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The best things in life are free, but sooner or later the government will find a way to tax them.

In the March 15, 2004, Plus Edition of this newsletter, I described how anyone with Irish parents or grandparents could claim "Citizenship by Descent." Irish descendants could obtain Irish citizenship and even an Irish passport. U.S. citizens could even claim dual citizenship and legally have two passports, a distinct advantage for several reasons. However, a referendum in Ireland last week is changing some of the rules.

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- (+) Online Genealogy Classes

When I started search for my family tree, I lived in a small rural community in northeastern Vermont. I didn't know anyone who was expert at genealogy research methodologies, so I was unable to ask for advice. If there was a local course available, I never heard about it. I learned the hard way, like many of you reading this newsletter. I wasted a lot of time, made errors, and slowly discovered what many others already knew. Today, training courses are available to help newcomers come up to speed quickly. Such courses have been taught in person for years but now are also available in an "e-learning" (electronic learning) environment. Had the Internet been available back in my early days, I could have saved time, money, and frustration. This week I thought I would describe some of the training courses that are available to you today.

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- RootsMagic 2

Copyright 2004 by Mark Lang, BA (Computer Science)

Installation was via a privileged downloadable executable file, and it installed smoothly over my current version without any problems. You will require any Windows operating system, such as Win 95 or later (95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP), 32 MB RAM (although this would be slow; I would recommend 64MB or more if you can afford it) and a CD-ROM drive to install the program.

New to Version 2

The most major improvement that comes with this release is undoubtedly the inclusion of the long awaited-wall charting facilities. Included are Ancestor, Descendant, and Hourglass charts. When you begin the process, the options allow you to select the starting person, chart type, chart orientation, and the number of generations, depending on the direction. For Background, you can select none, solid colour, or an image of your choice. Although default settings are provided, you can change the box height, width, and horizontal and vertical spacing. Colours in the charts can also be adjusted for the title, box, box borders, shadow, name, and event text. I found the ability to apply different colours to names and event a wonderful feature as it makes it easy to distinguish which is which at a glance. There is room to add a title to the chart. RootsMagic Chart allows you to resize individual boxes, drag and drop, and export to JPG, EMF, BMP, PCX, TGA, and PNG graphic formats. If you get access to a large format printer or take your file to a specialist printing service that delivers large chart printing, RootsMagic Charting can print charts up to 57 feet wide.

Default settings for the inclusion of data to the chart are the name with a Given-Surname template and data for birth, marriage, and death, date and place for each. There is room for five more items, their dates, places, and values. You can word-wrap the data, suppress or include blank lines, depending on your taste, and either include or exclude photos from your wall chart.

Also included in the charting is the Timeline Chart function. You can include everyone or selected individuals. If you include everyone, be certain that you have included all dates accurately, or you may end with some strange behaviour. For example, you may have included a partial date for an individual (such as 3 November 19..) to be later filled in when you have all the information. As such, RootsMagic will treat this as year 19AD and will draw a chart stretching from Biblical times through to the time when most of your ancestors lived. In this situation, it would be advised to rescind these types of dates to the notes section of the program, draw the chart with what information you have, then add/copy another individual and position as you see fit.

A nice feature of the TimeLine Chart function is that you don't have to include everyone in your database. You can select particular individuals, such as family units, ancestors of, descendants of, living, deceased, or select from search criteria as established from your selections.

In keeping with the theme of charting, RootsMagic 2 includes both ancestor and descendant box charts. Along with choosing the number of generations, you can include the Birth, Death, Burial, Marriage, and Divorce vital statistics. There are three forms of Data Format - single line with name, birth and death date (no boxes), name and events each on separate lines, or name and events word-wrapped (more compact). The inclusion of photos will only be in the last two data formats for obvious reasons. In communication with the author, it was suggested that the Include Photos option be greyed out in an update so as not to appear ambiguous.

