Choosing the best genealogical Software

One of the first things I had to do in making a Family Tree was to choose what software to use, and to learn how to build a tree. The first one I used was the Family Tree Maker, then Legacy, Root Magic both Legacy and Roots are associates of LDS (Latter Day Saints) and Family Tree Maker (FTM) was associated with the Internet site Ancestry.com. I found that both Legacy and Roots were more detailed which was good, but took more time, FTM was quicker but the early versions lacked enough sources documentation. I want to be able to share the tree with family members yet unborn who hopefully will be interested. I settled on are Roots Magic for its association with LDS which collects and stores Genealogical data in a mountain vault in Utah. I already contributed some family files which I sometimes get back when I try their web site. LDS motives are religious which is powerful, most of the data we have from the past are through religious rights. The second software I settled on was Family Tree Maker which has improved over the years and now has good source documentation.  FTM is associated with Ancestry.com which sales data collections, so profit another good motive to save the data and a place where future generation can find it. Collecting and put in the data takes a lot of time, so you must budget your time well.       

How I got started with the family Genealogy

I wish I started researching my family tree before my father died in 1982 so I could have gotten some serious answers out of him. My son Michael did ask him for a family tree, after his Grandfather he made up the rest. Lucky I do remember some stories he told me while I was growing up as did my mother about her side of the family. My parents both came to New York in 1929 from Scotland, so I have no relations nearby to as ask, but later starting in 1997 my wife and I began making trips to Scotland to see my cousins on my mother’s side and my mother’s brother Uncle Peter did tell me a lot of family stories if I could only remember them. It is important to get as much information from the older members of the family as possible, they may not think their stories are important, but everyone has a story to tell and future generations would like to read about where they came from.