Big Focus on LOCKSS Online

Back in 2018, which was the 20th year of my genealogy journey, I began using RootsMagic. First, I really wanted to be able to sync with Ancestry and have my family trees handy on my own computer. Second, I wanted Mac software, with a roster of robust features that wasn't too complicated to learn. RM7 worked well for me for several years.

When I upgraded to RootsMagic 8, I liked the colorful new interface, but the software didn't always sync properly. I admit I didn't want to invest a lot of time trying to learn the bells and whistles, because to my mind, that took precious time away from my research and documentation. Plus this software is only on my computer, and my heirs are very unlikely to be excited about learning specialized software just to access the family tree. 

Dear readers, I recognize that some folks are very much into genealogy software. They know all the ins and outs and they appreciate the convenience. I just didn't have the ooomph to make it up the learning curve. Turns out, genealogy software just isn't my thing. 

Lots of copies keep stuff safe

As I enter the 26th year of my genealogy journey, I am more determined than ever that my family history will live on, for relatives and for researchers interested in my ancestors. Booklets and photo books are great for my immediate family, but I'm thinking longer-term.

That's why I've been expanding my trees on Ancestry, MyHeritage, and WikiTree, as well as posting bite-sized ancestor bios on those sites plus FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Fold3, and elsewhere. Of course, I continue to tell family stories and explore genealogy questions on this blog, which is in its 16th year. 

I'm putting my faith in LOCKSS--lots of copies, spread across many online genealogy sites, should keep stuff safe for the future, in 2024 and well beyond.

Who Can See Your Family History Media?

 Facts on Great-Grandma Tillie Jacobs Mahler's family tree, with attached media

Genealogy record sets disappear from websites from time to time! And if one of my family history "facts" is linked to a source that disappears, I'll be sorry. Several highly experienced genealogy folks have suggested capturing the source image (original, not transcription or index) for download to my computer. I'm starting to do that.

This way, the digital media will be in my genealogy file folders (arranged by surname and/or family) and in my genealogy software.

Just as important, I'm making sure these media images (Census, vital records, and more) will be visible to anyone who finds my public family trees. I welcome cousins browsing my trees and would love to imagine them clicking to see the media image for themselves. In reality, this is a long shot, but at least the media are visible because the trees are public.

Download, then upload family history media

After I download an image related to a source (such as a Census page), I rename it and save it in the proper digital folder. I also add it to my genealogy software.

The next step is to upload that source as an image to support the related fact on my online tree. You can see what that looks like on my paternal great-grandma's Ancestry tree, shown above in excerpted form. You can see a thumbnail preview of the uploaded media next to the related facts.

Census pages are unlikely to be totally withdrawn from public view, IMHO, because they are so widely available. Especially when the transcription or indexing is squirrelly, I will occasionally attach a blowup of the relevant section as the media rather than the entire page to support a fact. I did this for the 1900 US Census and 1905 NY Census in my tree, above.

Media for possible cousins and future genealogists

OK, I'm late to this party. I was delighted at the distant cousin who not only attached actual Census pages and other media but summarized the contents in the comments area--especially full street addresses or other details. I know he's a careful researcher and I can see at a glance where he says our common ancestors lived or died. Thank you!

When researching common surnames like WOOD, having the ability to quickly check an original source is a big plus. I like to think I'm helping my husband's cousins and future genealogists by attaching the media and not relying solely on links to source citations.

I'm approaching this as a long series of bite-sized projects. One ancestor at a time, I'm capturing, downloading, uploading, and attaching source media. One at a time, not all at once. No tree ever grew in a day.

Why I Use Genealogy Software (It's Not Why You Think)

RootsMagic is my genealogy software of choice for one big reason: It syncs with Ancestry, my research/tree site of choice.

But unlike most researchers, I don't do my work in the software and then upload to Ancestry.

On the contrary, I prefer to work in Ancestry (including research and uploading photos/documents) and then download to my computer, via my sync with RootsMagic.

My Technology May Not Be Their Technology

Why? My mind is constantly thinking way ahead to what happens when I someday join my ancestors.

On that faraway day, even though my Mac computer will remain on my desk, it may as well be a pile of bricks as far as my genealogy heir(s) are concerned.

I'll bet none of the next generation will be bothered to open my genealogy software, let alone learn how it works. They'll have their own technology preferences, and any specialized genealogy software on my desktop Mac is unlikely to appeal to the mobile-first younger generation. Just ask your younger relatives and see if they agree.

With this in mind, I don't think of my genealogy software as the primary place to keep my tree and media. In a sense, my computer-based software acts like a backup to my Ancestry tree.

A Family Tree Grows Online

I believe descendants and relatives (and cousins I don't yet know about) are far more likely to find my public family tree on Ancestry, if they have any interest at all.

As I wrote in my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, online trees should be noted in any genealogical "will." For my part, I'm leaving my genealogical heirs a bit of money for an Ancestry subscription so they can noodle around and see how the tree works. They can use mobile or desktop devices, whatever suits their fancy.

Of course, I sync with RootsMagic very frequently so I always have the latest version of my tree on my computer, including all media. This is because I work on the Ancestry tree (multiple trees, actually) every week, sometimes every day. New documents become available, or new photos surface in the family--those are good reasons to add to my online tree and share with those who have been invited to see it. Also, I like to look at DNA hints and compare those trees with mine on Ancestry. It's just convenient to have the latest tree online.

Way in the future, my heirs can decide if they want their own genealogy software. If not, they and I can rest easy, knowing the tree and documentation are on Ancestry for the family to see at any time.