Lists on the RootsMagic App

I posted First Look at RootsMagic App for iOS Devices yesterday and went through the highlights of the "Views" menu on the app on my iPhone.

There are two other useful menu items - the "List" item and the "Tools" item.  I will go through the "Lists" menu item today, and do the "Tools" menu item tomorrow.

From any screen, the user can tap on the "Lists" menu item (on the bottom of the screen) and see the list of Lists available to the user:

All of these Lists are available in the RootsMagic software on the "Lists" menu.

The Source List provides the Master Sources in alphabetical order:

If you tap on one of them, you see the master source portion of the "Footnote," plus any Source comments for that master source.  You can navigate to a section of the Source list by tapping on the small letters on the right of the screen, then swipe to scroll up and down. You do not see any source citations - those are in the source citations for the persons and events in the "Views" menu.

The "ToDo" item in the "Lists" provides some selections for what to show, the priority level, and the status filters, plus the list of To-Do list items:

You swipe to scroll down the ToDo list.  Tapping on one of the items on the list opens the item for review.  You cannot add to the list or edit an item on the list - this is "view" only.

The "Research" List opens the list of Research Logs:

To view a specific Research Log, tap on the specific research log on the list.  The log opens and you can see the objective and research log items.  You can navigate to a section of the Research list by tapping on the small letters on the right of the screen, then swipe to scroll up and down. Again - this is "view" only - you cannot edit the items or add to the list.

The "Media" List item provides a list of the media items in the RootsMagic database:

Tapping on one of the items opens the thumbnail image of the media (which the user cannot enlarge), the media caption, the File folder name, and the Description text.  You can navigate to a section of the Media list by tapping on the small letters on the right of the screen, then swipe to scroll up and down.

I did not take pictures of the Address, Repository or Correspondence items on the "List" menu list.

The "Place" list is an alphabetical list of places in the database:

Tapping on one of the places on the list brings up the Standardized place name, the Abbreviated place name, the Geocode (latitude and longitude), Notes and Place details.  You can navigate to a section of the Place list by tapping on the small letters on the right of the screen, then swipe to scroll up and down.

As noted, these are "view" only lists - you cannot add items or edit items on the list.

The value of these lists is great if you are at a repository, or at a friend's place, and want to see your source citations, research log, to-do list, place list, etc.  Now I have this information, along with my database information (names, dates, places, relationships, events, source citations, media), hiding in my pocket to use when I need it.  Great job, RootsMagic!

I will show the Tools menu items tomorrow.  Don't forget the RootsMagic webinar on the RootsMagic app today  6 PM (EST), 5 PM (CST) 4 PM (MST), 3 PM PDT, 11 PM GMT.  Register at - https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/419532118.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/lists-on-rootsmagic-app.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Tuesday's Tip - Copyright Issues Presentation

This week's Tuesday's Tip is:  Review Cath Madden Trindle's presentation on "Copyright Issues for the 21st Century Genealogical Community."

On the CSGScopyright (Copyright Issues for the 21st Century Genealogical Community) blog, Cath Madden Trindle posted "Educational Materials" today with links to her PowerPoint presentation, titled "But It's My Family ..." and her syllabus.  The links to the two documents are at http://csgacopyright.wordpress.com/educational-materials/.

While reading the presentation, and the handout, is not the same as "being there" to hear what Cath has to say, it's better than not having the information at all.

Cath's blog post said:

" I would like to make my presentation materials available to anyone that would like to do so or to any society that would like to share with it’s members.  Feel free to download, change, enhance, share or anything else that would be useful in helping the genealogical community understand the issues of copyright."

I encourage readers to do that and to share this information with their genealogical society members.

My thanks to Cath for making these materials available to read and to share.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/tuesdays-tip-copyright-issues.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

How Can I Obtain Massachusetts Probate Records?

A question was asked last week on the MAWORCES mailing list (Worcester County, Massachusetts):

"How do I get the probate records from the 19th century?"

There has been one answer so far, which offered information about an index on Ancestry, and links to several websites with more information.  The question was specific to Worcester County, Massachusetts, but the answers below apply to the other counties in Massachusetts (and to Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire counties also, but not to Rhode Island and Connecticut).

