This is going to be a short post, but I wanted to be sure that if you have tested at AncestryDNA that you have a chance to download this guide. Blaine Bettinger of The Genetic Genealogist has put together an easy to follow 6 part series in his awesome Facebook group Genetic Genealogy Tips & Techniques on how to go from "new match" to "known cousin" with AncestryDNA results. He combined all the posts in one PDF download that he has graciously allowed others to make available for download. Click the image to visit the Facebook group, or click here to download the 9 page file … [Read More...]
The Latest Posts
How to Customize Facts in Family Tree Maker
In my last post, I showed you how to add facts in Family Tree Maker. In this post, I'm going to show you how to customize facts in Family Tree Maker by changing some of the options in the default facts. This can be helpful if you don't like the wording in your reports, or if you want to add or remove information from the sentences generated. As I mentioned in my previous post, Fact Sentences are only used in Ahnentafel reports, descendant reports, or Smart Stories; in all other places the fact will be presented in data format. As always, backup your data before making changes. To find … [Read More...]
How to Add Custom Facts to Family Tree Maker
In the "Family Tree Maker - Mac Version" Facebook group, there was a conversation recently about Family Tree Maker's DNA Markers fact. Several people didn't realize that the fact was available, and others pointed out that it was of marginal use because of its format (I agree with this assessment). I like to add custom facts to Family Tree Maker to suit my personal research workflow, and I had done this with DNA information. Although I am not using the DNA Markers fact (I find DNA markers are too complex to be handled effectively inside of FTM so I use Genome Mate Pro—which is not for … [Read More...]
Evaluating Evidence in Genealogy
Even those new to family history research can learn the basics of properly evaluating evidence in genealogy. Once you learn the simple process and begin practicing it, you will find yourself mentally evaluating evidence as you discover each new piece of information about your ancestors. As you get into more complex identity problems and work with less standard sources, better evidence analysis will improve the quality of your research and increase the likelihood of solid conclusions about your ancestors' lives. This overview will give you a good starting point and is written with the … [Read More...]