishing sent me a bunch of publications for review? I apologize; if I’m going to accept publications, I need to follow through. Today, I’m reviewing Elizabeth Shown Mills’s QuickSheet: The Historical Biographer’s Guide to Cluster Research (the FAN Principle).

Elizabeth Shown Mills uses the acronym FAN to help people remember the meaning of cluster research. “To prove identity, origin, and parentage, study individuals in the context of their FAN Club: Family, Associates, and Neighbors.”

I’d always considered cluster research to be something used solely to break through brick-walls. This QuickSheet has convinced me otherwise. Genealogy—family history, if you prefer—is more than vital facts. It is understanding a person’s story in context. Where did they live throughout their life? Who did they associate with? What was the legal environment? What was their character? Only when we have this depth of understanding can we be confident that the assembled sources all refer to the same person.

On page one, Mills gives six basic questions to apply as a starting point. She reviews seven major problems and work-arounds. On page two, she gives 16 record types with extremely helpful hints on how to apply them to cluster research. Page three consists of “the Problem-solving Spiral,” with guidance on how to structure a research project. Page four gives a simple bull’s eye illustration with some general guidance.

In each of my reviews I feel obligated to say something negative, so here it is. I wasn’t certain the flow of information was the most natural. I’m pretty familiar with Mills’s teaching skills—which are exceptional—so I doubt this is the fault of the author. Authors are constrained by editors, graphic designers, layout, and the size of the subject matter. But this nit pic hardly matters; with only four pages of information, the order does not affect the value.

QuickSheet: The Historical Biographer’s Guide to Cluster Research (the FAN Principle 8.5" x 11", 4 pp., folded and laminated. 2012. ISBN 978-0-8063-1894-3 Genealogical Publishing Company 1-800-296-6687, www.genealogical.com $8.95 plus shipping. Also available as a digital publication from the author. www.evidenceexplained.com $8.95.

Genealogy at a Glance: Polish Genealogy Research

After my recent review of another At a Glance title, I pawed through my stack of things to do and looked at the other titles Genealogical Publishing Company has sent me over the years. If you’ll recall from my DNA results, I’m pretty homogenous, so I’m not really qualified to review many of their At a Glance titles. But I have a friend, David Ouimette, who’s an expert in Polish genealogy, so I thought I’d ask him what he thought about Genealogy At a Glance: Polish Genealogy Research, by Rosemary A. Dembinski Chorzempa.

David immediately brightened at the name of the author. Chorzempa authored Polish Roots, the book that he found invaluable in his first foray into Polish genealogy. After reading through the four pages, he gave a positive review. He said she’d covered the right information in each section. He liked the books she suggested, although he felt she had left off a couple of major ones:

• Going Home : A Guide to Polish-American Family History Research by Jonathan D. Shea
• Sto Lat: A Modern Guide to Polish Genealogy by Cecile Wendt Jensen

The reverse side of the sheet lists place names in English, Latin, Polish, and German. David thought it was very helpful to have those particular four languages, as they prove the most helpful. (Russian also shows up in some areas of Poland.) But he thought a list of words commonly found in records would have been a more valuable use of the space. (She provides translations of 12 common words, but only from Polish to English.) He thought she provided some “cool links,” some to websites he’d not seen before.

David finds it helpful to look at a subject through the different angles provided by different authors. Dembinski Chorzempa’s is one he recommends.

Genealogy at a Glance: Polish Genealogy Research Rosemary A. Dembinski Chorzempa 8.5" x 11", 4 pp., folded and laminated. 2013. ISBN 978-0-8063-1968-1 Genealogical Publishing Company 1-800-296-6687, www.genealogical.com $8.95 (list) plus shipping ($7.50, Fed Ex Ground).

Genealogy At a Glance: Scots-Irish Genealogy

I don’t know why the Genealogical Publishing Company keeps sending me stuff for review. I don’t have time for a lot of reading and have a bookshelf full of titles I’ve begun but never finished. And I always give their Genealogy At a Glance reference sheets a bad review because the price per page is enormous. The single sheet of paper is folded in two and laminated, yielding four pages. I don’t often see them include reference type material. You know, the stuff I’m talking about. You view it over and over and have it within reach on your desk: the dictionary, Evidence Explained, and The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy (I got to chapter 5).