Having done quite a bit of this type of research over the last 20 years, I want to offer three possible  solutions:

1)  Go to the Massachusetts Courthouse of interest and gain access to the probate packets for the persons you want to see.  You should contact them ahead of time for hours, parking availability, rules for access, and restrictions on photographing or copying documents.  

2)  Use the LDS Family History Catalog to identify and then order microfilms to be read at a local FamilySearch Center or participating library (this option costs money for microfilm rental, and takes significant time).  

The process to identify, order and find probate records using the Family History Library microfilms is a multi-step process:

a)  You need to find an index of probate records for the state and county in question. The LDS Family History Library Catalog (online at https://www.familysearch.org/catalog-search) can help you determine which film to order for the indexes. Order the film (you can do this online at https://familysearch.org/films/) that might have the name of your target ancestor (the index is usually alphabetic) in the county where you think he resided and might have left an estate.

b) When the film comes into the FamilySearch Center, you can find your target ancestor and determine the probate packet number. Be sure to check for alternate spellings. Be aware that there may be no probate record for your target ancestor.  Some indexes may have specialized indexes and the entries may not be in alphabetical order.

c) Go back to the Family History Library Catalog and find the film number for that probate packet. Order that film.  In some counties (Middlesex, Massachusetts is one), the films will contain the actual probate record packet papers - you can skip the rest of this list!).  Go directly to g) below!

d) When the probate packet index microfilm comes into the FamilySearch Center, you can search the probate packet film for your target ancestor and write down (or copy) the entries for the different papers on the list - the administration, will, inventory, etc. These will be in terms of Volume and Page number for each item.  These different papers are usually the clerk's copy of the records, entered into record books as they were filed with the Probate Court.  They may be in more than one volume of the records.

e) Go back to the Family History Library Catalog and find the microfilm number(s) for the  volume(s) and page(s) on the probate packet index.  Order those microfilm(s).

f) When the probate volume microfilm(s) comes into the FamilySearch Center, you can search the microfilm(s) for the specific records, using the Volume number and Page number as finding aids.  

g)  Use whatever options are available at the FamilySearch Center to obtain a copy - digital image, photocopy, digital photograph, transcribe them, or abstract them.  I always obtain a digital image of them, preferably on a flash drive.

3)  Wait for FamilySearch to add the name indexes, the probate packet indexes and the probate record volumes to their historical record collections.  There are already large probate record collections for many states (search for "probate" at https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/list).  However, the only Massachusetts probate records available are for Plymouth County.  

When you find the records by volume and page, note that these are usually transcriptions of the original documents entered into the court record by a clerk, and therefore are not the original documents (they are record copies) - the originals are still in the probate packets at the Probate Court or other repository.

Some of the Massachusetts county probate name indexes are online at www.ancestry.com and perhaps other web sites. Some of the probate packet indexes may be available to view, on microfilm, at New England Historic Genealogical Society and other repositories. 

The process for other states is similar - but the court names may be different and the detailed process may be different.

That seems pretty complicated, but if you are not in Massachusetts with access to the Probate court records, it is the easiest and cheapest way to access these great records.

Further information about Massachusetts Probate Records can be found at:

*  FamilySearch Wiki:  Massachusetts Probate Records

*  Ancestry.com Wiki:  Massachusetts Probate Records

*  Massachusetts Genealogy Website:  Massachusetts Probate Records (links to FHL microfilms or online databases)

*  Mass-docs Website:  Massachusetts Probate Records (service to retrieve probate records in Bristol, Essex, Middlesex and Worcester Counties)

Needless to say, probate records are some of the very best records to find for your ancestors since they are usually primary information in original sources that is direct evidence of relationships - pretty much a gold standard on the Genealogical Proof Standard scale.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/how-can-i-obtain-massachusetts-probate.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

First Look at RootsMagic App for iOS Devices

The big news (for me, anyway) this Monday is that RootsMagic has released the FREE RootsMagic app for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod).  You can see the announcement at RootsMagic App for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch on the RootsMagic blog.  The directions for how to download the app, and upload your database using iTunes or Dropbox are at RootsMagic for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Frequently Asked Questions.

