Send Me a Disk, Ok?

-Sharing Genealogical Information -Sharing Genealogical Information With Your RelativesWith Your Relatives

Beau SharbroughPO Box 3170

Grapevine TX 76099-3170

www.sharbrough.net

Is the location for the syllabus material for Is the location for the syllabus material for this class. The author mailed his materials this class. The author mailed his materials to Oregon instead of Washington DC as to Oregon instead of Washington DC as

instructed.instructed.

This is the time when …

… … we remind the speaker to turn off we remind the speaker to turn off his cell phone.his cell phone.

General Topics

Five steps to Five steps to understanding what understanding what they’re sayingthey’re saying

Update on software Update on software developers’ plans for developers’ plans for merging filesmerging files

Update on GENTECH Update on GENTECH GEDCOM TestBook GEDCOM TestBook ProjectProject

Five Steps to Combining Your Research

Step 1. Determine What Form the Data Is in.

Which program do they use?Which program do they use? What type of disk drives do What type of disk drives do

they have?they have? What general field usage have What general field usage have

they adopted?they adopted? Are they a crypto-genealogist?Are they a crypto-genealogist?

Step 2. Exchange Pedigree and Group Sheet Examples. Look for detail, accuracy, thoroughness.Look for detail, accuracy, thoroughness. Are there full or partial dates?Are there full or partial dates? Do the citations for US places include Do the citations for US places include

counties? Streets? Cemetery names?counties? Streets? Cemetery names? Are nicknames used in place of “real” Are nicknames used in place of “real”

names?names? Are sources cited?Are sources cited?

Step 3. Agree on Usage of Fields. RESIdes or ADDRess?RESIdes or ADDRess? Will you both use CHRIsten?Will you both use CHRIsten? Are there any user-defined Are there any user-defined

tags?tags? How will you document How will you document

sources?sources? How will you document the How will you document the

research of others?research of others?

Step 4. Convert Your

Information.

Agree with your relative what Agree with your relative what information you will convert and howinformation you will convert and how

Normally, this means saying things like, Normally, this means saying things like, "I’ll put in the counties after I get it from "I’ll put in the counties after I get it from you"you"

Nobody Can Avoid This Step.

Step 5. Exchange Only the Individuals You Want. NEVERNEVER just import the whole family on just import the whole family on

top of the information you already have. top of the information you already have. No computer routines for merging data No computer routines for merging data

effectively exist today.effectively exist today.

There Are Simply No Effective Routines for Merging Data Sets at Present.

The problems ofThe problems of identityidentity merging methods andmerging methods and data formatsdata formats

are too new for generalized solutions to be are too new for generalized solutions to be available in the marketplaceavailable in the marketplace

Good theoretical solutions don’t even existGood theoretical solutions don’t even exist

Merging Data Sets

WHY?WHY?

Customers who just Customers who just assume that someone will assume that someone will know what they wantknow what they wantand have it ready when and have it ready when they recognize that needthey recognize that needhad parents that spoilt had parents that spoilt them rotten.them rotten.

WHY?

Family history record-keeping is Family history record-keeping is increasingly becoming a digital process. increasingly becoming a digital process.

Linking one’s information to the Linking one’s information to the information already gathered by other information already gathered by other family members and researchers is family members and researchers is becoming more and more common. becoming more and more common.

Downloading GEDCOM files isn’t all there is to “doing genealogy.”

It’s more like finding It’s more like finding another researcher’s another researcher’s conclusions.conclusions.

Or their group sheets.Or their group sheets. You still have no scholarly You still have no scholarly

investment.investment. Genealogy includes adding Genealogy includes adding

your mark to the tableau.your mark to the tableau.