However, when I received their latest offering, Genealogy at a Glance: Scots-Irish Genealogy Research by Brian Mitchell, a thought occurred to me. Maybe I’m approaching this series wrongly. Maybe I ought to see them as the perfect beginners’ manual for someone who has a bookshelf full of titles begun but not finished. I have a dead-end in my genealogy that seems to have both Scottish and Irish connections. Maybe I should give this one a try.

What I found was a helpful introduction for an absolute beginner to Scots-Irish research. I was a bit disappointed to find in the second paragraph that this guide was for pre-1800 immigrants. My brick wall is a 19th century immigrant. But I learned a lot about who the Scots-Irish are, where they came from, and what resources are available for researching them. As with any good four page introduction to a subject, this guide contains references to books for further information on different aspects of Scots-Irish research. I trust these are the best references in those areas. And it was not like those obnoxious conference syllabi that contain little else but a bibliography. I raised an eyebrow when the first book referenced was a book by the author himself, also published by the Genealogical Publishing Company. But that is to be expected assuming GPC approaches the foremost experts on subjects.

The guide began with the usual wasted space, a table of contents. Come on guys; this is a four page title. And it is bookended with 10 square inches of wasted space dedicated the equivalent of a title-page and back jacket: the name of the publisher, the copyright date, a marketing logo, and the UPC. In-between I was pleased to see the small margins and reasonable leading  befitting a four page reference work.

I’m surprised I’m giving my first positive review of an At a Glance title. Remember, I’m not an expert and can’t vouch for the choice or value of the information presented. But for an ever-so-brief introduction for someone of my attention span, I liked it.

Genealogy at a Glance: Scots-Irish Genealogy Research Brian Mitchell 8.5" x 11", 4 pp., folded and laminated. 2014. ISBN 978-0-8063-1996-4 Genealogical Publishing Company 1-800-296-6687, www.genealogical.com $8.95 (list) plus shipping ($7.50, Fed Ex Ground).

FamilySearch Releases Mormon Migration Record Collection

Just in time for Utah Pioneer Day (24 July), FamilySearch has released the “Mormon Migration Database, 1840-1932.” This collection contains basic information obtained from the Brigham Young University (BYU) Mormon Migration website. It contains links to the BYU website for additional information, such as ships’ rosters, ship photos, passenger journals, autobiographies, and letters. The collection contains information about international converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who crossed the oceans to gather in America from 1840 to 1932. Think of the Mormon Migration website as the successor to the FamilySearch Mormon Immigration Index CD, both of which were compiled by Dr. Fred E. Woods of BYU (and other contributors).

You’ll recall that FamilySearch recently provided a gateway to the “Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868” database of the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (See my article, “FamilySearch and Utah Pioneers.”) You may know this database by its old name, the Melvin L. Bashore “Crossing the Plains Index.” This database lists the names of all known immigrants travelling overland (overland as opposed to what?) to the Utah Territory for the years 1847 to 1868. FamilySearch is only providing a gateway to this resource, rather than an integrated record collection like the Mormon Migration collection.

A search of the Mormon Migration BYU website for “Elizabeth Robinson” found 17 passengers. The BYU site also performs a keyword search of personal accounts. It found seven, but because these are OCR indexes, none of them were actual matches. It found 19 voyages associated with the 17 passengers and 7 accounts. You can also search the BYU site by date or ship name.

The same search on FamilySearch.org gave 39 passengers. Because I didn’t do an exact search, FamilySearch.org included matches for nicknames Eliza, Lizzie, Elisa, and Betsy; abbreviations Eliz. and E.; missing given name; and surname Robertson. Results were sorted with exact matches at the top. Unfortunately, FamilySearch has not consistently included basic information from the BYU site. For example, the result for Elizabeth Robinson—the “pistol filer”—did not include port of origin (Liverpool), port of arrival (New York), or voyage date (8 Sep 1840 - 12 Oct 1840). Without voyage date, FamilySearch was not able to estimate birth year (1835). Without this basic information, it makes it difficult to pick a desired immigrant from among the results. An advantage of searching on the FamilySearch website is that names are fielded, so there are no false matches. A major advantage is that results can be linked to FamilySearch Family Tree.

