Genealogy Software

Presented for the Tulsa City County Library

by Barbara Becker Meehan, MLIS, CGSM

10 January 2009


Genealogy Software Users

See Bill Mumford's article, below, in which he describes the needs of the these three types of genealogy users and how genealogy software programs can address those needs. He bases his article on the work of Elizabeth S. Mills, CGSM, CGLSM, FNGS, FASG.[1]

 

Family Tree Climbers

Traditional Genealogists

Generational Historians

 

Your genealogy software requirements will depend upon your approach to genealogy. This program will help to distinguish among the various uses of genealogy software and other tools for building family trees, and how the features and capabilities compare. The decision to invest your time and money into a particular genealogy family tree solution will rest on many factors, of which price is only a small part.

Trying to select a tool for organizing your genealogy can be as involved as you would like to make it. There are many online resources for comparing different solutions. With the constant updating of resources on the Internet, it will be necessary for you to visit the various resources yourself to ensure that you are not using outdated information. I will be providing a new form that I have just assembled, call a Genealogy Software Comparison Checklist. Feel free to duplicate it for your own use.

You should first decide what you would require of your perfect genealogy software solution. Then I recommend using one form for each prospective genealogy software package, online family tree site, or other solution. Visit the web site, find the most recent reviews, investigate whether their users are happy with their support, and try a trial version or watch an online tutorial.

I will be making the form available on my web site. 
Please comment on my blog to let me know how well it works, or how it could be improved. 

 

Web Sites

 

GenealogyClassBlog

http://www.desktopgenerations.com/blog/

 

Ancestry Message Boards

boards.ancestry.com -- Enter "genealogy software" in the "Find a Board" search box.

 

Bill Mumford's Software Report Card

http://www.mumford.ca/reportcard/

 

Cyndi's List - Software& Computers

http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm

 

Del.icio.us -- save your bookmarks/favorites to this Web site 

http://del.icio.us -- Search for "genealogy software."

 

Digital Genealogist -- an electronic magazine

http://www.digitalgenealogist.com/

 

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter & Blog -- a great source for recent (and past) reviews

blog.eogn.com -- Click on Software in the right-hand navigation bar.

 

Genealogy Blog

http://genealogyblog.com

 

Genealogy Software Reviews by Louise Kessler Blog

http://gensoftreviews.com

 

National Genealogical Society Standards

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comstandards.cfm

 

Richard Wilson's Comparison of Genealogy Software Programs

http://rwilson.us/comparison.htm

 

Richard Wilson's WebCreation Comparison Site

http://rwilson.us/compare.htm

 

Roots Television

http://www.rootstelevision.com/ -- Search videos for "genealogy software."

 

Wikipedia

http://www.wikipedia.org/ -- Search for "genealogy software."

 

"10 Things Genealogy Software Should Do"

http://www.thinkgenealogy.com/2008/04/06/10-things-genealogy-software-should-do/

 

 

Bibliography

 

Board for Certification of Genealogists. The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual. Orem, Utah: Ancestry Publishing, 2000.


Crowe, Elizabeth Powell. Genealogy Online, 5th ed. Berkeley, Cal.: Osborne/McGraw Hill, 2002.

Crume, Rick. "Software Scorecard," FamilyTree Magazine. July 2003.

 

Digital Genealogist. November/December 2006 issue available online at http://www.digitalgenealogist.com/. (For a pdf file of this back issue, go to Past Issues, then click on the November/December 2006).

 

McClure, Rhonda R. Digitizing Your Family History. Cincinnati: Family Tree Books, 2004.

Mills, Elizabeth S. Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2000.

 

_______.Evidence Explained : Citing History Sources From Artifacts to Cyberspace .Baltimore:  Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007.

 

_______. "Genealogy in the Information Age", NGS Quarterly, Volume 91, No. 4, December 2003.

 

_______. QuickSheet Citing Online Historical Resources. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2005.

 

_______, ed. Professional Genealogy: a Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers and Librarians. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., c2001.

 

Mumford, Bill. In Search of Genealogical Software. Digital Genealogist, November/December 2006, pp 35-38.

 

Otterson, Michael. Finding Your Family on the Internet: The Ultimate Guide to Online Family History Research. Sandy, Utah: silver Leaf Press, 2006.

Rose, Christine.  Genealogical Proof Standard. Building a Solid Case. San Jose, CA: CR Publications, 2005.

Smith, Drew. "To do or not to do -- I need a list!" Digital Genealogist March/April 2008, pp 9-13.

 

Tucker, Mark. 10 Things Genealogy Software Should Do, video slideshow available through ThinkGenealogy.com.

http://www.thinkgenealogy.com/2008/04/06/10-things-genealogy-software-should-do/; accessed 11 July 2008. Note that this presentation addresses recommended future developments in the genealogy software industry.

 

Wilson, Richard S. Publishing Your Family History on the Internet. Habra, CA : Compuology, c1999. (TCCL has one copy at Hardesty Regional Library)

 

Genealogy Software Programs

AncestralQuest

www.ancquest.com

 

Family Historian

http://family-historian.co.uk

 

FamilyTreeMaker

www.familytreemaker.com

 

GenBox

www.genbox.com

 

Legacy Family Tree

www.legacyfamilytree.com

 

MacFamilyTree

http://www.synium.de/products/macfamilytree/index.html

 

MyRoots

http://www.tapperware.com/MyRoots/

 

Personal Ancestral File

www.familysearch.org -- Click on "Order/Download Products," then "Software Downloads."

 

Reunion

www.leisterpro.com

 

RootsMagic

www.rootsmagic.com

 

The Master Genealogist

www.whollygenes.com

 

Genealogy Software Utilities

AniMap

www.goldbug.com

 

Clooz

www.clooz.com

 

Family Atlas

www.rootsmagic.com

 

Family Tree Super Tools

www.whollygenes.com

 

GenSmarts

www.gensmarts.com

 

Web-based Genealogy

 

AGES-Online

www.ages-online.com

 

dynastree.com

http://www.dynastree.com

 

Geni.com

www.geni.com

 

MyFamily.com

www.myfamily.com

 

MyHeritage

http://www.myheritage.com

 

OneFamilyTree

www.onefamilytree.com

 

PHPGedView

http://phpgedview.net

 

The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding

http://www.tngsitebuilding.com

 

WeRelate.org

www.werelate.org

 



[1] Mills, Elizabeth Shown. "Genealogists in the Information Age: History's New Frontier?" National Genealogical Society Quarterly, December 2003, pp 260-277.