Ancestry's Family Tree Maker to be retired?

On December 5, 2015, Ancestry announced that it would be retiring its genealogy product, Family Tree Maker. They will continue to support the software until January 2017 so you have 1 year to get the most out of Ancestry and its connection with “hints”, if your tree is sync to Ancestry online. From what I read on forums and blogs, the news has been met with sadness and opposition. I, for one, use FTM for the last few years and enjoyed it greatly especially when the tree was sync to my Ancestry account and then accessed via the Ancestry mobile app. This feature provided readily access to my family tree and was very beneficial when chatting with people on the go. Rather than take up torches and chase Ancestry down, I will start to look for a new software replacement but intend on using FTM beyond its supported time frame as the program is designed to work offline anyways and will continue with current PC operating systems such as Windows 10. In ways, I am somewhat happy with the break from Ancestry. Too often, Ancestry is the viewed as the “end all, be all” in the world of genealogy. But the fact is, as many true researchers know, Ancestry has caused more issues than we care to mention. When an amateur family researchers say things such as “I took all of my information from Ancestry”, it simply makes me cringe! Did they obtain information from a poor researched tree which based its own research off data that it “found on some guy’s website”?
So for me, using FTM over the last few years was like paying the power bill for the local drug dealer. Ok, perhaps that analogy is a bit harsh. I will admit that through uploading my tree and using Ancestry’s “shaky leaf”, I have been able to clear up a few road blocks, saving some time in process.

In the end, I will miss FTM however that void will no doubt be filled by another family tree maker software. Its just ashamed that, once again as with respect to other Ancestry projects, we in the genealogy community are left with confusion and the feeling of mistrust. As I have said all along, Ancestry is not your small town archives or genealogy group. Its a large corporation trying to take and make a buck. What it will take is your research and a few of your dollars. For me, retiring Family Tree maker is more about retiring Ancestry.com.... see ya!

Is Your Family Tree Safe Online?

Over the last few months, I’ve been thinking: “what if your favorite genealogy website went offline?”. This is a very plausible event given that websites are often entities of companies and are susceptible victims of corporate take-overs, mergers or budget cutting. And in the case of smaller, private websites? Well, perhaps the website owner simply walks away from their website, or, what is a reality, passes away. Those websites will not continue on forever. Usually after one year, the web hosting company (the company which the website owner rents space from) will simply shuts the website down. The “offline” concern came to light for hundreds of thousands of people this month (June 2014) when Ancestry.com, and its family of websites such as FindAGrave.com, Genealogy.com and the user controlled hosting site Rootsweb, went offline due to a distributed denial-of-service or simply known as a “DDoS” to those tech nerds out there (here’s a link to what DDoS is - Click Here (via techtarget.com)).  While Ancestry.com, in all of its corporate might, dispatched its technicians to fix the problem, damage was already done, especially with folks such as myself would are skeptical of putting all of your eggs in one nest of your family tree. With over a week having lapsed since the attack on Ancestry, many aspects of its service are still not available, including Rootsweb remaining completely in accessible. With Rootsweb offline, so are the countless pages of CanadaGenWeb Project and a few of my own favorite “trees” (see My Favorite Online Genealogy Databases). There are some users of the service suggesting that data was lost however it may be still too early to determine the long term lost to Ancestry and its data. Will it happen again?

But apart from web attacks and web virus outbreaks, how safe is your favorite genealogy website or web source in terms of the folks behind the website? Ancestry.com itself has gone through number changes to its administration and even ownership. It’s become a billion dollar operation, powered by people so far removed from the grass-roots of genealogy that they have no interest in your local genealogy group or your family tree database unless it means something to the bottom line. This situation has people, such as myself, concerned about the future of Rootsweb.com in particularly. Ancestry.com has already pulled the pin on MyFamily.com and that website’s free hosting which will come to an end in September 2014. Rootsweb is very similar in its service… mainly that it offers “free” hosting for genealogy or history based webpage. And we all know that “free” doesn't translate well to a revenue document for a corporation.