Version 1 of RootsMagic had a feature that allowed you to publish your family history into some kind book format. This worked well, but in version 2, it has been enhanced to add extra features that will make your project really stand out in the crowd. Added to the Chapter Selection are now box chart reports and text pages. The box charts are exactly as you would normally create them, but instead of displaying the end result, a marker is placed in the Chapter Headings. I might suggest that you preview your book if you include these box charts as they can run over pages, and the end result may not be what you are looking for. As an example, I used my son in my own database as a starting point and went back 10 generations with name and events each on a separate line, and this part of the report required 4 pages. Changing the data event to the wrapped option compressed the report to 3 pages, and selecting single line (no boxes) reduced it to one page. With the last option, there are no boxes and no photographs if any are attached to the individual.

The Text page option allows the user to create free-style written text to be included as part of the book. This is okay if you just have text to enter; otherwise, if you want to merge text and graphics together, you will be required to use the former option, Blank Page Placeholders. These allow you to create your voluminous pages of text and graphics, using a word processor and assigning a "set" number of pages aside in your book compilation. The Text Page option also allows for you to add a title to the page, with the option also controlling both the title and fonts.

In addition to this, enhancements have been added to the cover page, title page, copyright, dedication, acknowledgement, preface, and TOC pages. There also have been some additions to the Index. The user can now select how they want the index presented as a number of columns (1, 2 or 3). As well as being able to select the fonts for both the title and index text, you can also control the data format presented in the index. There are three choices to choose from: name only (John Smith), name and birth year (John Smith [b. 1838]), or name, birth and death year (John Smith [1838-1902]).

I have noticed over the past few years that family history programs have been turning to technology more often than most. With the introduction of computers, we have found the advent of genealogical software. Laptops and PDA's have allowed us to turn our hobby into a truly mobile one without the need of being tied to a desk, and mobile phones and digital cameras have also helped. People are now able to locate locations far more easily by using global positioning systems that interact with satellites in orbit around our planet. These units can (depending on their sensitivity/price) get within feet of an object and, via a readout, inform the user of the exact latitude and longitude. This technology becomes extremely advantageous to the family historian, especially when locating those out-of-the-way (maybe hidden) graves. Also, with the help of other software currently available, you can find out the exact locations of cities, towns and many other wondrous features. So what do you do with these locations? New to version 2, and located under the Place Lists, select your location, then the Edit button, and RootsMagic will allow you to insert these latitude and longitude figures. Further to this, when creating Place List reports, you can include these figures in your database. Now an option for the Place List allows you to include these latitude and longitudes when you require a report, but just glancing at the Place List function doesn't give any indication that these extra locations have been included, and you do need to edit a location in order to see if one has been added. Room has been made for any notes that have been included for a location; an extra column should have been included, denoting that both latitude and longitude have been attached.

One of the new features I quickly employed was the ability to colour-code individuals within the database. There are 14 different colours to select from, and they can be for ancestors of the current individual, descendants of the current individual, or both, if you wish using two different colours, one for ancestors and one for descendants.

There is a Potential Problems list that can be used interactively. Some of the settings use conservative figures, so these may need adjusting to your circumstances, or they may give some strange results that create more work than is necessary. Then again, you may need to actually capture this information to be absolutely certain of your researching techniques. I did say it was interactive, which is an added bonus when compared to other software programs that merely generate reports. This latter method requires you to find the individual in the database, based on the report, and correct any of the inconsistencies, then regenerate that report. RootsMagic first gathers the required information and actually allows you to correct any abnormalities before you generate the report, should you require one. There are ten options that you can capture; of which four have age values. An example is the age of marriage between 14 and 70. Also, compared to other programs, the Potential Problems List gathers its information extremely fast and presents its findings in a two-column list of name/problem pairs from which you can select the person and edit the person or family, delegate it to the Not a Problem list, or print a report to screen, PDF, RTF, or as a TXT file.

Like the Not a Problems List, a similar list has been added to the Merge function: "Not a Match," along with a List of Matches prioritised by best match. Also added this version is a "Not Duplicates" list.