We Have to Put Our Information Together Somehow

A Few Basics

Computer programs store the data that we Computer programs store the data that we enter in FILESenter in FILES

Each genealogy program stores the Each genealogy program stores the information in its own way, called a information in its own way, called a PROPRIETARY FORMATPROPRIETARY FORMAT

Most programs can also read and write in Most programs can also read and write in GEDCOM formatGEDCOM format

A Few Basics

Merging is copyingMerging is copying From a From a SOURCESOURCE To a To a TARGETTARGET Sometimes called the Sometimes called the SURVIVING SURVIVING

INFORMATIONINFORMATION

MERGING DATABASES

merging the databases merging the databases merging the duplicated individuals merging the duplicated individuals merging the restmerging the rest

sourcessources repositoriesrepositories

The database merging process is evolving More input More input

sourcessources More freedom More freedom

to choose the to choose the features you features you like.like.

GenBridgeGenBridge

Freedom has a price

Enter a nameEnter a name Program won’t Program won’t

break it upbreak it up Enter a placeEnter a place Program won’t Program won’t

break it upbreak it up

Legacy Trick

You can open two family files at the same You can open two family files at the same time, and copy and paste a person and their time, and copy and paste a person and their descendents from one set into another, like descendents from one set into another, like grafting a tree branch from one tree to grafting a tree branch from one tree to another.another.

Making automatic citations

Legacy – individual levelLegacy – individual level TMG and FTM – field levelTMG and FTM – field level

MERGING INDIVIDUALS:The old way

Copy the infoCopy the infoDelete one of the Delete one of the

peoplepeopleType the info into Type the info into

the new onethe new one

MERGING INDIVIDUALS:The middle way

View both personsView both persons Select what you wantSelect what you want The program does the The program does the

restrest

MERGING INDIVIDUALS:The future way Computer spots likely dupsComputer spots likely dups Recommends them to youRecommends them to you You control the processYou control the process

Limits to Storage Some programs have really Some programs have really

limited storage, and only store limited storage, and only store conclusionsconclusions

If you have two birth dates, If you have two birth dates, they put your favorite one in they put your favorite one in and throw the other away, or and throw the other away, or store it in a note.store it in a note.

Some programs have a lot of Some programs have a lot of storage, and let you make your storage, and let you make your own “tags” such as executrix.own “tags” such as executrix.

Merging The Rest

source citations, master sources, source citations, master sources, repositories, and placesrepositories, and places

Most programs just combine the Most programs just combine the tables, creating duplicatestables, creating duplicates

LG will combine a source, with LG will combine a source, with exact spellingexact spelling

UFT and FTM merge master sourcesUFT and FTM merge master sources PAF and TMG merge master sources PAF and TMG merge master sources

and repositoriesand repositories

SPOTTING DUPLICATES

Some programs have “merging routines” Some programs have “merging routines” based on:based on:

SoundexSoundex Spelling of nameSpelling of name Birth dateBirth date TMG and Legacy use a TMG and Legacy use a

large variety of match choiceslarge variety of match choices

MERGING SUMMARY

Users can merge from a wider variety of data formats than in the past.

Users can merge individuals more easily.

MERGING SUMMARY

Routines to help identify candidates for merging are becoming quite sophisticated.

More programs store the resultant conflicting data today.

It’s also encouraging that they are not all

doing the same thing.

The resultant diversity and innovation offer us more chances to connect

Where-We’ve-Been to

Where-We’re-Going

than we’ve ever had before.

The GEDCOM TestBook Project

Purpose: Purpose:

The purpose of this The purpose of this exercise is to test as exercise is to test as many aspects of the many aspects of the GEDCOM 5.5 standard GEDCOM 5.5 standard as possible.as possible.

The events and notes provided below, depending on the program into which they are entered, will:

utilize all but four of the available GEDCOM tags and

all levels in the lineage linked hierarchy.

How it works

Once data entry is complete, a GEDCOM file is created.

This file is compared with the original data and the GEDCOM tag of each item recorded.

How it works

Any item not being transferred by GEDCOM is noted.

The GEDCOM is then checked for conformance to the 5.5 standard.

The StoryReginald Edward Smythe was born August 3rd 1780 at Little Chesterford, Essex, the third son and fifth child of Sir Charles Smythe by his first wife, Jane Edwards. Sir Charles was a successful East India merchant and maintained residences in Little Chesterford and London. His staff was composed of native Indians whose service had impressed him during his years in India.