I just had to try it out...since my tree is also online at http://my.rootsmagic.com/rjseaver/.  I downloaded the FREE RootsMagic app to my iPhone.  After reading the directions (it was hard because of the small screen - I used my magnifying glass!), I selected the Dropbox option.  Once I did that, an Apps file folder appeared in Dropbox, and I copied my whole RootsMagic 6 database into the RootsMagic file folder in the Apps file folder on Dropbox.  All 45 mb of it.

I followed the directions to upload the database to the iPhone.  This took about two minutes for my database.  Once it was saved to my device, I saw the home screen:

As you can see, I'm in the "View" screen.  The other screen options at the bottom of the screen are "Files," "Lists" and "Tools."  Up at the top left of the screen is a "Search" icon (the three horizontal bars) that take you to a list of persons and offers a search field.  I'm only going to deal with the "View" screen..

If you tap a  right arrow on the right side of the screen, then the pedigree chart advances one generation to the right:

From this screen, I tapped on Frank Walton Seaver's name to see what information is available:

It shows his name, picture, and birth, marriage and death information.  There are buttons below his name for "Set Primary," "Parents" and "Spouses."  Those can be used for navigation.  There is a "See Full Details" button below the vital records.  I tapped on that and saw:

It takes about 10 seconds to bring up the Fact list.  The "View" icon at the bottom of the screen can be used for navigation.  I tapped on it and saw:

I can navigate back to the Pedigree view, to the "Family" view, to the "Descendants" view or the "Individual" view.  Here is a picture of the "Family" View:

On this view, I can navigate to the spouse, to the parents or to any one of the children.

I tapped on Frank's name, and was back on his "Fact" view (three screens above). I tapped on the top item on the list "Click to view notes, media and sources" and the information on the "Notes" tab for the person appeared:

That's great!  Now I have access to my Notes!  I tapped on the "Sources"  tab and the list of sources for the person appeared (if there is more than one, use the list below the first one):

Note that this is a Source for the person, not for a Fact.  You have to tap on a specific Fact to get the Sources for that Fact.

I tapped on the "Media" button and saw the first media item and the list of Media items for the person appeared:

I went "Back" to the "Fact" list and tapped on the Birth Fact and on the "Media" button and he thumbnail view of the first document appeared:

I could tap the second item on the list above and see the second document, again in a thumbnail view.  Unfortunately, the document images can not be expanded to see details of the document.  RootsMagic stores the thumbnail image of the document or photo, not the actual document or photo image.  The actual images are in my file folder on my computer, and they were not transferred into the Dropbox folder - only the thumbnail images were.  

There are many more features to explore in this FREE RootsMagic app for iOS devices.  I'll take a look at some of them in future posts.

Suffice it to say that having ALL of this information in my pocket available wherever I am, with about a 10 second wait time, is fantastic.  

There will be a FREE RootsMagic webinar about the RootsMagic app on Tuesday, 18 December 2012  at 6 PM (EST), 5 PM (CST) 4 PM (MST), 3 PM PDT, 11 PM GMT.  Register at - https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/419532118.

My first judgment of this FREE app is that it is easy to acquire, is cheap, is easy to download your database, and easy to use once you master the navigation tools.  I rate it a 9 on a scale of 10 of genealogy Apps for usefulness on my iPhone, recognizing the size limitations of the screen.  RootsMagic has a winner here the first time out of the box.  Just in time for the holidays.  Thanks, Bruce and the RootsMagic team.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/first-look-at-rootsmagic-app-for-ios.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Disclosure:  I was not paid to write this review.  Although I have received free stuff from RootsMagic in the past, that has not influenced this review.  I paid the retail price for my RootsMagic 6 upgrade in November.

