Manasota PAF News Apr 2002

Manasota PAF News
Apr 2002 - Volume 8 Issue 7 - A publication of the Manasota PAF User Group, Bradenton, Florida

We're comin' out of the doldrums of the long winter months -- cold and snowy for our northern friends; busy, with unexpected company for those of us here in Florida. Its time to plan our summer research trips and to tackle that genealogy database again. Just how would your work stack up?

1. Have you filed the photocopies you made at libraries and archives over the winter? How about last summer's stuff? This will serve to get you going, since you'll actually be able to see most of your computer desk again.

2. Are you beginning to work through all your family file folders, to be sure that everyone is listed in your genealogy program? Do it strictly alphabetically, so you don't miss anyone. You'll be surprised at what you missed from those old papers. You looked for one thing when you first found the document, now the names of spouses, and other relatives seem to pop out at you, reminding you that they're important too!

3. Scan to preserve the most important documents for each ancestor, and link them to each individual in your database. Shoot for at least two proofs per generation, and you will be that much ahead if you decide to join a lineage society. Our scanner just died, so we tried taking photos with our digital camera. It worked well, though we had to put the document on the floor and use our tripod at normal height.

4. Decide what additional proofs you'll need to collect. As you noted (in question #3) the types of documents you've collected on an ancestor, you will begin to see weak spots. We all have research where the evidence is only second, third or fourth hand. Family legends just don't cut it in the "proof" department. You'll need to obtain copies of as much primary (first hand) evidence as possible. A christening record from the church is better than an entry in the family bible.

Make notations on a research checklist. If you need ideas, see the Research Helps from the Family History Library's web site at www.familysearch.org. You'll find references to essential resources in and out of the Family History Library for the localities where your ancestor lived throughout the world!

6. Use the Family History Library Catalog online to locate microfilm numbers of primary record sources for each locality.. A recent review of Chester County, Pennsylvania records on film in Salt Lake City shows me that I'll need to order:

From this I hope to ferret out the parents of Jane Bullock born 8 Oct 1748 in W. Bradford, Chester, Pennsylvania, who married James Woodward. Actually, that sounds like a Quaker establishment, so I will also have to check that angle.

7. Order & view microfilm at your local LDS Family History Center. If you can't find one near you, check this online listing for more info: Family History Centers.

8. Note those localities that don't have adequate microfilm coverage through the Family History Library. This means you will need to:

Why do I keep saying "online first"? You'll want to familiarize yourself with the collection at that distant facility and print out pages of call numbers for books, manuscript collections, etc. that you wish to view once you arrive. Where will you find links to the clerk's office, archives and libraries? Again, go to www.usgenweb.com then click on the state and then the county/parish where your ancestor once lived. You'll find street addresses as well as hyperlinks to web sites.

9. Plan your trip, using www.mapquest.com . This site is quite good at providing door-to-door directions, as well a list of major hotel and restaurant chains in the immediate vicinity of your destination.

Not that DearMYRTLE would actually indulge in betting... but I've heard that when playing cards, it's best to play it close to the vest. However, when it comes to genealogical research, that is perhaps akin to shooting yourself in the foot. In either case - DON'T.

You need the input and advice from other researchers working in the same areas, or working the same surnames. To keep quite only keeps your in the dark. Why not:

Some practical advice before jumping in the game submitted by Pat Richley DearMYRTLE@aol.com

My best advice to those just venturing out into the world online genealogy mailing lists is as easy as 1,2,3 (OK, and I also have a 4!)

#1 LURK for a bit. By this I mean, its OK to subscribe to a surname, locality or topical mail list, such as those found at www.rootsweb.com. Just don't dive in and spam (overload) the list with too many questions right off the bat. Sit back, and read the usual style and tone of postings for a week or two before typing in your query.

#2 COMPOSE a thoughtful genealogical query. In the "SUBJECT" portion of the e-mail, put the surname in CAPS along with date and locality. This draws attention to your query. See screen shot below for a sample posting to the FOY-L@ROOTSWEB.COM genealogy e-mail list.

If you received an e-mail like this, would you think its worth your time? YES! Because of the details. Do you feel like you'd want to exchange information with a researcher like this? YES! It appears that this person is working hard to accurately document family relationships. So, don't emulate those less informative postings that read "My family name is Jones, what can you do to help me find my roots?"

