Building and Sharing Your Family History Online

BUILDING AND SHARING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

ONLINEJCCCRA TechTalk Session

February 25, 2016

What Is Ancestry.com

■Largest provider of family history and personal DNA testing,

■Over 2 million paying subscribers,■~1.4 million DNA samples in the AncestryDNA

database,■30+ years in family history market,■Digitizing records and posting online since 1996,■Currently 70 million family trees with over 6 billion

profiles,■Now adding social networking and crowd sourcing

apps (Ancestry, Shoebox, Find a Grave) for both iOS and Android.

Where to Start?

■Create Family Tree on Ancestry.com (or Import GEDCOM file)

■What You Know (Names, Dates, Places, Stories)?■How You Know It (Sources)?■https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFtVn8q6SR8 ■Big Focus, Small Goal.■Keep a Positive & Negative Research Log.

A GEDCOM file is plain text (usually either ANSEL or ASCII) containing genealogical information about individuals, and meta data linking these records together. Most genealogy software supports importing from and/or exporting to GEDCOM format. (Wikipedia)

GEDCOM files do not include graphics or images.

Can I import a GEDCOM file into Ancestry.com?■Yes, you can import Family Tree Maker files (.ftw), Family

Tree Maker Backup files (.fbk), Legacy files ( .fdb), Personal Ancestry Files (.paf) as well as GEDCOM files (.gedz).

■See http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/learnmore/gedcom.aspx ■You cannot import or upload into an existing family tree.■You can import into Family Tree Maker 2008 (or more

recent) and merge two trees.

Can I download my ancestry.com data in a GEDCOM file?■Yes, if you are the owner of the family tree. ■See

http://help.ancestry.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/472/~/uploading-and-downloading-gedcom-files-on-ancestry#res2

■If you are a guest, contributor or editor, you cannot download the tree in GEDCOM format. Contact the owner.

Can I Build a Family Tree Using Ancestry.com Without Subscribing?Yes! Steps:■ Create your Family Tree Online.■ Add Detail You Know or Import a GEDCOM File.■ Upload Images and Scanned Documents (Media).■ Add Detail (Dates, Places, and So On)■ Use Shoebox to “Shoot” and Upload Media.■ Go To a Library with Ancestry.Com Available.■ Search and Save (Email or Flash Drive) Media You Want.

At the Johnson County Public Library (Central Resource Library)You can access Ancestry.com and when you find a document, you can:■Print it■Save it to a flash drive■Email it to yourself

Typical Email Notification

My Discoveries Page with Last 300 Documents You Saved

Downloaded Image

Printer Friendly Version

Email notification when someone has edited or contributed to your Ancestry.com family tree.

Future of Family Tree Maker

■Currently owned and developed by Ancestry; they’ve announced discontinuation of support and development.

■Software MacKiev, developer of Mac version will take over development.

■Roots Magic will connect with Ancestry.com by end of 2016.

■See detail at: http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2016/02/02/good-news-for-users-of-family-tree-maker/

More Resources From Ancestry.com■Ancestry YouTube Channel at

www.youtube.com/user/AncestryCom■Ancestry Forms at

www.ancestry.com/download/charts