Amanuensis Monday - Martin Carringer's Revolutionary War Pension File: Post 3 - the Widow's Declaration

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started his own Monday blog theme several years ago called Amanuensis Monday. What does "amanuensis" mean? John offers this definition:

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is a document from the Revolutionary War Pension File of Martin Carringer (1758-1835) of Mercer County, Pennsylvania (accessed on and digital image obtained from www.Fold3.com):

The transcription of this document is:

State of Pennsylvania
Mercer County Ss

On the Sixth day of February in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty nine personally came before the subscriber a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in and for said County being a Court of Record of Pennsylvania, Molly Carringer a resident of Sandy Creek Township Mercer County and State aforesaid, age Seventy one years who having first duly sworn according to Law doth on her oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions of the Act of congress passed July Seventh One thousand eight hundred and thirty Eight, entitled "An Act granting half pay and pensions to certain Widows."

That she is the widow of Martin Carringer who was a private in the regular Army of the United States in the Revolutionary War, that for some time before and up to his death he was on the pension roll of the United States drawing a Pension of Ninety Six Dollars per Annum.  She further declares that she was Married to the said Martin Carringer in the Month of May One thousand Seven hundred and eighty five, that her husband the said Martin Carringer died on the twenty fifth day of January One thousand eight hundred and thirty five that she was not Married to him prior to his having the service but that their Marriage took place prior to the first day of January 1794 and at the time above stated and that she still remains his widow.

Sworn to and Subscribed  ............................................ her
on the day above written ................................... Molly X Carringer
before ........................................................................... mark
James R. Wick

This document provides several pieces of vital information - the marriage date of Martin Carringer and Molly [Hoax] in May 1785 (but it doesn't say where they were married) and the death date of Martin Carringer on 7 January 1835 (again, it doesn't say where he died).  

Martin Carringer received a pension of $96 per year ($8 per month), and Molly is applying for half of that - $48 per year.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/amanuensis-monday-martin-carringers.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 9 to 15 December 2012

Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.

My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.

Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:

*  A Photograph Crumbles a Brick Wall by Michael Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.  Here's an excellent example of using unusual resources, and waiting for the clue to appear, to solve a research problem.

*  Stepping Back Into the Past - Medical Records by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog.  James put his hospital time to good use and provides some leads to find medical records.

*  Start Your Journey Right: 12 Books for Your Genealogy Journey by Lynn Palermo on The Armchair Genealogist blog.  Nice story, nice list.

*  What Does It Mean to be "Out of Date?" by Harold Henderson on the Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog.   Harold discusses Val Greenwood's book - is it out of date?  There are diverging views - I'm in the second group.

*  Seismic Shift in Genetic Genealogy by Dave Dowell on the Dr. D. Digs Up Ancestors blog.  Dave summarizes the recent changes in the genetic genealogy world.

*  Let's Talk About Who's Stealing Blog Content by Kerry Scott on the Clue Wagon blog.  Kerry puts it out there... read the comments, too.

*  Public Access to Federal Records by Bill Dollarhide on Leland Meitzler's GenealogyBlog.  Bill discusses different types of federal records, and how to access them.

*  The Bloggers' Best Selections, Winter 2012 edited by Diane Beumenot on the One Rhode Island Family blog.  Fifteen geneabloggers submitted their own "Best Of ..." posts - great reads!  somehow I missed this opportunity.

These genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week: 

*  Monday Morning Mentions by Lynn Palermo on The Armchair Genealogist blog.

*  Monday Recap for December 10, 2012 by Amanda on the Geni Blog.

*  Ruth's Recommendations by Ruth Blair on The Passionate Genealogist blog.

*  Genealogy News Corral - Dec. 10-14 by Beth on the Genealogy Insider blog.

*  Follow Friday -- Favorites by Heather Kuhn Roelker on the Leaves for Trees blog.

*  Follow Friday - Fab Finds for December 14, 2012 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.

*  Friday Finds - 12/14/12 by Julie Cahill Tarr on the GenBlog blog.

*  Weekly Genealogy Picks - Dec 9 to Dec 15 by John Newmark on the TransylvanianDutch blog.

I encourage readers to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 1300 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/best-of-genea-blogs-9-to-15-december.html

Copyright(c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Blog Caroling!!!

