Curly Brackets

From time to time someone has objected to the fact that I included information from the Social Security Death Index in the Note fields of my genealogy files.

One person pointed out that even though a family member was dead there was still someone in the family drawing Social Security benefits under the deceased person's Social Security number.

RootsMagic has an option that allows us to make parts of our Notes private. To do this you place curly brackets {private text} around any text in a Note that you may want to consider private.

There are three curly bracket options when you, print reports, export GEDCOM files or create websites.

• Remove the curly brackets and the text inside them
• Display the curly brackets and the text inside them
• Display the text inside the curly brackets without the brackets

I'm considering adding curly brackets around Social Security numbers in my largest genealogy file. This will give me the option of displaying the Social Security Death Index information with or without the Social Security Number.

To implement this idea, at this late date, won't be an easy task. There is no way to do a global search and replace.  While I can easily find each record that contains Social Security information it will be necessary to execute the find command thousands of times to find the Notes that need to be modified.

I've already tested this idea several times when I encountered Social Security data in the Note of records that I was updating.

Dick Henthorn

17 February 2015

Exchanging Information On Facebook

There are country groups and family groups for genealogy on Facebook.  Lately, there have been some good exchanges of information on the Greene county, Pennsylvania and Wetzel county, West Virginia groups.  Some of the folks have subscriptions to Ancestry.com. I have never subscribed, so I don't really have an appreciation for what is available.  Today I read some good information about ship arrivals.

From time to time I shared PDF files to the File areas of some of the groups.  I encourage others to share in a similar manner.  That idea hasn't amounted to much, to date.

I also encourage everyone to learn how to use their genealogy programs.  Learn to export and import GEDCOM files.  Learn how to produce files in "text" or PDF format and be willing to reciprocate when someone shares information.

Plan ahead. Give thought to which libraries you might want to donate a copy of your work.

Dick Henthorn
29 January 2015

Sharing Genealogy On CDs

I'm working on a project to share some genealogy information on CDs with longtime collaborator, Larry. We worked on the Yoho family of Beaver Co., PA.  Larry doesn't have a computer.

I created two CDs that I'll be sending via snail mail.

I used RootsMagic7 to create a shareable CD of the family of Jacob Yoho and Mary Lawrence. When RootsMagic creates a shareable CD all of the information in the genealogy file is included. Because I only wanted to share the information about the Jacob Yoho family I needed to create a GEDCOM file that included just Jacob Yoho and his descendants.  Next I created a "new" RootsMagic file with the GEDCOM.  The final step was to create the shareable CD.

The Shareable CD Menu

Here's a screen shot of what Larry will see when he clicks on "View Family Tree" on the menu.

The second CD contains three files.

1) McCullAnc.pdf, a 67-page PDF report about Larry's ancestors.

2) McCullDes.pdf, a 345-page report about the descendants of Jacob Yoho.

3) YohoJacob150107.ged, the GEDCOM file.

Dick Henthorn

8 January 2015

Importance Of Learning GEDCOM

If you haven't learned how to export and import GEDCOM files with your genealogy program you are missing out on some of the fun.

A GEDCOM file is a "text" file format created by the genealogy programmers and the LDS genealogy staff that allows the various genealogy programs to exchange information. You don't have to know anything about the internal structure of a GEDCOM file to take advantage of its power.  My illustration for this post shows, for those who are curious, the first forty lines of a GEDCOM I created from Personal Ancestral File (PAF 2.31) and loaded into my current genealogy program RootsMagic 6. Notice that it's "text" that you can read, with data tags like "2 DATE" and "2 PLAC" on the left of each line in the file.

A GEDCOM file can be created (exported) and shared by attaching the file to an Email. They can also be staged on the Internet (uploaded) for sharing with others. I've found several on the Internet that were of interest.

If you get lucky enough to find another researcher who is working on the same families that you are you can use GEDCOM to exchange the information each of you have recorded.