Reginald’s life was destined to be a difficult one from his birth. His mother died during childbirth. His father, while providing for the child, seemed to favor him less than the other children, possibly blaming him for his mother’s death. The newborn Reginald was turned over to the wife of Sir Charles’ gardener who would wet nurse the child and serve as a nanny. This woman, Anna Chordray, was a Hindu of the Sudra caste. Sir Charles did not attend the christening of Reginald at St Margaret’s Church in Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, leaving Anna to attend to that detail.

Individual 2 Elizabeth ConyerBirth DATE 15 Sep 1786

PLACE Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, England SOURCE See Source 3 CITATION Page 26, Item 3 QUALITY 2

Marriage license (MARL)

DATE 10 Jul 1803 PLACE Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England SOURCE See Source 2 QUALITY 3

Marriage (MARR)

DATE 15 Jul 1803 PLACE Burnt Pelham, Hertfordshire, England SOURCE See Source 2 QUALITY 3

Annulment (ANUL)

DATE 10 Aug 1803 PLACE Chancery Court, London, England NOTE The bride's father, Sir Rodney Conyer, Knight, discovered his underage daughter was planning on marrying Reginald Smythe using a license obtained fraudulently. Arriving too late to stop the marriage he took his daughter home by force and applied to his friend, the Bishop of London, for an annulment. SOURCE See Source 2 QUALITY 3

Sources Source 1

AUTHOR Township of Brighton TITLE Township Papers PUBLISHER Archives of Ontario REPOSITORY 5

Source 2 AUTHOR Clarence Alexander Smythe II TITLE Smythe Family Records PUBLISHER Vanity Publishers, The Strand, London, England

REPOSITORY Repository 2 NOTE Condition Fair. Indexed. This is a limited edition book. Only known copy is in the Saffron Walden Library.

CALL NUMBER 93 V 32mn

TMG to FTW transfer

TMG offers its users a wide variety of GEDCOM export choices to compensate for some of the variations found in importation requirements of other programs. Users must read the GEDCOM export section of the manual before creating a GEDCOM file. For this test the standard options were used.

TMG to FTW transfer TMG recorded but did not export the

following: Role (ROLE) tags Alias (ALIA) tag Physical description (DSCR) LDS temple location if Temple Code

present Individual’s address

Tags exported in unexpected manner Ordination (ORDN) tag data (Deacon) exported as note Nickname exported using NAME tag not the expected NICK Cause of Death (CAUS) exported as NOTE EVEN tagged events described the event exported using the NOTE tag. E.g. Type: rebellion.

TMG to FTW transfer Sources:

TMG exports Citation detail using PAGE and CONT tags. The PAGE tag is limited to 248 characters resulting in data being truncated.

Call numbers were added to source title. This can result in the use of the CONT tag.

FTW did not recognize: NMR, number of marriages . NCHI, number of children, reported as at wrong level. TMG

exported it properly. OBJE, the series of tags identifying image location. Dates using the From-To convention. E.g From 1826 to 1834.

Other date ranges using months and year transferred.

TMG to FTW transferSummary. Of the data contained in the TMG GEDCOM almost all of

it transferred properly. Aside from source data, which will require editing, the only data loss that might create problems are those events using the EVEN tag and the date ranges using the From-To convention.. In these instances the event will have to be properly identified and the sources linked. The missing dates would have to be recovered from the GEDCOM. Citation information that was truncated as a result of TMG’s use of the PAGE tag will have to be recovered from the GEDCOM.

Send Me A Disk, Ok?

Do’s and Don’tsDo’s and Don’ts Merging TechniqueMerging Technique GEDCOM GEDCOM

limitationslimitations

Beau SharbroughPO Box 3170

Grapevine TX 76099-3170beau@sharbrough.netwww.sharbrough.net

More on GEDCOM tomorrow at 3.

Don’t forget GENTECH 2002

The End

www.sharbrough.net contains syllabus matl

www.gentech.org contains GEDCOM TestBook