Obviously some of the features I have described, may already be on previous versions, but I can only compare it with my old 2005 version!

The main interface was quite a shock to start with, as there is a lot of information on one page, and my old version just had a very simple family view page - but once I got used to it I found I really liked it.  I like the fact that you can see both the pedigree and the family group sheet on one page.  I also particularly like the fact that each ancestor's relationship to oneself is described.  I've been doing a lot of descendant searching, so it's nice to see at a glance how distant the relationship is, whether a 2nd cousin once removed or a 3rd cousin 3 x removed etc!

It is also very easy to switch from the Family sheet to the Person sheet, where you can add detailed information about each ancestor and see timelines and family relationships at a glance.

Another feature that is very useful is the Places page.  With this I can automatically see exactly where someone was born, married or died on a map without having to use external maps and typing in the information.  This will save a lot of time, as a large part of research is finding geographical locations.

The 'Publish' button is where one can create tree charts and pedigrees.  I have had some fun playing around with these, and there is far more scope to create an individualised chart that looks professional and suitable to present to a client.  There's a large range of colours, fonts, box designs and backgrounds to play with, and a good range of chart types.  I particularly like the new ability to create a chart that links one specific person with another so you can see, for example, how you are linked to your 3rd great grand uncle in one simple chart!

It's also very easy to do an automatic search on Ancestry.co.uk using the Web Search button.  All the details are automatically entered into the search engine.  Mind you, I had never used the search feature on my previous version so I'm not sure how new this is.

Some of the backgrounds available (e.g. the 'Lifestyles' themese) are still aimed at American users, but apart from this I have been very pleased with everything.

If you have been using a very old version of FTM, it will take a while to get used to entering information, which is slightly more complicated than it used to be, but once you've got used to it, it is actually very simple.

It's certainly worth upgrading from the 2005 or earlier versions - though if you have a later version it's difficult for me to say just how different it is.

You can buy your new or upgraded version of Family Tree Maker 2012 at:

My History

Ancestry.co.uk

Ancestry.com (currently with a 25% discount)

If you have tried to find your ancestors on the online census indexes or birth, marriage and death indexes, but have been unable to get any results, don’t give up.  Remember that these indexes have been copied from handwriting, which can often be very difficult to read.  Errors are far more common than you might think.

Sometimes, it is not even the transcribers fault!  To give you an example of this, I tried for a very long time to find my grandfather, Francis McEwen on the 1871 census.  As he was later known as Francis MANLEY, I had tried every possible spelling of both surnames on the Ancestry.co.uk indexes, using the phonetic search, and trying out every possible spelling of McEwen (which are many!).

Eventually,  in desperation, I tried taking out the Christian name.  In looking through the long list that followed I found this entry:

Fracis McEwen, born about 1865, Ardwick, Manchester.

Bingo!

All that was missing was that little “n” – and when I looked at the original census document, I found that it was the fault of the enumerator, not the transcriber!

This little discovery led to a whole new breakthrough in my Manley/McEwen ancestry and uncovered a mystery surrounding my grandfather’s parentage.

This all goes to show that if you are having difficulty finding your ancestor on these indexes, you really need to spend some time with different surname and Christian name spellings.  Of course, you can un-check the “exact spelling” box to enable a phonetic search – but do not rely on this.  There has been many a time when I have found an ancestor by trying a different spelling myself when it had not come up under a phonetic search.

On Ancestry.co.uk, you can search for a surname without a Christian name, or vice versa, and it is certainly worth doing this if you are getting no results – unless, of course, your ancestors surname is something like Smith or Brown, in which case you will get far too many results from the surname alone!

Equally, entering the Christian name without the surname is only really effective if you have a fairly unusual name or you are searching within a very small parish.

Using genealogy records online is not as straight forward as it may seem, and there is a real knack to using the online indexes.  The trick is to keep trying every possible spelling or mis-spelling of your family surnames, and don’t forget to try variations of all the other search criteria, such as location and relationship too.  Even male and female have been known to get muddled up!

Happy hunting!

Below is a very simple example of how a family tree chart is laid out:

Sample of part of a family tree from www.cradleylinks.com

How much information you include is up to you, but generally, the basic details are usually put underneath each name.

For example, here is what I would put on my own tree for my paternal grandfather:

Walter Bott
brn. 17/10/1884, Manchester
m. 6/10/1914, Isle of Man
d. 8/6/1949, Isle of Man

You will need to use abbreviations when setting out your information. There are no hard and fast rules about this, but you will need a basic understanding of them, and a consistent system for your own use. Here are a few basic examples to get you started:

Born - brn.
Baptised - bapt. or c. (christened)
Married - m. (it is common practice to put a =
between husband and wife on the family tree)
Died - d.
Buried - bur.

Another way of laying out information about your direct ancestry is the Pedigree Chart. This clearly shows your direct ancestors (parents, grand-parents etc) but does not show any siblings. Each generation is shown vertically, instead of horizontally.  Here’s a blank example:

As I mentioned before, there are software programs you can buy for organizing and laying out your family tree.  The one I use is Family Tree Maker, but you can find many others by searching online, or finding reviews in family tree magazines.

You can buy blank family tree charts at MyHistory.co.uk

Once you know how to draw a family tree, you can use the format for making notes when you are in archives and for working out family relationships.  You could also get really creative and draw your own big tree with illustrations!

Ros Bott