When loading a GEDCOM from someone else into your genealogy program always create a "new" file with your genealogy program, with a "new" name before you load (import) the GEDCOM.  That way you can check the quality of the work of the other person.  For example, you can see if you both enter place names in the same way.  And, you can see whether there are duplicates in the file you are receiving.  It's never fun to remove duplicates once they are in your master genealogy file.

To learn more about GEDCOM you can practice creating a GEDCOM (exporting) and then adding it to a "new" file (importing) on your own computer.  Backup you own genealogy file first, just to be on the safe side. Just remember that when you load the GEDCOM into your genealogy program you want to create a "new" file with a "new" name.  You don't want to load your practice file into your main genealogy file.  That would create a mess because every record would be duplicated.

You don't have to include all the records in your file when you create a GEDCOM. You can tell your genealogy program which records to include in the GEDCOM.  For example, you may only want to share a branch of your tree rather than the entire file. Practice this also to see how it works.

Dick Henthorn
19 October 2014

GenViewer Update

In the past some researchers shared their information with me in the file format used by their genealogy program.  For example, some Family Tree Maker users sent me a file with the .ftw file extension of Family Tree Maker. Several computer disasters back I owned a copy of Family Tree Maker.  Therefore, it wasn't a problem to load their file into my program when I wanted to view the information.  This was so long ago I no longer remember which computer allowed me to do this.

I still have copies of some of these Family Tree Maker files on floppies and on Zip Discs.

The paid version of GenViewer can read GEDCOM files and some files of genealogy programs such as Family Tree Maker.  

Yesterday I realized that it would be convenient if Windows 7 had an association for the .ftw with the GenViewer program.  That is to say, if I clicked on a file name with that extension the GenViewer program would start up and load the file I clicked.

I had an awful time establishing the association.  I read my Windows 7 book.  I read the Windows help file.  I looked at online tutorials.  After about thirty minutes I was ready to tear my hair out.

When Cyndi came home I asked if she knew how to do it.  She stood behind me and talked me through the process.  In less than five minutes we'd accomplished what I never got close to doing.

The blog post image is a screen capture (that's another story) of a file on a floppy named: bacus.ftw. I have a floppy drive connected to the laptop computer via a USB hub.

Dick Henthorn

18 October 2014

James Thompson

This is a test to see if I can use the paid version of GenViewer to extract the Note field from a GEDCOM file.

This information about James Thompson came from a THOMPSON.GED file that I created on 15 Feb 1998.  It currently resides on a floppy.  I have a USB floppy drive that I bought at a yard sale for $3.00.  Very handy.

I'm pleased with the test results.  I hope you will be too.

******

James Thompson

PARENTS:  Abraham Thompson and Ann Downard

BIRTH: Abt 1728, Ireland
DEATH:  unknown

Problem:
Some sources give his name as James and others as Joseph.  "History of Noble County Ohio," p. 469 says his name is Jacob Thompson.
(Source: The Kilpatrick Family, by Marian Douglas (Jones) Kilpatrick, 1930 has a very good descendant list and gives the name as: James and marriage date as 15 Apr 1779).

BIRTH-BIBLE: James Thompson, son of Jacob Thompson & Ann Thompson formerly Ann Downard was born on the 20th of Febrary AD. 1758.
(Source:  Jackson-Thompson-Secrest Family Bible)

BIOGRAPHY-REFERENCE:
James Thompson married Mary Jackson in Chester county, PA, and brought her to the then wilderness of Ohio, settling near where the village of Buffalo now is, the Walhonding mine being on his farm.  They were exceedingly thrifty, and Mr. Thompson succeeded in locating his children on the best farms in this valley. Thirteen children were born to this worthy couple, the most if not all of them being born in Pennsylvania.
(Source:  Spaid Genealogy, p. 374)

RESIDENCES:
In 1948, Emma (Rich) and Howard Booher bought the farm on which James and Mary Thompson had built their cabin near a great oak tree.  Each year they watched for the green clump of asparagus to show above grass on the hillside.
(Source:  "Rich Hill ... Noble County, Ohio 1880", page 24)
(Note:  She stated on page 32, that the land of James Thompson was in Seneca Township.

