Last Class: DNA and Genealogy

Overview

There is an online introduction that is very good at providing the basics of DNA:  

https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/dna-basics.  Then I will give another "basics" presentation that will emphasize a few points in this first presentation:  My Presentation.

We will continue on with the following.  I am not going to go over the presentation tutorial and other links.  They are there for you access after class.  I will do the demos, hoping you catch the high points of site.  

Review Three Sites

    Ancestry.com DNA 

        Here is a good presentation tutorial:  I will be giving a demo by going to https://dna.ancestry.com 

    23andMe DNA

        Here is a good presentation tutorial.  I will give a demo by going to the website

    FamilyTreeDNA

        Here is a good presentation tutorial.  I will run through a demo. 

Aggregation sites

    These sites are used to compare and analyze DNA from other sites, such as the two above.

    My Heritage

        A general tutorial:  https://whoareyoumadeof.com/blog/dna-matches-on-my-heritage-tutorial/.  I won't have time to do a tutorial.

    GEDMatch

    We will run through a my own brief tutorial. Here is the "official" intro tutorial:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id7JJ1NoTNk.  A more extensive tutorial can be found here. https://nebula.org/blog/gedmatch-tutorial/  For many YouTube videos, go here.  Subscribe to Andrew Lee's channel for all the tutorials.

Legal Issues

You should be aware of legal issues associated with DNA  websites:  https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2022/03/06/the-dos-and-donts-of-dna/

May 9, 2022 Agenda

1. Review managing media: Presentation 
2. Review web clipping:  Presentation
3. Review charts and reports:  Blog Page
4. Review Google Search:  Blog Page
5. Compacting your FTM file:  Blog Page
6. Review Browser Problem:  Blog Page
7. Review MenuBar Options (class demo)

Class 7: Charts and Reports

Class 7 will cover charts and reports.  I won't create special presentations on this topic. 

You can also type "Family Tree Maker" charts reports in Google or your favorite search engine.   

The Help in FTM is very useful and is probably your best bet:  Menubar.Help.Help for Family Tree Maker.  

I will demonstrate some of the reports in class.  You will also be given personal time to try out the reporting features and ask questions.

  

Section 6: Tips and Tricks in FTM

 This section covers miscellaneous tips and tricks using FTM

Google Search

The Google Search engine is one of the "the artificial intelligence applications" useful to the genealogist.  If I have time I will go over each of these functions, but there are some videos for each.

• Google Search Commands  (Cheat Sheet) (Discussion) (YouTube)
• Google Images and Photos 
• YouTube
• How to search for an image you have
• Google Earth is the easiest to use... to walk the streets of today (a quick example in class)
• Google Earth Pro-  This provides even more function, especially if you download the desktop version.  It is most useful for overlaying old maps or even different focus maps (such as property tax info) on top of a photo view of an area. For the versions and to download, go to Google EarthVersions, including Pro .  Hour long YouTube tutorial on using Google Earth Pro for genealogists.  

The Tree Browser in FTM

You can find every tree on your computer or on ancestry using this feature, which is available from the dropdown of the tree icon on the Workspace toolbar.  Tree Browser Presentation.  

Using "Compact File"

What is Compact File?  It is a feature under Tools.  

It is used to "clean up" your database by reconstructing it, removing false links, reestablishing missing links, etc.  (The database is a relational DB, eg MySQL.)  It removes blank, erroneous, and redundant data.

There are two general cases where you should use it:

1. When FTM incorrectly shuts down.  You can get such a message and will be taken to the New Tree Tab of  the Plan workspace. If so, click on the tree you want to open and left click on Compact File.  An intermediate window will display with two check boxes.  Usually you can not check either one and you can click on "Compact."  asking you if you want to back the tree up before continuing and   Usually you can say "no".  The feature will run and provide a summary of results.  Close that window and go back and open your tree the usual way.   See  Recovering from an FTM Failure.
2. When FTM seems to show erroneous trees or just isn't performing as expected.  

