What's the best?

[Chas]

A bit of experience and expertise required.

I have always known who I am and where I came from - that is not the problem.

My wife's mother-in-law is now the last of her generation in that side of the family. All the memories and recollections are in her head alone. She has recently discovered that her heart is failing and that she has about a year to live.

I was tasked with gathering all this information (and more) and record it before it is too late. The idea was that I should gather it and, once finished, burn it onto CDs and distribute to all the family members.

This is my problem: What is the best programme to do this? That is to say, which will display it best?

I require something that can be put into a computer and will display without having to install extra programmes onto their computers.

I am using "Simple Family Tree v1.32" to gather all the information. It is OK and does the job, but is very limited. I would like to upgrade to something that is a bit more intuitive and has a few extra features - especially a better display function. The only advantage it has that I can see is that it is stand alone. That is to say that the whole programme and data could be on CD or a memory stick.

I am looking at "Family Tree Legends", but their site is slow to load in the extreme and I can't get their Q & As to work.

Also there is, "Legacy Family Tree v7.5", but the site wants me to buy the deluxe edition.

Both of these are free down loads. I don't mind paying for a programme, but it has to give me the features that I need.

So these are the questions - What is the best programme for data gathering and for display? What do you use? What would you use, if you could afford it? And what would you recommend?

Thanks -

Regards

Chas

[davidg]

A good free genealogy program is the Personal Ancestral File produced by the Latter Day Saints. Read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Ancestral_File

You could also use the Genes Reunited site to achieve the same thing

In both cases you can create what are known as Gedcom files, which are interchangeable data files that can be imported into most other genealogical programs

Be aware though that this is quite hard work but the results can be very rewarding

[J_Mimbs]

My father is the genealogist in the family; he uses Rootsmagic. I'm not sure if it does what you're looking for but its a powerful program and looks fairly intuitive to use. There are trial versions but you'd probably have to buy the software eventually.

[EagleJCS]

I got a free download of Family Tree Maker 2005 from Ancestry.com a couple of years ago. It does alright, and while not completely intuitive, is fairly easy to navigate once you get the hang of it.

It displays one family unit at a time (father and mother in split columns in the top quarters of the screen, with a list of the children in the bottom half of the screen). Multiple marriages are not immediately apparent (mother widowed/divorced and remarried or vice versa) on this screen, but do appear in the reports that can be generated. Entering some of the modern family configurations (unmarried but sharing children, etc.) could be a bit tricky - I haven't had to do any of that yet.

I agree that whatever you start with, make sure it can create GEDCOM files. Those should import with little fuss into any genealogical software that accepts them.


In the meantime, use a tape/digital voice recorder to record everything your wife's mother-in-law tells you, including the 'family stories', not just the relationships. These will mean as much or more to the surviving family. You can get any missing relationships from the public records at a later date, but the family stories about 'Uncle Jed's mishap with the mule' or 'Aunt Ida's first Thanksgiving turkey' will be lost forever once this dear lady is gone.