When I first started researching and collecting data about my ancestors I stored everything in one large file and drew trees by hand causing no end of problems simply because with every new piece of information acquired my family tree grew in height and width. There are many software packages available for recording your family history and it would be unfair of me to try to tell you their capabilities as I am not an expert. I chose Family Tree Maker because it suited my requirements and continues to do so, but before I start explaining more about Family Tree Maker, here are three of the many family history software packages available on the Internet.

A Selection Of Software For Family Historians

For all items including software, data CDs and stationery, S&N Genealogy is always the first site I visit, and usually where my search ends.

Family Tree Maker

If you visit this site you can study the online overview of Family Tree Maker, http://www.familytreemaker.com . By clicking on ‘Overview’ you will be given the option to take a product tour or purchase online.



We are now going to review my copy of Family Tree Maker and the way that I use this product. The next image you see will be the family page for my husband Brian and his parents. Brian’s father is highlighted by clicking on the two names above, Albert and Lilian, and we will be taken up one level to the next generation.



Now the software will bring up the parents of Albert William Marelli, and by clicking on Martino and Amy or Frederick and Susan we can go up another generation. We can also view any of Albert William’s siblings by clicking the arrow next to their name (see opposite).

If you look at the names of the key individuals highlighted, Albert Marelli and Lilian Lucretia Chappell, you will see a scroll icon next to their name, birthplace and death place.

The scroll icon also has a little black triangle in the corner which means I have obtained an original source. If we look at the sources for Lillian Chappell you can see that, although I have recorded the exact date of and place of her death, I obviously have not yet added the source information I as there is no small black triangle.





The source dialog box allows me to create, edit and add source information.

A source can be any number of things - Census records, Civil Registration details, Wills, manorial records, church records, gravestones, newspaper articles, and so on.

Each individual recorded in your software also has their own notes screen. Below the death place is an edit icon with a pencil, .



Next to the edit icon is the spouse icon . This is where you can add second marriages and choose the preferred spouse, direct line, for your tree. You can also attach names of the children of this marriage. The advantage of this software is that you can edit and move individuals if originally attached to the wrong parents.





If you want to order the children by date of birth, you can do so by selecting the ‘people’ menu at the top of the screen. This feature means that you can add siblings at any time, and sort them as you go.


We now have all the children in the correct birth order after using the ‘sort children’ option.

If you have scanned photos or other documents of your ancestors you can import them into their own personal scrapbook .





Images can be added easily by right-clicking on a blank box. Later I will show you another wonderful feature of scrapbooks.



We are now going to look at creating trees from the information you have keyed into your family history database. When you have decided whose tree you are going to create, you can look for the names of those that will appear for quick reference by clicking on this icon.





You can also access spouses, parents and siblings or the whole index of a person, and by clicking on an individual by name, you will be taken to the edit screen of your chosen ancestor.