Sure, the internet can be a great method of getting your research out to others but be cautious, don’t use it as your primary means for storage and record keeping. It is an ugly truth, in fact, I know of several researchers that use their website as their primary means of record keeping. One researcher enters all of his data into an online database which is stored and offered on his website. To make matters worse, this system does not allow full extraction of the data and what information that can be extracted from his database, it is not compatible with other database program such Microsoft Excel or Access. Another researcher spends countless hours updating a local history website but this work is at the mercy of Ancestry.com should they decide to discontinue Rootsweb. Then there is the whole argument of ownership of the material once it is upload to websites such Ancestry or Rootsweb! Another route would be to create your own website to avoid being at the mercy of big corporations. Annual cost is approx. $100 for domain name registration and hosting. Then you would need to design and upload content which could be an additional cost if you not able to do it yourself due to lack of knowledge or understanding of website development. But even this route is not without its limits; perhaps you become sick or pass-away, who would continue to maintain or pay from your website? What about backing up your online files since even web hosting companies can fold up and disappear!

 In the end, nothing beats the old medium of the printed word. Having your data printed up and pushed out to local libraries and archives is the best option for the longevity of your research. There are many companies (most of which are online themselves) that offer low-cost self-publishing. In some cases, all you need to do is upload a single file to their website, choose the format of print and cover, and viola!... a freshly printer book, of which you are the author of, arrives in a few short weeks. To add to this, in Canada, you can request ISBN numbers for free and have your book catalogued in national libraries! Just the other day I found a genealogy book on local families at a used book shop. The book was printed in 1974 and offered plenty of great data. Now, where will your online website be in 40 years?

1921 Census: the Begining of Exporting Canada's Heritage?

On August 8th, 2013, the Library and Archives of Canada (LAC) announced that the 1921 Census, all 197,529 scanned pages of the census, were available to researcher via two methods: 1) in person at the LAC 2) online at Ancestry.ca …what was that? So it is official that LAC has handed over a vital piece of Canadian history to an American company. For Ancestry’s part, they say that “Canadian will always be able to access the 1921 Census of Canada free of charge” as opposed to have to be a paid member to view the material (as is the case with much of Ancestry’s database). While LAC’s partnership with Ancestry is a better outcome than some of the other rumored partnerships, it still is not the best option. The best option would have been for LAC to remain with the status quo and offer the census on their own website. The LAC website once featured many other census but now a couple lonely census are hosted on the site, such as 1871 and 1891. Other census have been slowly moving off LAC’s website so keep an eye on those remaining two and you likely see them vanish as well. But the 1921 Census is not the only census to be sent over to Ancestry; the 1916 Census of the Prairie Provinces is also on Ancestry.

So what does this mean for Canadians? Why shouldn’t we jump up and down and simply rejoice LAC’s new best friend? What it means is LAC is backing up a US based company with the things it has sole ownership over. Not doubt Ancestry comes ahead in the deal. Bottom line, Ancestry is in the business to make a profit and access to LAC’s original material simply helps their bottom line. Those census scans were completed by our government employees while working for our government. Those scans exist and should not be obtain via a 3rd party company, yet alone a company not even situated in Canada!

LAC had other options, such as Lindsay Patten’s Automated Genealogy.com (AG). Not only is AG a Canadian based website, but it is a perfect example of a grassroots partnership. AG currently features a number of census and is my own first stop when searching the 1851, 1901 and 1911 census. AG took the image scans and allow the genealogy community to index each entry, line by line. The best part, it is free and easy to use. So that leaves the question, why wouldn’t this work for LAC? It wouldn’t work because, no doubt, a group of well dress salespeople make a great presentation to the powers overseeing the LAC. The power of persuasion works wonders on politicians.

While, yes, you can view the 1921 Census online on Ancestry’s website, you won’t have access to search the census index unless you’re a paying member. Some of us may warm up to this new relationship, however, I will continue to push the agenda to bring the census back to the LAC’s website. Only another ten year until the 1931 Census will be released… hopefully we have a government in power then that won’t export our heritage.

