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  • Alternative software

    Genealogy software is generally written with an emphasis of being able to show the accumulated data as a family tree. This is after all what we are try to show; the relationships between generations and who begat who. This is all well and good where records are complete or nearly complete.

    However, the further back in time you go, the records become increasingly scarce and the relationship between the people more nebulous. There are records to be had and they need to be recorded but with most genealogy software it is difficult to enter standalone entries that do not fit directly in an existing try.

    How then can these records be recorded and indexed. This would have been done years ago on index cards, and I am sure many people still rely on this tried and trusted method. But is is difficult to carry these around with you. So I assume there must be some form of genealogy database software out there that allows you to record this info without having to create a tree from it. I could, in time, write my own poor database in access but I sure there must be something available already.

    Any suggestions?

    Dermot

  • #2
    Dermot

    I have such a tree (with stand alone entries) and I find that Tribal Pages accommodates this type of data quite well - although not as well as the database I compiled AND LOST when my old computer was infected with a virus.........

    For example, I might have a piece of information, a will say, from 1522. I know when the man died but not necessarily when he was born or even how old he was when he died, so I would have a column for "alive, an adult". I have other source material which gives me grandfather, father and son by name but not necessarily any exact dates, so again "alive in 1601" or whatever. When entering this on Tribal Pages, I manipulate the Birth/death dates and write "alive, adult" in the narrative.

    Not ideal but it serves for me, especially for the more tenuous information.

    OC

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    • #3
      Gedcom does allow for user-defined events or attributes. Different genealogy software is better/worse at coping with those user-defined "facts".

      My mother and father both have an accumulation of letters that they wrote to their parents. It is possible to scan the letters in as a source, and attach them individually or as a group to my tree (I use Family Historian). Not sure that I want to do that.

      Alternatively, The Next Generation software does allow you to set up Biographies of individuals. It may be possible to tie a body of narrative in that way. TNG supports independent websites, but you can use it as a standalone on your Mac or PC (I haven't tried that, but so I've been told).

      Others in the past have talked about document filing systems that allow retrieval of documents electronically.

      There's also discussions about the future of GEDCOM, and development of event-based gedcom:


      Maybe these reviews will give you ideas?


      good luck!

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      • #4
        I use Family Historian and you can add standalone people on there. You can just add one lone person plus notes and sources if you like. They will have their own little tree with just them on it, waiting for you to find any connections. You can have as many disconnected people as you want.
        Anne

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        • #5
          I use Family Historian and find the facility to display unrelated individuals (or families) on the same tree diagram useful as by seeing these people side by side I have been able to spot likely relationships to follow up.
          Judith passed away in October 2018

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          • #6
            Family Tree Maker also has the facility to add unrelated individuals
            Jackie

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