The "Workflow"

Here are the steps to being most efficient and accurate when creating a tree

1. Update your FTM template with what you have learned from previous trees
2. Create a new folder for your new tree
3. Start your FTMTemplate.
4. File.Export- gave name for the new tree and make sure you are in the right folder.
5. Go to File and open the saved tree (which will be an .ftmb file type.  (Change the file selection criteria in the lower right so .ftmb is selected.)  Select the .ftmb file and click the "Open" button.
6. Save the generated .ftm file to the same folder.  Your new tree is ready to use.
7. Add the home person by entering information (Menubar.Person.Add Person.Add Unrelated Person.).  
8. Delete the person that was in the Template as your "example."
9. Start your Web Search for the home person.  Add immediate family (parents, children).  
10. Go to as many web sites as you need to to add information.  Pick primary documents or more reliable secondary documents.  
11. Add media from your own or web sources.  Link the media to all relevant people.
12. If necessary, go to the sites that are less reliable to add information.  But keep all the people in the family "clean" by reviewing and merging facts and deleting or "noting" facts that conflict with biology or primary data.  Use the Person.Timeline Tab and add check "Show Family" and, if you think it will help, "Show Historical Events."  Print the Timeline Using the Print icon, or print other reports to validate what you have.  
13. Stay within the Web Search environment when browsing to web sites and content within websites.  If you do that, then you can easily add facts to the person or persons.  Don't forget you can move to the People, Place, or Media workspaces without losing your place in the Web Search Workspace.  
14. As you work with each person, especially while linking, keep the person's facts clean through merging, standardizing places, and linking facts to sources.  I have several YouTube tutorials in the list on the right on how to do that. 
15. When done with the first family, repeat above for the next. 

WARNING:  Do not just add large batches persons and families from family trees from any secondary source without cleaning up. I very much regret that I  did this for years:  It takes years to clean up.

Another tip:  After a few families, write a story about the people you have added and use the error reports and timelines to confirm data.  

The Reports Workspace

I'll review this in class.  The presentation is :  Step by step guide to FTM Reports.  This presentation does not include the Books option.  I'll cover this very briefly in class. 

Class 6 Agenda

• Review the Schedule:  eGenealogy Introduction
• Review Plan Workspace
• Review People Workspace
• Media Workspace
• Review Place Workspace  (I'm leaving this to show how to set up a blog for your family)
• Review WebSearch Workspace

Continuing:

• Menubar
• File and renaming on Plan Workspace
• Edit 
• Person
• Find Individual
• Find Duplicate People
• Manage Sources
• Manage Repositories
• Manage Historic Facts
• Manage Facts
• Find and Replace

The rest next time.

The Browser Used in Family Tree Maker, and how to fix problems

 The browser in FTM is of the Chromium family, similar to Google Chrome.  However, it is independent of Chrome, not ssharing any of the files of chrome, such as the cache.  That's why sometimes you will go to a web site and that site will pop up a message saying that it needs to store cookies, even though you have been to the same web site using Google Chrome. 

Sometimes the browser will have not work as you expect.  For example, I can think of times when the scissors  function will not work to cut pictures to store in your media.  (By the way, the first thing to check if the scissors function fails to draw the dashed lines around the picture you want to copy is to make sure the Media tab is "in focus" = selected in the "Person from your tree" frame.)  

Whenever the browser does not work as expected, it is best to "clear the cache."  The cache stores all the temporary information the browser uses to display a web page.  But "temporary" is a relative term, since browsers can have information for months or years in the cache if it isn't regularly cleaned out, so it will get a "fresh" copy of the information. 

To clear the FTM browser's cache in Windows: 

1. Close Family Tree Maker.
2. Press Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.  
3. Enter %localappdata% and then click OK. The AppData folder opens in a file management window.  (You don't really have to do #2 if you can see the AppData folder, which is hidden by default, in you File Manager.)
4. Find The_Software_MacKiev_Comp folder and double-click it to open it, then find a folder labeled FTM.exe_StrongName_seih5jkxwe5jgqf34wadynpglkq344as and open that.
5. Right-click the CEF folder and click Delete on the context menu. This will empty the cache.
6. Close the file management window and open Family Tree Maker 2019.