Also new to version 2 is a Descendant Register format report that adds to the present 6 narrative reports. Additional templates have been added to the SourceWizard, such as newspaper clipping, diary or journal, military service file, marriage license, website, diploma, and personal knowledge. The multimedia page now has a "Copy to clipboard" button for photos, although, alas, these images cannot be pasted into RMChart via the clipboard. The author will look into this for a future update. However, should you require these images in another piece of software that handles graphics; this is an excellent feature that makes use of your operating system clipboard.

There is a history list that remembers the last 200 individuals you have navigated through. Naturally, for this to work effectively, version 2 has incorporated Back and Forward buttons that you can include on your button bar, similar to your Web browser buttons. There is also a history function that you can use to go-to your individual in the history if you don't know how far back that individual is located in the list. Lastly, the Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right go back and forward respectively, should you prefer the keyboard shortcuts.

Overview

RootsMagic 2 has delivered what we have come to expect from a high quality produced product, and then some more. Since RootsMagic appeared on the genealogical scene, I believe it has only just scratched the service, and the user is yet to see it bloom into its full potential. You no longer have to use third party software for your charts, and the inclusion of box charts was a long awaited feature. There were some omissions with no inclusion of metric settings for our International users, but I was informed that (both strangely and unfortunately) I was the only one who requested such an option. I would like to believe that there would be more who require metric, and if you do, please let the author know via the email list. The other thing I found slightly disappointing was the lack of using the multimedia copy feature to the clipboard and not being able to paste to the RM Chart function. I have, however, been reassured that this will be looked at in a future update/upgrade. Overall, RootsMagic 2 is still a winner, firmly entrenching it into the higher echelons of family history software.

Lastly, I can't help it, but RootsMagic also has a way cool new logo with this release!

Resources

About the Author

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Darrin Lythgoe has created genealogy software that you can upload and install on a Web server. You then upload your genealogy information in GEDCOM format to the same Web server, along with any pictures you wish to use. You can also enter data manually, if you prefer. Unlike most genealogy Web pages, the information is not stored as normal HTML files. Instead, it is stored in a database on the Web server, and pages are dynamically generated "on the fly" when a viewer visits your Web site. Your genealogy information is stored in MySQL database tables and dynamically displayed in attractive fashion with PHP (a scripting language). Darrin calls his software "The Next Generation."

Using a true database for storage and dynamically generating Web pages as needed has numerous advantages over static Web pages:

• Generating pages as needed saves a lot of disk space on your web site. There are no HTML pages to store, and you don't even need to keep the GEDCOM file on your site. Most Web hosting services charge for the amount of disk space used; so, this can be important to anyone with a lot of genealogy information to share.

• Using a database instead of the GEDCOM file makes the information more easily searchable. Visitors to your Web site may search by last name, first name, Soundex, metaphones (an enhanced Soundex), birth year, and several other options without wading through enormous lists of surnames or individuals. Visitors to your site are using true database searches instead of the more limited searches available with search engines.

• Pedigree and descendancy charts are capable of showing an indefinite number of generations.

• Multi-language support. When multiple languages are present, visitors have the ability to change the language for all core pages. The Web pages are automatically generated when the visitor asks for information; you do not need to upload separate HTML pages in advance for each language.

Of course, to use this software you must have a Web server that supports PHP and MySQL. PHP is a hypertext preprocessor, which is a server-side, HTML-embedded scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages. MySQL is the world's most popular open source database and is typically found on Linux servers although Windows, Macintosh, and other versions are also available.

If you have genealogy pages hosted on RootsWeb, Genealogy.com, Tripod, GeoCities, Angelfire, or any of the other free Web hosting services, you probably will not have access to PHP or MySQL and, therefore, will not be able to use The Next Generation. However, many commercial hosting services that charge $5 to $20 a month for their services will give you access to PHP and MySQL. You can find a hundred or so such hosting services by using any search engine.

