Another Mess

Years ago I divided my own genealogy information into two files, one for my maternal line and one for my paternal line. I can't remember why I did this. I must have thought it was a good idea at the time. Now I think it wasn't such a good idea.  This is my the family of my grandmother, Augusta (Anderson) Carlson.

I have some backups. I'm not certain which backup is the latest version. The data was in Personal Ancestral File (PAF).  On my old computer I don't have a copy of my maternal line available to PAF. As a matter of fact I can't remember how long ago it was when I last looked at this information with PAF.

Yesterday, I found three backup floppies with the latest backup dated, 24 Aug 1998. Using the old computer I created a folder to house the files that make up my maternal line and I loaded the backup file into PAF.  It worked. I recovered a copy of the information that I can access with PAF.

Unfortunately moving the information from PAF to RootsMagic isn't a simple matter.  There are  edits that need to be accomplished to get ready. From past experience, with larger files, I know that this task can take several days, if not weeks.

• I want to add the county abbreviation, "Co.," to county names.  
• I want to expand cemetery names to eliminate truncation. 
• And, most important of all I need to edit the textual information in the Note fields so word wrap will work in RootsMagic.

Dick Henthorn
16 October 2014

Status Report - Yoho, Baker, Rine File

I'm working on a major project, trying to salvage my Yoho, Baker, Rine file, which was damaged while residing on my old desktop computer.

I've moved the file to RootsMagic5 on my laptop computer where I have been working on various edit projects for a couple of weeks. Some records seem to be beyond repair.  I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about the project, reminding myself to stay focused on what can be recovered rather than on what's lost.

The file consists of the following:

• People - 52,195
• Families - 18,995
• Events - 54,969
• Places - 4,900

From time to time I'll post comments about the project and insights I've gained into the RootsMagic5 program.

Dick Henthorn
12 Sep 2013

Counties Count

Counties Count

Often when genealogy information is shared I run into a problem with place names. The person who first recorded the name of a place where a life event occurred didn't write down the county name. The result is that we really don't know where the person was living at the time of the event. This is because in some states the same place names were used more than once. It's bad enough when two places in the same state have the same name. Imagine the confusion when there are more than two.

Another problem with place names comes up when a county and a town in that county have the same name. How am I supposed to know whether the person who shared the information was referring to a town within a county or to the county?

When I first started doing genealogy I didn't take this problem into account. I've come to regret that. In recent years I've been working to correct the problem. I decided I'd use the abbreviation, "Co.," after the county name. For example: Bellevue, Sarpy Co., NE or just Sarpy Co., NE when I don't know the town name.

This week I have been editing the place names in my RootsMagic Conger family file. Yesterday I complete a first pass through the place name file associated with this family.

The place name edit project reminded me of another place name issue. Often when cemetery names were recorded, and shared, the person who wrote down the cemetery name failed to include the town and county name. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to determine where the cemetery is located. Another cemetery name issue is failure to accurately record the cemetery name. This probably happens because many cemeteries don't have name signs.

Mr. Dickie
11 Feb 2011