And where to start??

You've got your beginning information, now you have to think about how you are going to tackle this stuff. Are you going to keep track of it with paper and pencil? Do you want software that stands alone? Software that is part of a website? It's a personal decision, but in whatever you decide, keep in mind that you will have A TON of information. A TON. Did I mention GOBS of information that you will have to keep track of? If you are great at paper organization, do it. If you want software, do it.

I often get asked what I do. I opt for stand-alone software as WELL as built-in software (ala ancestry.com). And yes, I use many different types of stand-alone software depending on what I want to do. While collecting information, I, personally, utilize the ancestry.com built-in software (I am in NO WAY endorsing ancestry.com or not endorsing them..I am just stating what I do). There is an option within their website to export that information to a .ged file (a file type that is easily imported into other genealogy software). Once I am done (or whenever I may want to do it) with my project, I export it to a .ged file and then import into another type of software. I tend to be "simple" person when it comes to software...especially when I am dealing with a myriad of information. Because of that, I really, REALLY like LDS' Personal Ancestral File. It's simple, straight forward, and has many options. You can get it here: Personal Ancestral File





I couldn't find a happy resize of the above picture, it is a screen shot of the PAF software. You can see how user-friendly it is. If you want to edit information for one of the individuals shown, just double-click on them!:) There are many options within the new window that opens for that individual. Best of all, the software is provided for FREE!

More software that is "somewhat" free is from My Heritage (myheritage.com). I don't use it for compiling purposes, but for compiling pictures and reports. You CAN, however, use it for keeping your information organized, etc, but be aware that there are limitations on the free software and to be able to take full advantage of everything it has to offer, it would require a fee. This software wasn't comfortable for me, PERSONALLY, to maneuver around in, but the other features are REALLY neat (ie: report generations, tree charts, etc).




Screen shot above from My Heritage website. Yeah, ok....I can't find a happy medium for resizing the pictures, but it's the best I can do to also be able to show a little about the software ;)


More free software can be seen HERE!



Figure out what you are most comfortable with (and there are plenty of pay-for softwares out there, too) and we will get rolling next time!