I LOVE This Book

I suppose given all the recent blogging about monetizing, I should say up front that I am categorically not getting anything from this endorsement!

I've used FTM since it first came out. I loved the ease of entry, the chart options, the interface with Ancestry. I haven't always gotten the upgrades, usually letting a couple go by before making another investment. But with the recent upgrades, I've gotten the feeling that I wasn't understanding the program, or getting the most out of it. I know, there is a help file, but those are sort of like reading the dictionary. Not much fun. And it sometimes takes forever to find the right search parameters for what you want. So, I decided to buy this book.

I went right to chapter 9 and the discussion on setting up the web search (and no, this is not how I read mysteries!). The first thing I read is that the reason for the "shaky leaves" that look so exciting on commercials is that FTM does an online search EVERY TIME THE INTERNET CONNECTION IS AVAILABLE. I didn't know this! Could this be one reason it takes too long to connect? I don't know, but I definitely don't like things going on behind my back, so I turned that off right away. Bye, bye, shaky leaves.

Then, I thought I probably ought to read the book in the order it was written. So, I start into chapter 1, and one of the first things I learn is how to enter all my husband's French-Canadian ancestors with their "dit" names, like "Charron dit Ducharme". FTM displays these in the people list as "dit Ducharme", and listing them under "dit" mixes a lot of families up. Lo and behold, here on page 8, I find that putting backslashes around the whole last name results in a correct sort, and the backslash doesn't show up in the tree or the printouts. Who knew?

Not to give away too much, let me say I am really enjoying this book. I was able to get it used from Amazon and it has a permanent place next to my keyboard.

While on the subject of learning new things, Julie Cahill Tarr, over at GenBlog is blogging tips on using the Ancestry Search ("Search Strategies: Ancestry - Part 2"). I have taken away a couple of very good tips to improve my searches (I confess to beng a very bad searcher). Be sure to check it out.

A Vacation Read

Just back from vacation, and trying to get caught up. All the buzz about Genealogy Wise has me over there trying to figure out how it works, and how to find time to fit it all in. (If you haven't already read Greta's excellent post on "Researching, Blogging, Social Networking, and Finding Time", you should. It is definitely a must-read).


Vacation included lots of time on the road. Along with trying to finish knitting a pair of socks, I took along this new book for when the fingers got tired. It turned out I did more reading than knitting. What a find! Marcia Hoffman Rising's The Family Tree Problem Solver: Proven Methods for Scaling the Inevitable Brick Wall has me rethinking some of the ways I have been doing things. She advises researching the families around your family in the census for hints as to female relatives or places of origin. ("Do you mean I have to research all those people too?" Sigh!)
She calls it the difference between searching and researching. She has tips for getting around missing "burned county" courthouse records (my case in Madison County, IN). Plenty of examples help illustrate her recommendations. Full disclosure, I have nothing to do with this book, I just learned a lot.

Now to finish those socks....