Delay in 1921 Census of Canada Release: An Overreaction or Valid Concern

For genealogist, each time that government records are released, there is excitement! Whether it is a yearly release of birth, marriage or death records, because those records now pass beyond the protection of privacy restrictions, genealogist greet each release with much anticipation. Reseachers approach each year’s release with a tidy list of pending look-ups and are anxious to fill in some gaps in their database. But when it comes to the Federal Government’s release of the National Census, well, that’s like a Christmas to genealogist… a Christmas that only comes around once every ten years or so.  The last time we received a “Christmas Gift” was back in 2005, albeit a “late release” of the 1911 Census of Canada. Back then, the Library and Archives of Canada (LAC) and Statistics Canada (StatsCan) were at odds with each other on the 1911 Census release. In the end, Parliament had to chime in and amend the Statistic Act of Canada with the provision that StatsCan must release data to the LAC after 92 years has elapsed. I remember rushing to my calendar and marking the date for the next big release… the date was June 1, 2013.

When folks across the country were ringing in the new year with “Auld Lang Syne”, I was probably among a small handful of the faithful genealogist thinking of the upcoming census release while sipping on my midnight beverage. The 1921 Census of Canada promises so much but most importantly this was the first census to be taken after the First World War. And that brings the question: How would those veterans be indicated, if they were indicate at all? Like previous census, the 1921 Census will offer us with data such as ages of each person in a household.

A lot has changed since 2005. Heck a lot has change over the last year. Back in 2005, StatsCan appeared as the “enemy” to non-government researchers and the LAC has out knight in shining armor; they were our “collective voice”. Over the last few years, repeated cutbacks from Prime Minister Harper’s Federal Government has put stress on the LAC. Jobs were lost and projects were pushed to the back burner. The cuts resulted in supporters of the LAC to start a campaign to bring public attention to the matter. The “Save the Library and Archives of Canada” was spearheaded by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). I was among the many supporter who wrote letters to Members of Parliament and took to social media channels like Facebook and Twitter with messages highlighting the cuts and potential risk to the protection our heritage. Each message usually ended with the hashtag “#SaveLAC”. When I look back to only a year ago, I was perhaps the biggest supporters of the LAC; they could do no wrong… we were in on this “together”.

It’s funny how much changes in a year. Think about how much changed in the period between 1911 and 1921. The face of Canada changed dramatically! When the 1911 Census was taken, Canada was simply still a colony of Britain. With the end of the war, Canada was forging ahead as a nation with a new self-identity. 66,655 Canadians gave their lives and another 172,950 were wounded during the war. When the 1911 Census was taken, Sir Wilfred Laurier was Prime Minister. When the 1921 Census was taken, Arthur Meighen (who!?) was leader of the young nation (William Lyon Mackenzie King was elected Prime Minister in December 1921). Speaking of Prime Ministers, this census is the first glimpse of future Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. And all along, each individual family across the country has resounding changes to its dynamic as members were born and as other members passed away. Entire families relocated in search of work. Census offer us so much insight into life in Canada and are huge component in painting the picture of our heritage.

According to Dave Obee’s book “Counting Canada: A Genealogical Guide to the Canadian Census”, the 1921 Census was the first census to be index. Obee mentions that thirty years after the census was taken, the Federal government put together an alphabetical index. This index was utilized by the government to assist in speeding up Old Age Security applications. So if an index already exist, this shouldn’t be an excuse by the LAC on the delay. The 1921 Census will ask a range of thirty-four (34) questions. Beside the valuable data such as age and date of immigration/naturalization, questions on profession/occupations will be broadened and the addition of question around the dwelling, such as whether the home is owned or rented, and if rented, how much is paid per month.