You do not need to be a PHP and MySQL expert. However, if you have never heard of these terms before, you probably need to do some reading before installing this software. You will need only a basic understanding of these technologies; you do not need to be a guru.

The Next Generation (or TNG) runs on most any normal Web server, including Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Macintosh. In fact, you can even run it on your home computer for test purposes, assuming you have already installed PHP and MySQL (Home computers normally do not have these free programs installed when purchased.). There is no limit to the number of names that can be in the program's database. At least one TNG one user stores about 1,250,000 names in TNG's database. If your database is a few hundred thousand names or more, you may need a rather fast processor and a lot of memory in the server. If your database is less than 100,000 names, you probably do not have to worry about processor speed or memory size.

Version 4 of The Next Generation has added many new features, including:

• Relationship Chart: See a graphical representation of the relationship between any two related individuals.
• Timeline: Graph and compare the lifespans of an unlimited number of individuals and save it as long as your window stays open.
• Improved Admin Interface: Allows easier access to all data categories and tracks updates with admin change log.
• Expanded user information, plus let visitors register for their own user account.
• RSS newsreader page (see my "Blogs Explained" in last week's newsletter for info about RSS files)
• Branches: Label different sections of your family tree and associate user permissions.
• Surname Prefixes: Choose to manage and sort surnames independently of any prefix (i.e., "van", "de", etc.).

TNG is available in a variety of languages. The public and administrative display messages have been translated into Danish, Dutch, French, Norwegian, Swedish, German and Spanish, and the public messages have also been translated into Finnish.

The source code for TNG is also included. Actually, all PHP scripts are merely text files, so the code is easily accessible. You may make any changes you'd like although any modifications you make obviously will not be supported by the author.

The Next Generation costs $27 (US). Once purchased, you download the software, unzip it on your own PC, customize the installation parameters to match your Web server’s requirements, and then upload the result to your Web server. Assuming that the PHP software and MySQL database are already functional on your Web server, you upload the GEDCOM file and import the data into TNG. You also can manually enter your data although I suspect that GEDCOM import will be the preferred method for most people.

This program is a winner! It allows you to share your genealogy information online in a manner that matches what you want. It does not look like a "cookie cutter report" as created by so many other genealogy programs. The Next Generation is easily customizable in ways that I have not seen in desktop programs that create simple HTML pages that you upload to a Web server. TNG is a bit more challenging technically than an off-the-shelf genealogy program, but you may find this to be a very worthwhile difference. You do not need to be a software developer to install and use TNG although you should be comfortable with configuring software and with uploading files via FTP to a Web server.

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The following is an announcement from the Detroit Public Library Commission:

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The following is a message from John P. DuLong:

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The following is an announcement from the Wisconsin Historical Society:

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The Family and Church History Mission and the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City plan to conduct a weeklong family history workshop for the deaf from June 21 through the 25. Classes will be taught by skilled genealogists from the deaf community.

Class sessions will be conducted each morning from 9 to 10:20 a.m. and from 10:35 a.m. to 12 p.m. Each of the two class periods offers a choice of three to five different genealogy workshops.

Deaf and sign language interpreter volunteers will also be available afternoons in the library. Wayne Metcalfe, director of acquisitions, Family and Church History Department, will open the conference with a lecture on worldwide digital data acquisition of family history information. That will be followed by Dr. Tom Jones, of Gallaudet University, a joint editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, whose lecture will be entitled "Solving (Genealogical) Problems with Original Sources."

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The following is an announcement from the Association of Professional Genealogists:

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The following is an announcement from the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America:

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Missouri Secretary of State Matt Blunt has announced that the Polk County Genealogical Society has been approved for the Missouri Historical Records Grant program award. The grant program was created in 2001 through a $300,000 appropriation by the Missouri Legislature and matching funds from an arm of the National Archives.

Susan Sparks, president of the PCGS, said the funds will be used to buy acid-free boxes and file folders, Mylar to encapsulate old documents, and other supplies for the preservation of records.

