Meeting this Monday, Sept 18---Don't Miss It

Ferndale Genies Monthly Meeting:  Join us this Monday, September 18 at 1:00-3:30 at the Ferndale Library.  This month we will venture into helping each person learn what they need the most.  A giant undertaking!  Everyone should come prepared to work on something.  Do you have a genealogy problem or something you want to talk about or learn?  We’ll work on genealogy and technical skills.  Be sure to bring your passwords and your laptop or device.  If you want to borrow a library laptop, come a little early. 

Family Tree Software: a discussion

A big dilemma for beginners and experienced genealogists alike is where to store our family trees.   The decision about which desktop software and/or websites to use has been tormenting me for a few years.  I often look for good reviews and comparisons without success.  This week Family Tree Magazine published online the best I have seen.  “Online Tree or Genealogy Software? Deciding Where to Keep Your Data” is here. 

Among others this article covers the three most popular software programs:  Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic and Legacy.  We have members using all three.  Also the three main websites:  Ancestry, MyHeritage and Family Search. 

A newer development is syncing your desktop tree with some of the online family tree websites and seeing hints from multiple websites.  David R. is wondering whether everyone knows what syncing is. We’ll go over this too.

Ferndale Genies Blogsite:  Hop on the bandwagon

Over 30 people have signed up to receive our emails from the blog.  (The death knell is tolling for our email list.  I will discontinue using it next week.  How do you know if you are signed up?  You will have received this message from the blog and the email list.)  At the meeting we will make sure everyone gets signed up.  We’ll take a quick tour through the blog.  And if you need more help, we’ll show you how to use it. 

Announcements

There are lots of webinars, seminars, and meetings scheduled soon.  October is Family History Month so October is usually busy too.  Be thinking about what kind of education you need.  I’m filling up our Events tab at the blog. 

If you are new to genealogy, I will work with a small group of newbies.  Let the rest of this wash over you and someday you will understand it all.

So if you need any particular help on Monday, you can let me know through my email or leave a comment under the Contact Us tab.

See you soon, Judith

Sign up at the Ferndale Genies Blog

Scroll down to see more recent posts.

Genies are making a leap.  In the next month the Ferndale Genies blog is replacing our email list.  If you want to continue to be informed about meetings, events, sales and other cool stuff, sign up to receive emails from our blog.  We will retire the email list on September 18, the day of our next monthly meeting.  If you have any problems doing this, we will help you at the meeting or you can use the “Contact Us” button on the top menu.

How to sign up

Just type your email address in the box on the upper right that says “Follow by email”.  First there will be a spammer pop-up box.  Then you will receive an email entitled “Feedburner Email Subscription”.  Click on the link in the middle of the email message and you are done.

Until our next Genies meeting on Monday, September 18 I will notify you by email if there is a blog post.  After that anyone who wants to continue receiving emails will need to be signed up on the blog. 

At our meeting on Sept. 18 we will help anyone who hasn’t signed up and help you learn how to navigate our blog.

Remember you can access this blog at ferndalegenies.blogspot.com.  We’ll also show you how to put a shortcut on your desktop.

You are welcome to leave comments at the bottom of any page (tabs across the top) or any post (in the center section).  Also at “Contact Us” above.

Leap with us, Judith

Attention: Anyone syncing with Ancestry

Attention:  Anyone who uses Family Tree Maker or Roots Magic to sync with Ancestry!  This from a trusted blogger Randy Seavers at Genea-Musings.  A problem has been identified with the information compiled by Ancestry for syncing.  I suggest not syncing until this is figured out.  Click on the title and it will go to the longer article on Randy's blog.  Also note the two links to other genealogists who identified this problem. Why Does the Ancestry API For Web Hints Add Bogus Facts?