#3 Don't post your true snail mail or telephone number on any public e-mail lists. Many researchers now use an inexpensive post office box to receive photocopies of family history documents from strangers they've met over the internet. I personally use a private service, Mail Boxes, Etc. In my absence, they can sign for shipments I've ordered from retail outlets as well. Most, such as Amazon.com and Gateway, will NOT ship to a Post Office Box.

#4 SAVE THANK-YOUs for private e-mail NOT for the public e-mail list. YOU don't like scrolling past a lot of "thank-you" and "you're welcome" messages. Everyone agrees that the thoughtfully worded postings are what they learn the most from. Smaltz is good, but not for e-mail lists.

Mailing List Subscriber Questions from the HELP DESK at www.rootsweb.com we read:

Family Tree SuperTools submitted by Pat Richley DearMYRTLE@aol.com . As we learn more about this program downloadable from www.whollygenes.com we're finding all sorts of neat options. This month we'll cover preferences. Over the years we've become accustomed to setting our preferences in other programs, such as the default (preferred) font in Word or WordPerfect, and where our files will be stored on our hard disks (PAF - Personal Ancestral File.) The access to the PREFERENCES Dialog Box is found by clicking FILE (on the menu bar) and selecting PREFERENCES.

The first option to show up on the screen is the "RESEARCHER INFO" name, address, e-mail, etc. shown in the graphic below:

This dialog box has basically two components in addition to the action buttons across the bottom of the window. Because the GENERAL option was highlighted in the left portion of the window, the right side of the window displays the "fill-in-the-blank" options shown above.

If you wish to change a different preference, such as ITEM TIPS or SLIDESHOW, you must click that word on the left side, to display the options on the right side of the screen. If you get confused, you can click the RESET DEFAULTS in the lower left corner of the dialog box, as circled in the graphic above.

ITEM	HOW TO DO IT in Family Tree SuperTools (FTST)
	For all options click FILE on the menu bar, then select PREFERENCES before proceeding.
Item Tips	Under PROGRAM OPTIONS click ITEM TIPS, and specify where you would like FTST to give you context-related tips (person view, children view, children list, sibling list, project view.)
Slideshow	Under PROGRAM OPTIONS click SLIDESHOW and specify if you prefer the show to run in a loop, be self-running, full screen, have effects, and self-optimize.
Lists	Under PROGRAM OPTIONS click LISTS to specify minimum and maximum font size, the font itself (default is Tahoma), and whether to show horizontal and/or vertical lines, and show lines for empty rows.
Project Explorer	Under PROGRAM OPTIONS click PROJECT EXPLORER to specify the program's font size on the screen, a background graphic, whether or not to indicate primary name with an asterisk; to display locks, multi-line text and/or ID numbers.
Tag Box	Under PROGRAM OPTIONS click TAG BOX to set the number of rows per tag; how undated tags are to be sorted; sort by date from top to bottom or vice versa; show only basic events; show children; show witnessed events; show non-primary events; show excluded data; show surety column; show age column; show time lines with color, etc.
Colors	Under CURRENT PROJECT click COLORS, to indicate the highlight and font color for names and witnessed events.
backup file locations	Under CURRENT PROJECT click ADVANCED to indicate the file locations for exhibits, backups, timelines, GEDCOM files and reports.
definitions for "circa" and "maximum life span"	Under CURRENT PROJECT click ADVANCED. Default settings for CIRCA means +-20 years. Assumed maximum life span is set at 110.
Setting an automatic "relation tag" to a specific individual.	Under CURRENT PROJECT click OTHER to determine the relationship to a specific focus person. (This helps if you want the program to always show YOUR relationship to an individual!)

Under PROGRAM OPTIONS - GENERAL, you can set Family Tree SuperTools to display surnames in CAPS, prompt you to make backups, determine the date format and place where your genealogy data will be placed on your hard disk.

You may jumpstart your understanding of the Family Tree SuperTools by working through the following tutorial online at: www.whollygenes.com/ftsttour.htm . Gosh, I LOVE it when programmers provide lessons for using the software!

For Further Reading:
Family Tree SuperTools - www.whollygenes.com/supertools.htm#features The publisher states: "Family Tree SuperTools is a true 32-bit application with support for right-click menus, long file names, user-defined screen configurations, and drag-n-drop of slideshow media and chart elements. It requires at least a Pentium 166 with 64 Megs of RAM running Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, or XP. Web searching and chart uploading features require an Internet connection."