I’ve hoped for a long time that FamilySearch would provide this collection, so I’m happy to see it. Hopefully, they can rework it to include the information from the BYU site that they have left out.

Genealogy Gem’s Evernote for Genealogists

I recently received an offer to review one of those folded and laminated 11"x17" reference sheets. I’ve reviewed some of and been quite enamored with Genealogical Publishing’s QuickSheets featuring citation reference information from Elizabeth Shown Mills.

I’ve reviewed some of and been generally disappointed with their “Genealogy at a Glance” series, although I haven’t seen them all, so I can’t speak unilaterally. (Funny story: I had their editor approach me at RootsTech a couple of years ago asking if I would be interested in authoring one. I gave him my card and told him I would, but he should know that I was the guy giving them generally negative reviews. For some reason, he never called me. :-)

The difference has been whether or not the material was of a reference nature—would you need it often enough to want a laminated sheet sitting close by your computer.

I hear more and more frequently about genealogists using Evernote. I don’t use it much at all, and certainly not for genealogy. So when the opportunity came along to review Lisa Louise Cooke’s Evernote for Genealogists quick reference guide, I was intrigued.

As an inexperienced Evernote user, for me the reference guide passes the “reference nature, often need” test. I’m at that stage in life where remembering things takes many iterations before they are committed to memory. I will use the two lengthy lists of keyboard shortcuts constantly until I commit them to memory. I will use the short list of steps for several tasks, such as capturing information for a citation or creating a saved search.

I thought the production values of the sheet fell slightly below those from Genealogical Publishing Company (GPC) reference guides. There are tiny bubbles in the lamination. The edge had little bits of fraying plastic. The plastic did not extend uniformly in all directions. And the fold in the paper was uneven. But those are just cosmetic problems and the thickness of the paper and lamination equals those from GPC and these reference guides should last just as long.

The information density falls below the GPC citation QuickSheets. The text size is larger, which may or may not be a bad thing for older eyes. The “Free vs. Premium” comparison table wastes a complete column of valuable space.

The graphic design is nice and bright (matching Cooke’s Genealogy Gems website) and the layout is visually interesting. The guide is available for both Windows and Mac. I reviewed the Windows version. The guides are also available for PDF download.

Evernote for Windows for Genealogists Evernote for Windows for Genealogists (PDF) Evernote for Mac for Genealogists (PDF) 8.5" x 11", 4 pp., folded, laminated. [2013?]. ISBN: None? Genealogy Gems Publishing 1-925-272-4021 * www.GenealogyGems.com $7.95 + $2.00 shipping $5.95 PDF download

AncestryDNA Gets Big Update

Last week Ancestry.com released a new, upgraded experience for their autosomal DNA tests. Not only will new purchasers get the enhanced results, the results from past purchasers has been upgraded as well.

Dr. Catherine Ball, Vice President of Genomics and Bioinformatics for AncestryDNA said, “Today, the AncestryDNA science team has examined more than 700,000 DNA markers to create a genetic portrait for groups of people around the world. By comparing someone’s DNA to this core reference set, we can calculate an ethnicity estimate based on 26 global populations.”

The 26 global regions increases the number of regions from the previously identified 22. African ethnicity has expanded to a total of ten African regions, including six different countries/regions within Western Africa, including Benin/Togo, Cameroon/Congo, Ivory/Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal. The British Isles is now divided into Great Britain and Ireland. Southern Europe is separated into the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and Italy/Greece. 

The Autosomal DNA testing used in AncestryDNA’s test has been received with much more skepticism than the familiar Y-chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA tests. It has been a lot harder for me to understand. While Y-chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA are most often passed unchanged from parent to child, Y-chromosome tests are a reliable way of determining that two males share a common ancestor.

Autosomal DNA is a random recombination of DNA from both parents. I assume an ancestors DNA might be totally displaced, leaving no DNA evidence of that ancestor’s existence. Consequently, Autosomal DNA testing works best in determining broad, ethnic origins because the larger the group of ancestors, the more likely their genes are to have survived in you.

