Have you ever wanted to research genealogy and learn about your family history, but weren’t sure where to start? Then episode 341 of Geekiest Show Ever is just for you! Elisa walks us through how to get started using the free and paid versions of Ancestry.com as well as other tools like MacFamilyTree and more. Melissa shares a quick check-in on Distance Learning with the ways she’s flexing her geekery at home to get through another day. Elisa gives us even more tips for using watchOS 7 for sleep tracking and shopping — though not at the same time — we’ll save that for another show!
Apps & Tips:
Use an app on your computer or mobile device in addition to an Ancestry.com tree. There are facts, stories, or photos you may not want made publicly available online for various reasons.
app: Ancestry Family History
MacFamilyTree by Synium Software GmbH
This goes on sale at least once per year so you might be able to get it at a discounted price. The macOS app is currently $59.99. They offer a free demo version. There is also a version for iPhone and iPad that currently costs $29.99
app: MacFamilyTree for macOS
app: MobileFamilyTree 9 for iOS and iPadOS
Heredis
Currently, Heredis 2021 is on sale for $23.99 until October 6. It normally costs $50.00. There are other platforms besides Mac and iOS.
app: Heredis 2021
Reunion used to be the app everyone used on the Mac. It’s now it’s up to version 12 and priced at $99.00. The web site is very dated and it doesn’t reflect when the software was updated, but it seems like the message boards are current. It may be worth checking out to see if it has the features you want or need.
You’ve probably heard phrases like “first cousin once removed” or “second great uncle.” It’s quite confusing to figure out the relationships of distant family. A nice feature of Ancestry is that it discloses the relationship of a person to you. For example, when you enter info for your mother’s sister, underneath the death date it will say Aunt. Sadly, there’s no way to figure out how one person is related to another automatically.
You don’t need a membership or account to look at these articles. It gives a nice overview of how to research, then what to do with records once you find them: https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Ancestry-Family-Tree-Resources
Ancestry.com for Free? 7 Ways to Research With No Subscription
Kindly consider using Elisa’s Ancestry referral link if you decide to try Ancestry. She’ll get a gift card from Amazon if you decide to use the service.
Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. We’d like to hear from you. Let us know about a tech topic that interests you.