Problem:  Was the marriage date of James Thompson and Mary Ann Jackson 13 Apr 1779 or 15 Apr 1779?

Dick Henthorn
9 October 2014

GenViewer

I've used a "free" copy of the program GenViewer Lite for many years to view genealogy GEDCOM files without loading them into my genealogy program.

I decided that I would like to own a copy of the full-blown version which includes options to create PDF and HTML files and additional functional Tabs.  Today, 7 October 2014,  I ordered the program for $19.95.  I'm waiting for the Email with the "code" to unlock the 15-day trial version of the full-blown program.

I had Windows set up to start GenViewer Lite any time I open a file with the .GED file extension. I changed my Windows settings to point to the version I'm buying so it will open the GEDCOM files, thus granting me access to all of the program options.

I plan to write again after I learn more about the new options.  I took a look at the program Help information.  At first glance it looks very comprehensive.  There is also a User Guide.

MudCreek Software

File Search Feature

Dick Henthorn
7 October 2014
Revised: 8 October 2014

Two Screen Computer Setup

This is not a photo of my setup

I have a two-screen computer setup. The larger screen is a ViewSonic 1080p which is elevated behind the screen of my Toshiba laptop.  The larger screen has the best resolution of the two.  My eyes are still good enough to allow me to easily read the display even though it is about two feet away.

I've found this two-display setup to be very useful, especially when I am working on genealogy.  I display my genealogy program, RootsMagic on the big screen and I display my  free "text editor," EditPad Lite on the laptop. This is very handy when I want to add information from a text file to my genealogy file. For example, right now I am working with some information I found in a GEDCOM file on the Internet.  I loaded the GEDCOM into a "new" genealogy file and then opened that file in RootsMagic.  When I find some information in the Notes of the new file I copy the Note and paste it into my text editor.

The genealogy program allows me to have more than one genealogy file open at a time.  I have the "new" genealogy file open and I have my own file open, the one that I am updating. I select my own genealogy file as the "active" file and I refer to the laptop screen to see the information I want to enter into my own file. I'm using this technique to add records to my file. The GEDCOM file often has census and obituary information that includes information about people who don't have records in the GEDCOM.

Dick Henthorn
28 August 2014

RootsMagic Learning Curve

Recently I acquired a huge GEDCOM file with information about the descendants of Ralph Higginbotham and Mary Henthorn.  While working with this information I've been learning more about how RootsMagic works and how to use it.  It's challenging.  For several weeks I've been considering posting here about some of my experiences.  Today I decided to stop thinking about it, and just do it.

I'm Facebook friends with the programmer of RootsMagic, Bruce Buzbee.  In response to a comment I made Bruce suggested that I might avoid duplication problems if I created a "new" genealogy file for the records of people that I intend to copy to my own file.  That way it is easy to carry out any necessary edits and it is easy to understand the scope of the branch that I'm working on. Good advice, that I've used to my advantage several times in the last couple of weeks.

BTW, does anyone remember who were the parents of this Mary Henthorn?  Can we cite a source?

Dick Henthorn
25 Aug 2014

RootsMagic File Conversions

This afternoon I've been working on converting some of my RootsMagic3 files that reside on my old desktop computer to RootsMagic6 files on my laptop computer. I converted five files. It looks like there are still around fifteen files left to convert.  I don't have an exact count because some of the file names seem to indicate that they are "work" files.  When I try to recall what I was doing months ago it makes me wish my memory was working better.

Here are the steps:

1. Create a GEDCOM file of the RootsMagic3 file to be converted
2. Create a folder on the receiving computer called, GEDCOMin
3. Use the GBridge program to link my two computers and copy the GEDCOM file from the desktop to the laptop computer.  
4. Input the GEDCOM file to RootsMagic6 to create the new version of the file on the laptop
5. Input the Preparer information in the new file

I'm still not clear on how to use the GBridge program on the two computers.  That is to say, I can get it to work, but I can't explain how it works to anyone else.