Here is an example of the file structure to the CEF folder:

Note: After clearing the CEF cache, if you were previously signed in to any websites from FTM you will need to sign in to them again. Also, some sites may seem slower at first because images and other content will need time to reload.

Unfortunately, the browser used in Mac computers is Safari.  I have not been given guidance on how to empty the cache, but if the program is simply sharing the existing Safari space, here are the instructions.

1. In Safari, go to the menubar and Click Safari and then Preferences.
2. Click the Advanced Tab and check the box next to "Show Develop menu in menubar"

3. From the menu bar, select Develop.Empty Caches

My List of Personal Favorite Sites

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<setting name="PersonalFavoriteSites" serializeAs="Xml">

<value>

<ArrayOfAnyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">Newspapers ; https://newspapers.com</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">FindaGrave ; https://findagrave.com</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

History of Parliament ; https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">Geni ; https://www.geni.com/home</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

1320-1480IPM ; http://www.inquisitionspostmortem.ac.uk/browse/inquisitions/

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Families of Ancient New Haven ; https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/48025/?ftm=1

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Soc Medieval Genealogy Google Group ; https://groups.google.com/g/soc.genealogy.medieval?pli=1

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Complete Baronage ; https://archive.org/details/cu31924092524382

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage 1914 ; https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Pf8cAAAAYAAJ

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Visitations of Cambridge (ukga.org) ; https://ukga.org/browse.php?action=ViewRec&DB=13&bookID=186&page=vii

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Guide and Index to England Visitations ; https://firstsettlers.genealogyvillage.com/visitations.html

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Baronia Anglica Concentrata by Banks ; https://archive.org/details/baroniaanglicaco01bankuoft

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Accepted Genealogy Abbreviations ; https://www.geni.com/projects/Abbreviations-Acronyms-for-Genealogy-The-Accepted/3096

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Chicheley ; https://www.google.com/books/edition/Genealogical_Memoirs_of_the_Extinct_Fami/OaxCAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Archtecture and Historical Churches of Cambridgeshire ; https://archive.org/details/architecturalhis00hillrich

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

Inner Temple Bios ; https://archive.org/details/acataloguenotab00hutcgoog

</anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="xsd:string">

History of Middlesex Cty, MA ; https://archive.org/details/historyofmiddles01hurdh

</anyType>

</ArrayOfAnyType>

</value>

</setting>

2022 Class 3 Building a Template Tree

• Finish Accessing Resources
• FTM Overview
• Build the Template Tree
• Video on Using the Template Tree
• Folder of starter icons
• Run through the build process for real

The last power point demonstrates building a template tree.  For convenience, here is the summary of the steps:

1. Start FTM- make sure you are not starting on an existing tree but are starting a new one. (Plan.New Tree.  Enter what you know)
2. Enter a real name or a fictitious name you will always recognize. This person will be deleted from your .ftm tree when you start building a new tree
3. Basic tree setup:
   • Decide on tree naming convention
   • Fill in Menu.Tools.UserInformation
   • Complete Menu.Tools.Options
4. Add your standard sources: Menu.Edit.Manage Sources
5. Edit and add history events: Menu.Edit.Manage Historical Events
6. Add standard Repositories: Menu.Edit.Manage Repositories
7. Edit and add Facts: Menu.Edit.Manage Facts
8. Add standard Media: Workspace.Media
• Decide on naming conventions for media
9. Add your personal categories
10. Add Favorite Search Locations
11. Save file in a special folder as is (Menu.File.Save or Save As)
12. Use the FTM.Menu.File.Backup function to back up the tree as and .ftmb file.  Make sure you have the Backup Location right- it has to be the same folder  in which you created the Template file.