With the imminent release of these enhanced test results, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a test. Before the new results were released, A cousin and I were disappointed that our Native American ancestry was not indicated in the AncestryDNA results. My cousin subsequently did the 23-and-Me test and was pleased to see the expected 2% Native American ancestry.

Consequently, I was pleased to see the Native American ancestry in the new AncestryDNA results.

The Irish ancestry, 21%, is larger than my pedigree would predict, which is 6.25%. This can be explained in a couple ways.

Just because an ancestor on your pedigree chart was born in England with an English surname doesn’t mean all their ancestors were “genetically pure Englishmen” (whatever that means). Some of my English ancestors most probably had intermarried with Irish persons.

The other explanation has to do with the science and math involved in the predictions. I won’t go into it here, but you can read more on the AncestryDNA website. (Oops. Ancestry.com is doing one of those stupid popups that doesn’t have a URL, so I can’t send you to the explanation. This link will show the text but not the diagrams.) Suffice it to say that the percentages given are only averages. The actual value can be anywhere in a range that can be seen by clicking on the result.

For my 21% Irish ancestry, the actual value could be anywhere in the range of 6 to 36%, as shown in the diagram to the right. That covers the 6.25% value predicted by my pedigree.

Besides showing broad ancestral ethnicity, autosomal DNA can identity close, modern relatives. My results showed a close family member (actually, my uncle), one 1st-2nd cousin (roninsider55, who is actually my 1st cousins), two 2nd-3rd cousins (cooperjh and orchardgordon1, whom I don’t recognize by their codenames), three 3rd-4th cousins, over 70 4th-6th cousins, and a 110 pages of distant cousins. Your mileage may vary. I’m a descendent of early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which heavily encourages members to do genealogy, so I am not surprised.

As you can see, codenames give some level of privacy to participants. If you don’t want them known, don’t include your first or last names in your codename.

To the right of the codename is a number indicating the number of persons your relative has in their member tree. A shakey leaf next to that indicates that Ancestry.com has used your tree and his and identified your common ancestor. Clicking Review Match shows the exact relationship (see below).

Beneath this is the relative’s pedigree. (See the example, below.) Despite the anonymity enjoyed by using codenames, seeing that person in the context of their tree, you can see their surname and their deceased parents’ names. In many cases, particularly for closer relatives, this allows exact identification, despite the codenames. If you have good relatives, that’s not so bad. If you don’t,… well, that’s another story.

As I mentioned, you may not see the number of close relatives that I did. One criticism often directed at AncestryDNA is the size of the pool of participants. According to Ancestry.com, the pool has grown to 200,000 customers. Not long ago Ancestry.com dropped the price from $199 to $99 to encourage participation. Additional information can be found in the press release and at www.AncestryDNA.com.

iPhone versus Camera Document Scan

Last time I related my experience using Shoebox from Ancestry, the new smart phone app from Ancestry.com. It turns your cell phone into a portable scanner. While marketed primarily as a photograph scanner, I tested it as a document scanner. Today I’ll continue my evaluation with a comparison of photograph quality.

Because photograph files are often compressed to save size, I worried that Shoebox might compress the file uploaded to Ancestry.com. I checked and found that the copy of the photo on Ancestry.com was exactly the same as the iPhone original.

Next I compared the quality of the cell phone photos to the higher resolution photos from my 14 megapixel Sony. What I found surprised me to a degree. As expected, the Sony photos were pristine clear, colors matched the original documents, there was no perspective distortion, and no other distortions that I could discern. (More on that later.)

Oops. As I inspected the Sony photograph, I noticed I had forgotten about a tiny problem with my Sony. There is a swath along the left margin that is often out of focus. I have to watch carefully for this in archives, as I sometimes return home and find I can't read important details along that edge. Blame the lens. Consumer cameras have cheap lens with these sorts of subtle imperfections. I read recently (sorry, no citation) that lens quality has gone down in recent years offsetting improvements in resolution. Today's cameras give no clearer photographs than the lower resolution cameras of a couple years ago.