Documents in the care of the PCGS include maps, land deeds, marriage certificates, court records, photographs, Civil War discharge papers, church records and others, some dating to the founding of Polk County in 1835.

You can read more about this grant at the Bolivar Herald-Free Press Web site at http://tinyurl.com/22jvh.

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In last week's newsletter I mentioned an online site that contains a brief report on a few of Ronald Reagan's ancestors. This week I had a chance to look at a much more complete work. In fact, this book contains detailed information on 2,000 individuals, all related to the 40^th U.S. President.

The Family of Ronald W. Reagan by Dr. Curt J. Gronner is a detailed genealogy of the family of Ronald Reagan, including ancestors and many distant cousins. The book first documents Reagan's descent from Michael Reagan, born 1822 in Tipperary, Ireland, and his wife, Catherine Mulcahy, born in 1829 in an unknown location in Ireland. This couple emigrated to the United States, settling in Fulton, Illinois. The couple's descendants stayed in the area; Michael Reagan's great-great-grandson Ronald Reagan was born in nearby Tampico, Illinois, in 1911.

The book goes on to trace all known ancestry of twelve more families that are closely related to Ronald Reagan. The book documents descendants John Baker, Benjamin R. Bechtel, Johnnie Blue, George Bristle, Henry E. Gerdes, Eilt Habben, Samuel Luckett, William McFarlane, Nathaniel Pierce, Jacob Smith, Andrew Wilson, and Claudio Wilson (whose connection is still unproven).

Each of the thirteen lines of descent is published in Register format, followed by a kinship report that states the relationship of every person in the allied family to its head. Source citations are given for many of the facts published. Many of the individuals mentioned in this book have their relationship to Ronald Reagan listed, such as "second cousin twice removed." The book also has a complete name index at the back, making it easy to find any person mentioned within the 282 pages.

Dr. Curt J. Gronner has provided an extensive compilation of the 40^th president's extended family tree. This is a serious work that will appeal to many who might be related to Reagan. I suspect that many genealogy libraries will also want to add this book to their shelves.

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The following is a press release from MyFamily.com, the owners and operators of Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com:

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Millisecond Publishing Company has been mentioned in this newsletter several times. The company produces the Family Forest CD-ROM disks with data that shows how many famous and not-so-famous people are related. Now the company is getting into the travel business, although with a genealogy-related twist.

The following is an announcement from Millisecond Publishing Company:

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I have written before about software that is surreptitiously installed on your PC without your knowledge, then displays pop-up ads or spies on your habits as you surf the Web. (See February 9, 2004, and May 31,2004, Plus Edition articles.) Some of these programs, although not all, will even report confidential information about you back to a central database.

Spyware and obnoxious pop-up advertising is a genealogy-related issue as well; at least two genealogy companies use or have used these products. Their ads pop up at inappropriate times, and at least one of the companies gathers information about you. A genealogy program that you may be using can report your keystrokes back to the "home office."

The state of Utah banned such software recently. Now California Republican Mary Bono and New York Democrat Ed Towns have introduced national legislation to ban these programs. The proposed bill would force programs to inform the user before installing programs and require that spyware be easily removed. In fact, any company caught using such software installed without the user's knowledge would have to pay significant fines. It is one of several bills before Congress in response to growing concerns about spyware. Bono's and Towns' proposed legislation has already passed a significant hurdle in the race to become law, winning the backing of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.

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In last week's newsletter I introduced a new concept for this newsletter: a Web log, or blog. You can read that article at http://tinyurl.com/268ad. Forty-three comments were posted on the blog to that one article, almost all of them supporting the new format. I am delighted with this response and plan to continue developing blogs for the Standard Edition newsletters and soon for the Plus Edition as well.

Here are two brief articles posted after last week's weekly newsletter was sent:

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The PR Budget for this newsletter is $0.00. I rely upon "word of mouse" advertising in which you recommend this newsletter to your friends. This newsletter is a private project of mine, and I have a zero budget for a publicity campaign to get more readers.

Thanks.

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