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

 It's Saturday Night again - 

time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?  I love this time of year - and hearing and singing Christmas carols and songs is my favorite holiday pastime.  

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Identify your absolute favorite Christmas Carol or Holiday song.  

2)  Share your favorite carol or song in a blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook status post or Google Plus stream post.  

3)  For extra credit, post an audio or video of the carol or song (almost all are on www.YouTube.com) and the words to the song.  Add the background of the song, and the artists if you can find them.

4)  Enjoy the memories and feelings that the carol or song brings to your heart and mind, and share them too!

5)  Share your entry on footnoteMaven's post footnoteMaven's Tradition of Blog Caroling.

Here's mine:

I posted my absolute favorite in a separate blog post - Blog Caroling (posted 13 December 2012).

Other favorite songs (by genre):

*  Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer  - a funny song

* The Christmas Song - a contemporary song

*  Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - an older rock song

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-blog.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Surname Saturday - ELLIS (England > Massachusetts)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week.  

I am in the 7th great-grandmothers, up to number 547: Abiel ELLIS (1662-1716). [Note: the 7th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through two American generations of this ELLIS family is:

1.  Randall J. Seaver

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)

4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)

8. Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922)
9. Hattie Louise Hildreth (1857-1920)

16. Isaac Seaver (1823-1901)
17. Lucretia Townsend Smith (1827-1884)

34.  Alpheus B. Smith (1802-1840)
35.  Elizabeth Horton Dill (1791-1869)

68.  Aaron Smith (1765-1841)
69.  Mercy Plimpton (1772-1850)

136.  Moses Smith (1732-1806)
137.  Patience Hamant (1735-1780)

272.  Henry Smith (1680-1743)
273.  Ruth Barber (1696-????)

546.  Zechariah Barber, born 29 September 1656 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States; died 11 August 1705 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 1092. George Barber and 1093. Elizabeth Clarke.  He married 30 August 1683 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.

547.  Abiel Ellis, born 15 October 1662 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States; died 14 April 1716 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.  

Children of Zechariah Barber and Abiel Ellis are: Benoni Barber (1684-1684); Zechariah Barber (1685-1746); Joseph Barber (1687-1770); Abiel Barber (1691-1718); John Barber (1693-1754); Ruth Barber (1696-????); Thomas Barber (1698-1705); Elizabeth Barber (1700-1722); Mary Barber (1703-????).

1094.  Thomas Ellis, born before 13 December 1629 in Wrentham, Suffolk, England; died 12 December 1690 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.  He married 21 May 1657 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.

1095.  Mary Wight, born about 1638 in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States; died 07 March 1692/93 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of 2190. Thomas Wight and 2191. Alice.

Children of Thomas Ellis and Mary Wight are:  Judith Ellis (1658-????); Mary Ellis (1660-1717_; Abiel Ellis (1662-1716); Samuel Ellis (1664-1712); Thomas Ellis (1666-1670); Patience Ellis (1669-1695); Ruth Ellis (1670-????); Thomas Ellis (1674-1692); Joanna Ellis (1678-????).

The only resources I've found for this Ellis family have been:

*  William S. Tilden (editor), History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886 (Boston, Mass. : Geo. H. Ellis, 1887). 

*  The published town vital record books.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/surname-saturday-ellis-england.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Days 8 to 14

I posted my Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories posts every year since since 2007 (I think).  I also made up a bit of doggerel for each day.  Rather than post them again every day, I'm posting one week's worth of links (plus the doggerel), and my readers can pick and choose what they want to read.

Here is the second week of Christmas Memories (December 8 to 14):

*  Advent Calendar - December 8: Christmas Cookies!

On the 17th day before Christmas,
my angel honey presented me
a whole plate of sugar cookies.

*  Advent Calendar - December 9: Christmas Weather

On the 16th day before Christmas,
I want everybody to know
That it doesn't snow (much) in San Diego.

*  Advent Calendar - December 10: Christmas Gifts

On the 15th day of Christmas, 
my true love gave to me 
The greatest gift of all - her love.