The iPhone photos, on the other hand, had several problems. The first thing I noticed was color. The slight yellow-brown of the document had become orange. Technically speaking, the iPhone had automatically increased color saturation. For consumer photography, this has the pleasing affect of bringing out the blue in the sky, the green of the forest, and the red of the sunset. For documents, it is unsound.

Next I noticed that writing at the edges of the document had been clipped off. In subsequent attempts I learned to be more careful, positioning the corner crosshairs a little off the document.

Next I noticed that the iPhone had introduced banding, visible like parallel gray shadows running up and down the document.

Placed side-by-side, the iPhone image was taller than the Sony. I didn’t think to measure the document itself, so I can’t tell you which one squished/stretched the image.

Zooming in to see document details, I felt the iPhone did as well as the Sony. Unfortunately, the iPhone uses higher jpeg compression. While the iPhone’s files were quite a bit smaller than the Sony’s, the iPhone jpegs had bigger halos around the letters of the document. The halos are not as visible in consumer photography, but for legibility of historical documents, jpeg compression is problematic and the higher the compression, the worse it gets.

As to be expected, Shoebox cropping does waste some camera pixels. Mathematically, I know it also produces minute blurring. Practically, there is no trace that it has occurred. However, you should always  center the camera exactly over the center of the document and try to square up the document before taking the picture.

I had one document that, try as I would, I could not get the iPhone to focus.

Finally, I had photographed a grid pattern on the copy stand. Here I could see that the iPhone lens produced greater barrel distortion than the Sony.

So what conclusions did I come to?

• The first thing I need to do is throw away the Sony. That lens aberration has got to go.
• Neither camera produced results as good as a flatbed scanner. For  important documents (and photos, for that matter), use a scanner. Duh. I should have used the scanners built into the copy machines at the Archives. 
• For those times that scanners are not available, try a camera with a decent lens. A cheap standalone or cell phone cameras should be your last choice, but can produce acceptable results.

As this is a Shoebox review, I should conclude with a conclusion about it. I’ll save that for tomorrow’s wrap.

Shoebox from Ancestry

I had a chance to try out Ancestry.com's new mobile phone app, Shoebox from Ancestry. You may recall Ancestry.com bought 1000memories last year. This app is the result of that technology acquisition.

I'm not a fan of using a cell phone as a scanner, but thought I would give Shoebox a fair chance. While I had already posted my valuable photographs to my Ancestry.com Member Tree, it seemed reasonable to use it to capture images of manuscripts. Not all archives are scanner friendly so using a camera is a good alternative. Shoebox uploads images directly to Ancestry Member Trees, making it doubly attractive as an in-archive solution.

For comparison I used my simple consumer point-and-shoot camera, a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W530. It is a 14.1 MP digital camera released in 2011.

One nice thing about the U.S. National Archives reading room in Washington is the copy stands for taking pictures of documents. These make it easy to line up a camera directly above a document while evenly illuminating it with two obliquely mounted lights. You use the tripod socket to mount and align the camera. A grid allows adjustment of the camera to avoid perspective distortion. Pages in a document or items in a packet can be photographed in rapid succession. With my familial tremors, a copy stand or tripod is an absolute requirement (or a trustee assistant). To review the Shoebox app I interrupted my regular shots to take a few extra photos with my iPhone.

After downloading the app I was prompted to log into my Ancestry.com account. Users without an account can sign up for one for free. As does Ancestry.com’s website, the app allows creation of member trees for no charge. The iPhone is not equipped with a tripod mount, but I was able to rest it on top of my Sony, with the iPhone lens poking out over one side.

I aligned the document and pressed the shutter button (the usual camera icon).

Shoebox presented an opportunity to "crop" the photograph or rotate it. Crop the photo by aligning the four corners of a box with the four corners of the document. A magnifying glass allowed precise alignment. Under the covers, the operation is more sophisticated than a mere crop, as alignment of the four corners corrects perspective distortion.

Trying to align the bottom left corner turned off the dashed lines and I thought I had missed my opportunity. I went on to subsequent steps,not realizing i had touched the Align button and touching it again would allow completion of the cropping step.

