Is there a short and simple way to do beginning genealogy on RM8?
My sister is intelligent but would rather have lunch with her friends than sit at a computer. She loves people and their family relationships. She is not pro- or anti-computer, but computers have a unique way of thinking, in her mind.
Maybe begin with just birth, marriage, and death? (Of course, that’s what we all do, but I’m looking for something that does not emphasize sources, citations, media links, and all the entanglements. Eventually, she will see why she needs sources and repositories, and I have a lot of them, already.)
Is there a simplified GUI (graphical user interface) or set of instructions for the real beginner level to our field of computerized genealogy? I want to ease her into recording what she knows about our family, all the gossip and good stuff. She may want an address list or birthday calendar to come out of it, though she has gone to the trouble to visit our Laughlin castle in Scotland because it was the origin of our mother’s surname.
Is there a short and simple way to do beginning genealogy with RM8?
start her on rootsmagic essentials just entering herself and family. Forget source citations and maybe drop in some photos. Connect to an ancestry tree so she can start seeing hints and exploring them. also the ancestry ipad app would let her play around with such a tree in her lap.
If your sister is really not into computers, perhaps she could start with a method I used years ago by completing family history group forms such as the one here Family Group Record form. I placed these in 3-ring notebooks before I started using family history software. And if she never gets into computers, the information will be captured on the forms for others to use in creating a family history file.
Here is a good reference for those getting started in family history Getting started. There are many other resources to get her started.
I would use the free RM software and enter basic details.
I would not connect to an Ancestry tree. Just turn web hints on in RM.
I would NOT recommend using Ancestry or any other trees for sources or hints.
Most have gross errors. I help people with FH and too many have used trees to get grandparents and earlier and are wrong when I check marriages and mother’s maiden names.
Web hints are OK but do not be misled. There will be several people with same name with similar dates and places ( which is why most trees are WRONG ). Need to check each with several different sources. FreeBMD.org.uk and gro.gov.uk are good for UK sources and free. familysearch.org is good and free for world data.
The paper family group record is how I started with data from visiting record offices etc to see source data. Once checked as logical I then entered into RM. Keep a dated record of sources, even if on paper for each fact so that can check later and also not to be confused with similar facts. I put source in RM notes for each fact because far easier than in the source box. When I have time I then put properly into sources and citations etc.
Richard in dark and cold England.
Ancestry webhints only appear when the database is connected to an Ancestry tree and they are logged into TreeShare. The WebHints are generated on the tree online and then pushed to RM. You can control what types of hints you want to receive. If you only want record hints turn off the member trees hints and photo/story hints under Settings, WebHints, Ancestry.
Yes, for Ancestry hints you need to connect to an Ancestry tree.
My Heritage and Findmypast hints seen to appear automatically.
In Settings I ticked enable familysearch support but does not seem to work unless I have not followed some procedure that I have not noted .
I have found some useful hints but not many because I have
already searched all possible data bases for each fact ( and double checked in another data base ) but those do come up which is useful if not found already.