Dick Henthorn
27 January 2014

RootsMagic6 Backup

After the talk about backup at the computer club meeting and the follow-up comments at the next meeting I've been thinking more about backup.

A year-end project was to upgrade my genealogy program to RootsMagic6.  Once this was accomplished I noticed that it was necessary to open each genealogy file and click to run a quick conversion routine. I had 25 genealogy files on my computer.

I wrote a blog post for my genealogy blog which briefly describes the 25 genealogy files. I posted the article as a static page.  This means there is a button labeled My RootsMagic6 Files at the top of the page.  Google allows up to ten static pages per blog.

On 23 January 2014 I used the RootsMagic6 program to backup all of the files as RootsMagic backups and as GEDCOM backups.  The backups were written to RootsMagic backup folders on the laptop computer.  Next I created backup folders on the old Dell hard drive which I'm running as an external hard drive.  Finally I signed on to my SkyDrive account where I created two more backup folders.  I uploaded the backups from the external hard drive to the SkyDrive folders called: RoomsMagic6 and GEDCOMrmg6.  This gave me a total of six sets of backup.

Later on in the afternoon I created two CD backups.  I wrote the 25 RootsMagic6 backup files to one CD and the 25 GEDCOM files to another CD.
23 January 2014

WikiTree

This week I registered with WikiTree.  I became interested when I noticed there was some information about the Predmore family of Pike and Adams counties in Illinois.  At this point I don't know whether this is something I'll want to use.  I put this post together to help me, and hopefully others, learn more about the application.

WikiTree Webpages

WikiTree - Introduction

WikiTree - Sharing Data with GEDCOMs

I created a YouTube playlist for WikiTree videos I found.

Dick's WikiTree Playlist

Dick Eastman has written several articles about WikiTree.

WikiTree

GEDCOM Comparisons

Privacy Tools

Five Million Profiles

Automated Matching

Genea-Musings Blog of Randy Seaver

Exploring WikiTree Compendium

Mozena Family

I successfully copied the Mozena family to my laptop computer where I loaded the GEDCOM into RootsMagic5.  This family has strong connections to Monroe county, Ohio and links to these other families: Foote, Buskirk, Henthorn, R. David Thomas (founder of Wendy's, who married a Buskirk).

Dick Henthorn
18 August 2013

John Henthorn Family

Today I uploaded the John Henthorn family, using a GEDCOM file, to the RootsMagic5 genealogy program on my laptop computer.  Prior to today this file resided on my desktop computer in a RootsMagic3 file.

Henthorn researchers believe that the first two Henthorns to arrive in the British colonies were brothers, James and John. The John Henthorn family is the smaller of the two.

My genealogy files were originally created with the LDS program, Personal Ancestral File (PAF) version 2.31, on a computer running the DOS operating system. Getting from that point to today entailed years of work and many computer disasters. It's a relief to once again have the data at my finger tips.

A Descendant report created from this file, with place and every name indices is 508 pages.

Dick Henthorn
17 March 2013

Conger File Conversion

My John Belconger (Conger) file, consisting of 44,780 records and 16,989 families is now loaded to RootsMagic5 on my laptop computer.

Here's a example of the amount of information available, a descendant report, in the PDF format, for Job Conger, son of John Belconger, is 2,279 pages.

I used GBridge to move the Conger GEDCOM file from my desktop computer to my laptop computer.

This is a major achievement in my long-standing battle to convert my genealogy information from Personal Ancestral File (PAF) version 2.31 to RootsMagic and move the data to the laptop.

Dick Henthorn
5 August 2013

Transitioning to RootsMagic 5

Some comments about moving my genealogy files from my old desktop computer to my newer laptop computer and from older versions of genealogy programs to my latest genealogy program.

My current genealogy program is RootsMagic 5. The majority of my genealogy files are still on my desktop computer in either PAF 2.31 format or RootsMagic 3. There are many issues with the desktop computer which should encourage me to move on with the transition.