Clicking Next presents four additional options: People, Date, Location, and Description.

     

The People option allowed me to tag references to people in the document. This automatically attaches the document to them in a Member Tree. If multiple ancestors were mentioned in the doc, I could have tagged all of them.

The Date option gave me the opportunity to associate a date with the document. I usually specify the date of the documented event rather than the date the document was created, but I'm not entirely consistent.

The Location option allowed me to associate the photograph with a particular location. I was in a hurry to get to the next document so I didn't avail myself of that opportunity.

Lastly, I added a description of the document. I clicked Save and Shoebox immediately uploaded it to my Member tree. The upload was not instantaneous, of course, but still interrupted my rapid fire work flow. As might be expected, Shoebox also stored a copy with the rest of my photos on my camera.

After returning to my hotel, I went through the normal process of transferring the photos from my Sony to my laptop. Then I went through and changed file names, adding necessary descriptions and meta data. After returning home I would upload them to my Member tree to associated individuals, adding titles and descriptions and transcriptions.

The Shoebox photos, on the other hand, were already in my tree, attached to the subject individuals. The Description assigned in Shoebox was the Title of the photo on Ancestry.com. After returning home I would add the transcription.

Next time I’ll compare the quality of the photographs.

Ancestral File Tree View

FamilySearch recently released a pedigree view for Ancestral File and Pedigree Resource Files. So what do I think? (I’ll warn my friends at FamilySearch that now is a good time to don your thick skins.)

I confess I was a genealogy geek several years before I got out of primary school. In those pre-copy machine, pre-typing skills days I spent a lot of time hand copying family group sheets and pedigree charts from my parents.

Here is what one of them looked like (less the last inch).

This was one of the few pre-printed forms offered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint. It has full information on four generations: a birth and death date and place for each individual and a marriage date for each couple. The chart links by name and sheet number to the 5th generation. And it has the name of the principal person’s spouse. The consistent line spacing provided more than typewriter efficiency. The rigid binary layout made it easy, at a glance, to distinguish paternal and maternal ascendancy lines. One knew right where to look to see the mother’s father’s mother.

The chart is precisely optimized for ascendancy research.

With my background, I have a tremendous affinity to this chart. Prejudice regarding its form runs deeply in my veins. Giving an unbiased review of the current incarnation will be more than difficult.

Classic FamilySearch.org

Here is the pedigree from the now defunct, classic FamilySearch.

The classic FamilySearch.org pedigree chart was obviously designed by someone schooled in genealogy (or at least in its clerical aspect). It contained identical information to the printed form in virtually the same layout. Building on the strength of technology, it replaced the link to the 5th generation with a clickable link and it added a clickable link to the family group sheet of each couple. Thankfully, it had enough space for full, unabbreviated place names.

Finally, the information for the entire pedigree and associated family groups could be downloaded—with a single click—for further analysis. (Like some of you, I was bitten more than once by wholesale merging of the information. But I digress…)

Current FamilySearch.org

Here is the new pedigree view for Ancestral File and Pedigree Resource File:

It doesn’t include marriage information (except for the principal). It doesn’t contain place information for the 3rd generation. The mother is not positioned to line up with her parents, making quick interpretation less intuitive. The clearest deficiency is the lack of a 4th ancestral generation. After all, ancestry is the point of a pedigree, isn’t it?

It does contain the principal’s children, albeit without full information. It includes all the principal’s wives with a mechanism to choose which wife and children to highlight. This combines the utility of pedigree and family group charts. And it makes it easier to navigate for descendancy research. (Do you remember on classic how painful it was to navigate down the pedigree one generation?)

Above all, this is an improvement over not having a pedigree view at all.

So, what do I think about this pedigree design?

Ancestry File and Pedigree Resource File are not purposed to facilitate new research, but to communicate genealogical conclusions. This makes good charting capabilities and information transfer of prime importance.

Perhaps I am not representative of the genealogical community at large and newer genealogists are not prejudiced by old designs. Perhaps this page was never intended to serve as a pedigree chart, but as a navigation aid. Perhaps better charts are still to come. Perhaps scarce resources are better allocated to improving other aspects of FamilySearch.org.

