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Internet fertile ground for family trees
November 18, 1997
Web posted at: 5:30 p.m. EST (2230 GMT)By Kim Komando
I'm sure you remember that project in elementary school where you drew the big tree and wrote your name on the trunk. Then you added your parents' names to the first two branches, and so on.
That's as close as some people will ever get to reconstructing their family tree. But for millions of others, genealogy has become a rich and entertaining hobby. And the personal computer has emerged as the premier tool for do-it-yourself family historians, making it easier than ever to reconstruct the past.
Your PC can help you probe into your family's history in two ways. First, there are a number of genealogy software programs that help organize information as you gather it. These types of programs have been around for years, but they just keep getting better as technology advances.
Second, the explosion of online services and the Internet has made your PC an invaluable research tool for a family tree project.
Probably the most popular genealogy package available is "Family Tree Maker," from Broderbund Software. It comes in three versions, and the version you want depends on how sophisticated you want to get and, or course, how much money you want to spend.
The basic edition sells for $29.95 and provides the basic tools you need to assemble your family tree. "Family Tree Maker Standard Edition III" sells for $59.99 and comes with two CDs full of Social Security data that may contain information about your ancestors. "Deluxe Edition III" sets you back $99.99 and comes with five CDs filled with actual family trees from around the world.
Keep in mind that much of the public information on the Broderbund supplemental CDs is also available on the Internet, for free, and Internet research sites often contain more recent data than that contained on CDs. If you're not connected to the Net or don't want to be when constructing a family tree, the extra money might be worth it. Otherwise, I recommend getting the Basic Edition and purchasing any additional CDs as the need arises.
At $129, "The Master Genealogist," from Wholly Genes Software (http://www.whollygenes.com), costs a lot more than "Family Tree Maker" and doesn't provide all the CD goodies. Nevertheless, it's the software choice of many professional and hard-core amateur genealogists. Whereas consumer-level genealogy programs are designed to hold your hand along the way, "The Master Genealogist" is designed to be a more powerful tool by providing greater flexibility and customization. If you already have a family tree project going and have a good grasp on the subject, this may be the program for you.
Other genealogy programs include the $79.95 "Corel Family Tree Suite" and several shareware programs that you can find online.
One thing you need to remember is that no matter which program you use, you should make sure that it's GEDCOM-compliant. GEDCOM stands for GEnealogical Data COMmunications and is a standard file format that was developed to allow for the exchange of information between different brands of genealogy software.
This means that you can enlist the help of other family members and get preformatted information from them, even if they aren't using the same software as you.
On the Internet, there are thousands of Web pages devoted in one way or another to genealogy. But before you check them, try to locate some long-lost relatives using your favorite search engine.
Search using your own last name and see who pops up. Granted, if you have a name like Smith or Jones, you're going to have a tougher time sifting through the millions of hits you're likely to get. On the other hand, if your name is a little less common (like Komando), there's a good chance that anyone you find with the same last name may occupy some remote branch on your family tree.
If you're looking for genealogy-oriented Web sites, the best place to start is with the maker of your genealogy software. All of the companies I've mentioned in this article offer online resources for budding genealogists. For example, on the Family Tree Maker site, you can post a brief advertisement for the type of information you're looking for.
Let's say your name is Googleschmidt, and you live in Los Angeles. You post an ad on the Family Tree Maker site asking for information about other Googleschmidts. Then when some Googleschmidt in Milwaukee starts a genealogy project and does a search for his last name, he'll find you.
Another great online genealogy resource is called Ancestry Hometown (http://www.ancestry.com). What I think makes this site noteworthy is its numerous searchable online databases. Two of these databases -- the Social Security Death Index and the Ancestry World Tree -- are available for free, but Ancestry Hometown also offers some other more obscure databases for a $4.95 monthly subscription.
These include Confederate Soldiers of Louisiana, Maryland Soldiers in the Civil War and the Vietnam Casualty Index, among others. The site also offers an online genealogy tutorial and links to other sites.
If you want to go back even further than your family's history in the United States. A good place to start is Cyndi's List of Ships, Passenger Lists and Immigration (http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/ships.htm). This page, part of a Web site maintained by Cyndi Howells (author of "Netting Your Ancestors," a book about online genealogy research), has links to all sorts of valuable information, including passenger lists of famous ships like the Mayflower and Titanic, how to obtain immigrant and passenger arrival microfilm from the National Archives, and how to request your ancestors' records from the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
From there, search the Internet using the word "genealogy." You'll be amazed at all the hits. And if you happen to find a Komando perched on some branch in your family tree, be sure to let me know.
(Kim Komando can be reached at komando@komando.com)
(c) 1997, Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate
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