Yesterday I resolved an issue with RootsMagic 5. I didn't have the folder structure set up correctly on my laptop. With Email help from my friend in West Virginia, Vernon Anderson, I was able to understand and fix the problem. RootsMagic 5 suggests the creation of five folders and details how to make them work with Windows 7 and it's Library and Folder design. I created:

• Backup
• Data
• GEDCOM
• Multimedia
• Reports

I created a sixth folder which I named "GEDCOMin." I'll use this folder to stage incoming GEDCOM files that I plan to load into RootsMagic 5. The GEDCOM folder is where RootsMagic 5 writes any GEDCOM files that the program creates.

During some recent testing I discovered that a good way to move a RootsMagic 3 file to the laptop computer for loading into RootsMagic 5 was via GEDCOM. The steps I followed were as follows:

1. Create GEDCOM file from RootsMagic 3 (old computer)
2. Send the GEDCOM file to myself, using Gmail attachment (old computer)
3. Download the Gmail GEDCOM file into my Download folder (new computer)
4. Move the GEDCOM file to my GEDCOMin folder (new computer)
5. Import the GEDCOM file to RootsMagic 5 (new computer)
6. Compare counts for People, Families, Events, etc. (old & new computers)
7. Create a backup GEDCOM with RootsMagic5, in my GEDCOM folder (new computer)
8. Create a backup using RootsMagic 5, in the Backup folder (new computer)

The file I moved today (31 July 2013) was my Henthorn, Carlson, Hagstrom, Marquinez file. This file consists of:

• 5216 people
• 1939 families
• 5602 events
•   838 places

Mr. Dickie

31 July 2013

Sharing Data with GEDCOMS | WikiTree Blog

Sharing Data with GEDCOMS | WikiTree Blog:

Here's another topic worthy of our attention.  Has anyone I know done this?  I'd be interested in feedback.

There are always interesting genealogy topics and projects.

'via Blog this'

BetterGEDCOM Wiki

About BetterGEDCOM

BetterGEDCOM was organized in the fall of 2010, by DearMyrtle, Greg Lamberson and Russ Worthington, after Myrt and Russ had problems sharing genealogical information about a mutual line. Their data had become lost or mangled in the transfer. Knowing many others shared the same frustrations, these dedicated technologists and users fostered the BetterGEDCOM grassroots effort. The project’s original goal was to develop a standard for genealogy data archiving and transfer that would be accepted internationally.
BetterGEDCOM
GEDCOM is the file format that genealogy programs use to transfer data between the various genealogy programs.  As developers added more and more functionality to their programs there have been problems.  It's my opinion that the so-called GEDCOM standard hasn't been able to keep up.  I used the term so-called because I don't think a government standard has ever been adopted by The National Bureau of Standards.
Mr. Dickie8 August 2012

RootsMagic Version 5

I started the learning process with RootsMagic5. My first impression - it's going to be somewhat nerve wracking and a challenge. The format of the displays and the control buttons is quite different from version 3 which I have used for several years.

I created a GEDCOM from a small, 83 person file, moved it from one computer to the other via Email, loaded it into RootsMagic5. I got it to work. This file should give me what I need to practice and learn. I'm confused about why I can't see the files with the Windows Explorer.

The Help file didn't really explain what steps I should use to move the data from one computer to the other.  They seemed to assume that I would upgrade from the old version to the version on the same computer.  Transferring the files with Gmail should work unless they exceed file size limits.

Time to take a break.
10 January 2011

Genealogy Index for Clark County, Indiana, United States of America

Genealogy Index for Clark County, Indiana, United States of America

This is something that might be of interest to Henthorn researchers. One or more GEDCOM files for the Henthorn family are listed. I was able to display the file contents on my computer screen. The file listed the name of the person who created the file and gave credit to another researcher for the information.

You should be able to download the GEDCOM file(s) to your own computer for loading into your own genealogy program. If anyone does this I'd like to hear from you. We could post a report of your findings on this blog.

3 Jul 2011