To use the Template:

1. When you are ready to start a new tree, and it is not a tree or a portion of the tree you already have that you are going to export...
2. Use File Explorer or Finder to create a new folder in your genealogy database folder and name it so you will recognize the folder as containing the tree you are going to build.  (clumsy sentence, but that's the rule)
3. Open the _Template folder and copy the folder inside it (Should be called _Template Media) and the .ftm file.
4. Open the folder you created in 2 above. 
5. Paste the _Template Media folder and the .ftm file into the folder
6. Open the .ftm file by clicking on it.  FTM should open the _Template file.
7. Click on the small arrow next to the file name in the top left corner of the FTM window (eg, _Template).  A list of the files you have opened in FTM will appear, with the _Template file at the top.
8. Click on the arrow head to the right of that name.  There will be a Rename option.
9. Click on that option.  Rename the tree to whatever you want the name to be.
10. (Never rename the any .ftm file or Media folder outside FTM; always us this Rename function)
11. Add some individuals to the tree, starting with the home person for the new tree- OR- import an existing tree by whatever means you want.
12. Delete the placeholder people that came with the template.
13. If you imported a .ftm tree or a tree from Ancestry, clean up the Facts and Places using the Manage functions under FTM.Menu.Edit.

2022 Class 5: A Canonical Tree

In mathematics and logic an important concept is "canonical form."  This means that the mathematical or logical concept is written or phrased in a standardized way.  Transferring that concept to genealogy, a canonical tree is a family tree database that meets standards for form and content.  I'm going to take a stab at listing some of these standards.  In future posts, using the term canonical tree will mean that it meets these standards.

By the way, this is a draft and I welcome additions and corrections.

A family tree is in canonical form if:

• For the tree itself
• No two person entries are the same person.
• There are no incorrect links (relationships), such as double links, or links that result in the wrong children being assigned to the wrong parent.
• For the facts list
• No redundant facts in the the Facts list (Lived in vs Residence).
• No orphan facts... these are facts that are imported when a facts are added to a person from an outside source; you didn't create the fact yourself or it isn't one of the default entries.
• For facts associated with a person
• No redundant facts... all redundant facts should be merged and standardized
• A woman's surname should be a maiden name.  Handle multiple marriages through relationships to the husbands.  There are cases where an AKA might be justified.
• Alternate names should be managed through AKA; you can have as many entries as you find are legitimate.
• The preferred name should be the name given to the person at birth.
• Nicknames should be managed through the Nickname fact.
• Titles should be managed through the Title fact.
• All facts should be biologically consistent (Timeline).  If the a date can't be proven through primary or trusted documents, or if the timeline isn't consistent, either give a "trusted" date range or set the preferred date blank and keep any other dates as alternative.
• Any questionable facts can be carried with the person, but should be flagged through action items and notes associated with the preferred fact.
• All facts should have a source.  The source should be graded using the star system in FTM.
• All place names should be in the proper form as defined by the Place List.
• For the Places list
• All place names should have use the correct naming convention for the mapping tool.  For family tree maker, this is {local address, cemetery, etc}, {city or town}, {county or shire, without the word "County" following the name of the county}, {State, skip for UK}, Country in standard form.  Use the place name resolver available with the tool to assure the place name matches the mapping tool.
• For the Media
• All media should be referenced as to source.  Credit should always be given to the source.
• All persons associated with the media instance should be explicitly linked to that media.
• Where possible, all media should be in one of the image formats (eg, .jpg) or in a PDF document.  It is best to put text documents in the Notes of the person.  Convert Word or other document app to PDF. 
• All your own media and creations should be watermarked and copyrighted.
• Don't forget that video and sound media can be associated with a person.  Record your relations' stories in their own words.

2022 Class 4: Detailed Instruction on FTM Features

 This class will run for multiple Class periods, its length depending on the amount of interaction.  I will show the function available in each Workspace and on each Menubar item.  (Menubar items change depending on the current workspace.)  Remember, many features have a right mouse button action list.  If you are on a Mac, turn the right mouse button function on or use a "normal" mouse.

• What a Genealogist's Home Workspace looks like
• Plan Workspace 
• Place Workspace
• Media Workspace
• WebSearch Workspace is the presentation.  Instructions on web clipping can be found here:  https://support.mackiev.com/801595-Using-web-clipping-to-save-information-to-a-tree-in-Family-Tree-Maker.  This is for the 2014 version, but it works the same.

I can provide a link in class to a tree you can download for practice if you don't have your own tree.