Regardless, I feel this is a tremendous navigational improvement, a slight presentational improvement, but a tremendously wanting pedigree solution.

What do you think?

(Please leave a comment rather than replying to my e-mail.)

#1940Census Image Viewer Comparison

I’m going to do some comparisons about the 1940 Census experience on the different websites. First up, the image viewers and load time. I’ll do image quality in a future article.

I used the Chrome browser and performed the test on Sunday afternoon in the 4pm MST hour. I used a stopwatch app on my rather old smart phone. I loaded images from Utah ED 3-15.

Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com had the fastest image load time, a bit over 3 seconds. Remember, your mileage may vary. The significance here is the comparison among the websites.

As I’ve reported before, Ancestry.com has switched to the Flash browser plugin (which I dislike). They no longer offer scroll bars, so getting from one corner to another can be painful. Zooming is smooth and easy using the mouse wheel or an onscreen control. Images can be downloaded or linked to people in your Ancestry Member Trees.

Ancestry chanced to the Flash viewer to provide some advanced features from indexed records. I’ll review those in the future. They’ve kept the old HTML viewer around, probably for mobile users. To switch back to the old HTML viewer select Actions > Options > Switch to Non-Interactive Viewer.

My smart phone isn’t smart enough to test image viewing on a tablet or phone. If you want to test it for me, try this URL: http://interactive.ancestry.com/2442/M-T0627-04210-00092?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fsearch%2fdb.aspx%3fdbid%3d2442%26path%3d&ssrc=#imageId=M-T0627-04210-00177

Archives.gov

The image viewer for Archives.gov (Archives.com) is fast, taking about four seconds to load each image. The browser Back button doesn’t work. There is no zoom. The viewer is the only one of the four reviewed here that has scroll bars. Scroll bars allow you to quickly move to a desired area of the image. There is no way to directly jump to an image other than the previous or next images.

Images can be downloaded in standard or fine resolution. You can download a single image or an entire enumeration district. Before downloading, you have to do one of those obnoxious Captcha security checks. I suppose that is to prevent parties from “stealing” all these public domain images from the government.

To test the viewer on a mobile platform, use this URL: http://1940census.archives.gov/search/?search.census_year=1940&search.city=&search.county=Cache%20County&search.page=2&search.result_type=image&search.state=UT&search.street=#filename=m-t0627-04210-00177.tif&name=3-15&type=image&state=UT&index=24&pages=46&bm_all_text=Bookmark&searchby=location&searchmode=browse&year=1940

FamilySearch

Image viewing is slowest on FamilySearch, taking about 34 seconds an image. FamilySearch has no scroll bars, so when zoomed in, moving from one end of the image to the other takes a little work. Speaking of zooming in, FamilySearch seems to artificially constrain how far you can zoom, stopping short of the full 100% supported by other viewers.

You can jump to any image in an enumeration district by entering the image number and you can use the browser back button to return back through viewed images.

To test the FamilySearch viewer on a mobile device, click this link: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-27861-7627-25?cc=2000219&wc=MM2Q-5RP:n20560615

MyHeritage

Image viewing on MyHeritage.com took about 17 seconds for an image. However, if I go on to other images and then come back, the image is displayed almost immediately. Don’t try to use the browser’s back button to go back, however. It doesn’t work. Use the drop-down list of image numbers to quickly click to any desired image.

MyHeritage’s image viewer does not have scroll bars. That can be inconvenient because, unlike the artificial limitation of zooming on FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage allows zooming to 100% and beyond.

Test this URL on a mobile device: http://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10052/1940-united-states-federal-census-images?action=showRecord&itemId=15470088

Screen Capture

Screen captures with programs like Snag-It are popular among genealogists. Screen capture from these image viewers is problematic. I tested the image viewers with Chrome’s screen capture and found most capture options did not work and any of the websites.

	Capture page region	Capture visible content	Capture whole page	Capture screen region
Ancestry.com	No	No	No	Yes
Archives.gov	No	Yes	No	Yes
FamilySearch.org	No	No	No	Yes
MyHeritage.com	No	No	No	Yes

Next time I will compare image quality of these vendors’ 1940 Census images.