Before June 1, 2013 even rolled around, the chatter on the genealogy/history wires in Canada were tones of fear and despair. Rumblings from those close to the LAC was that the 1921 Census was not going to be released along the sides of those previous census. Those previous census are viewable on LAC’s website or by microfilm reels which were normal copied and distributed to other libraries and archives. The rumours began to swirl that the census release was going to be administered by another organization as part of a contract with the LAC. Most fingers pointed to the popular website Ancestry.com, which is privately held by a US firm based out of Utah and the developers of Family Tree Maker, the number one family tree software program. Then the name Canadian.org began to pop up. Canadiana.org is a Canadian-based non-governmental, non-profit organization based in Ottawa. What do both of these organization have that the LAC doesn’t? It is user fees. Ancestry.com charges a minimum of $119 per year for it access to its Canadian records while it charges $300 per year for access to its “world” database. Over at Canadiana.org, the annual rate is a flat $100 per year.

Some people may say: “So what? It’s only a $100 per year!”. To them I say that the primary method of gather genealogical data is through government records and should we have to pay to review “our” own records? This is our history, our heritage! I may use websites such as Ancestry.com 1-2 months per year at the most and mainly to search out non-government data. I, like so many researcher, conduct my research at the point of origin and spend hours scouring through documents and microfilm reels in search of a small piece of the puzzle as opposed to copying someone else’s data from a helpful website. We know our sources and know how to put a reel on a reader. We don’t need some non-government organization to sell us data that we are willing to find ourselves for free.

So all this bring us to today… July 15, 2013. Those of us in the genealogy/history communities have yet to review a single page of the 1921 Census. Back on June 4, the LAC made a press release entitled: “Census of Canada, 1921 - Available to Researchers in the Next Few Weeks”. I am not sure what a “few weeks” looks like for the people at the LAC but those of us in the community that has been big supporters of the LACs roll for Canadian heritage certainly know what a year looks like. Don’t get me wrong, the folks on the floor at the LAC, those Archivist, Generalist and Researchers are not to blame. My finger points first to the top, this current government that has a hate on for census (remember the long-form census debate?) and for researchers, both scientific and academia. For those of you that though that “heritage” was a Conservative value, think again.

Maybe our “Christmas” has simply been postponed for a few more weeks. In the meantime, I will sit staring at the fireplace, anxious for sound of sleigh bells on the roof and a pair of black boots to appear.  I am hopefully that those boots are that of a jolly gift-giver and not that of a burglar… someone coming to steal away more than a few replaceable item but the heritage of a nation.

Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker

I have never hidden the fact that I don’t use Family Tree Maker. And even until recently, I have avoided using Ancestry.com. That was until recently, when I discovered a distant cousin sharing a family tree on the website which provided me with a few missing pieces of information. The principal reason for my lack of support of the website is that I tend to question the practice of sharing family trees so openly with other people. It is not that I have a concern with privacy (because tree setting allow for very good privacy especially on living people), it more of a concern that the information being shared is not actual fact. Perhaps a date of death was an approximate (aka “a guess”) and now this data is being passed around as if it is fact. Few people using the website are actually doing the leg work and will attempt to verify the information whether it is through source referencing or simply by asking the questions: “Where did this person get all of this information? Are they legit? Can their data be trusted?”

Despite being reeled into Ancestry.com, I still remain skeptical on information obtained from the website. And when I do find data, I verify sources and attempt to double-back and check on the data myself. However, despite this issue, there are plenty of positive aspects of Ancestry’s service such as its access to plenty of legitimate databases. To date, I have subscribed to the “paid” service of Ancestry.com for a number of months here and there, as I can not see the benefit of long term subscription with my current schedule. It anything, Ancestry.com has turned thousands of people onto an interest that love so that is a good thing. Also, I have just recently begun to use the family tree maker on the website which has turned me on to Family Tree Maker 2012, the popular family tree computer program.

So, I must now admit, publicly for the first time, that I like Family Tree Maker. Yes, I should have taken the advice of those fellow genealogists who repeatedly tried to sell me on the wonderful features of the program years ago. A few of those features that I enjoy is the ease at printing generation charts/reports and the ability to produce a calendar with all of the vital dates of your family tree. In minutes, I can have wonderful documents of my database. Plus, my family tree is saved as single computer file versus the 100+ files of my currently method.

Will I give up on my manual database and utilize Family Tree Maker? Probably not, but I will now enjoy maintaining two databases.