*  Advent Calendar - December 11: Other Traditions

On the 14th Day of Christmas
I tried to share ethnic traditions
but we are plain old Protestant Christians!

*  Advent Calendar - December 12: Charitable/Volunteer Work

On the 13th Day of Christmas,
My true love gives to the community
Her time, prayers and compassion.

*  Advent Calendar - December 13: Holiday Travel

On the 12th day of Christmas,
we packed up the car to go
All the way to San Francisco.

*  Advent Calendar - December 14: Fruitcake! Friend or foe?

On the 11th Day of Christmas,
some joker sent to me
the biggest fruitcake I ever did see!

10 more days to come!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/advent-calendar-of-christmas-memories.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

"Genealogies" Replaces "Trees" on FamilySearch Home Page

There used to be a "Trees" link on the FamilySearch home page that linked to text records from the Ancestral File (an interconnect tree) and Pedigree Resource File (isolated trees) submissions by LDS members and other researchers.

The "Genealogies" link has replaced the "Trees" link, and the format of the "Genealogies" pages has been revised to look like a family tree.  Here is the FamilySearch home page:

The "Genealogies" link is highlighted on the screen above.

I clicked on the "Genealogies" link and the "Search User Submitted Genealogies" page appeared, with a description of the database as:

"User Submitted Genealogies is a set of lineage linked conclusion trees provided to FamilySearch by users. This data comes from the Ancestral File, the Pedigree Resource File and other user submissions."

The user can check the "Search all terms exactly" box, search by Relationship or AF Number, and search in only Ancestral File, Pedigree Resource File.  Search fields are available for the first and last name of a target person, spouse's first and last names, parents first and last names, and the opportunity to add birth, marriage, residence and death events:

I picked only the "Pedigree Resource File" to search, and entered my 3rd great-grandparents, Benjamin Seaver and Abigail Gates, into the search fields for the person and spouse names.

I clicked on the "Search" button and saw a list of nine matches:

I can click on each of those nine Pedigree Resource Filer entries and see what was submitted by someone in the past 30 or so years.  I clicked on the first one on the list and saw (two screens):

The target person is highlighted in the white box, with his spouse listed below, his children to the left, and his parents and grandparents to the right in a tree configuration similar to what is in the "FamilySearch Family Tree."

A user can navigate to another person on the screen by clicking on the name of the other person.  I clicked on Norman Seaver and saw:

Unfortunately, the information in the selected result for Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825) is limited, and some of it is wrong.  For example, it lists his oldest child as being born in 1794 (before Benjamin's wife, Abigail Gates, was born), lists six other children, and does not list any of the four children he had with Abigail, including my second great-grandfather, Isaac Seaver (1823-1901).  This is fairly typical of submissions to both the Ancestral File and Pedigree Resource File databases - there was no sanity check of the submitted records.

While this is definitely a better presentation of this "genealogy" data than the former "Trees" presentation, it still lacks the most important information of all - the sources of the names, dates and places - and any semblance of family history information (stories, photographs, etc.).  That, of course, was expected since these Pedigree Resource Files were submitted as isolated family trees by individuals over a long period of time, using GEDCOM files.

All (?) of the information in this "Genealogies" database was used to seed the "FamilySearch Family Tree" interconnected family tree system (the "Family Tree" link on the FamilySearch home page, visible to registered users) with persons in the AF and PRF.  Then there was an attempt over several years to combine identical persons to try to get an interconnected family tree without modifying the vital records data. Recently, LDS members and registered researchers (including me) were able to add, edit and delete content, including sources and discussions.   In the near future, Finally, all registered users will be able to add, edit and delete content.

From a genealogical and family history point of view, the "FamilySearch Family Tree" will be the more useful database since it can be modified by users, and sources and documentation can be provided by interested users.

This "User Submitted Genealogies" database may become obsolete.  In the mean time, it serves as another user-submitted database that can be used to search for information provided by other researchers.  However, users of this database should understand that there are no sources and no supporting documentation (e.g., digital images) for this information, and it should be used only as leads and clues for further research in historical record collections.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/genealogies-replaces-trees-on.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver