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Apologies for the slight break in my current series of posts about mapping software. If you haven’t seen the first one yet, you can find it here. I had to publish this post next, as it is quite time sensitive- any later and I would really miss the boat!

RootsTechConnect 2021

So, as I am sure you can work out from the title, this post will be about RootsTechConnect. I attended the show and both helped out with some of the exhibitors and had a look at some of the talks.

My first thought was how weird it all was! Having been to the last RootsTech in London in 2019 (getting on for two years ago, can you believe?), it definitely was different. Needs certainly must though this year, and in the absence of RootsTech being able to take place in person, RootsTechConnect was the solution.

To chat or not to chat?

As I am sure everyone will agree, it is much more fun to be able to meet up with fellow genealogists of all ages and stages of research. Meeting people (both new and old) is one of the reasons we travel the many miles to attend conferences like this. The team behind RootsTechConnect came up with the next best thing though, as the main mode of communication between attendees was the online chat function. I have never been a great user of online chat facilities, at least there are without a doubt those that use that sort of thing more than I do.

Whilst the online chat facility worked very well (i.e. I came across no break in service or such things), I am not sure how useful people really found it. Perhaps there were those who were chatting away, but I did not find that the case. Certainly, the chat facilities for the organisations I manned were very quiet indeed! This was true for both the Direct Messaging function, as well as the Chat Room function. The difference to a real time conversation is very obvious and I wonder if there is a better way. At least from the point of view of the organisations who took part. Instead of having to constantly man a chat function with no takers, perhaps some kind of real time video chat session would work? With each organisation having its own slot? In any case, it is something that I think would need some further thought for future online conferences.

What a range of presentations…!

Of course the best case scenario would be the ability to hold an in person conference at some point in the future. But I do think that there were benefits to holding something online. Firstly, there was the potential to connect with people from all over the world. An online conference automatically does away with the need to travel halfway across the world and improves accessibility. That is unless computer and internet access is a problem.

Unlike an in person conference, the keynote speeches were available at multiple times of the day (likely having been pre-recorded). So if you particularly wanted to hear the celebrity of the day talk about what family and genealogy means to them, just pick your time. This was also a benefit for all of the talks and lectures. There were those that were shown at a specific time, but there was also an almighty list of other pre-recorded talks that are accessible for a good long while yet. I use the word ‘almighty’ with good reason. The list of pre-recorded talks was 18 (yes, 18) pages long! I don’t know about you, but that was slightly intimidating!

As you might expect at the moment, the number of DNA talks was large. It is great to see so many people interested, although it is not always my thing. There was a great deal for the beginner, for specific countries and areas, for certain record types and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Summarising 18 pages worth in a few sentences is not going to happen successfully, so I will have to just say that the choice was huge. Being a worldwide conference, I could see that the organisers were trying to cater to a huge range of interests. No obvious Medieval subjects though, but that’s just me…

…but was that a problem?

There is a problem with the range of talks that were available.  As I said before, I found it intimidating and perhaps there were slightly too many. There were certainly many more than would be available at an in person conference, and choosing between ones available usually are difficult enough! I also felt the search function on the RootsTechConnect website was not as helpful as it could be. Perhaps it is just the researcher in me that would like to have seen an easier classification of the available talks. For instance, classifying by the language the talk is presented in is great, but I could see no further way of filtering. I still had to go through an endless scrolling process, making it almost essential to know the name of the talk to avoid that. However, if this is down to my lack of technical ability I will happily be corrected!

The talks I had a chance to view over the weekend were well presented and informative, although I would say that some were not automatically clear as to the country they related to. (Note to self: remember to read the description first!) There are still some that I would like to look at, so it is great that they will be around for some time to come. Having had a look (and been a part of) some of the exhibitor’s ‘stands,’ I thought the overall look was very professional and the allowance of different videos and uploads was helpful for both visitors and exhibitors. From a purely British perspective, I did feel that some of the usual suspects were absent from the Expo Hall. But then, time and cost is something that no doubt would have played a part and would have been considered within each organisation. Being the maiden voyage of RootsTechConnect, there are no doubt those who would have been unsure as to the benefit and reach. It was interesting to see exhibitors from abroad, who I might never get to see normally. Another benefit of an online conference.

In conclusion…

There are certainly pros and cons here and some issues that could be revisited. But on the whole, at a time when we are not able to do this in person, RootsTechConnect did the next best thing. Who knows, perhaps there might be space in future for both the in person RootsTech conference and some kind of online event? No doubt the intricacies of both will need to be worked out within the current state of things. We will have to wait and see, but until then I hope to eventually see you all again, hopefully in person!

© 2021 Shersca Genealogy.

Welcome to this week’s blog post. This will be the first in a series about my search for good mapping software. As you might have noticed, maps are a bit of a theme in my writing at the moment!  There are no doubt other posts which give an overview of the pros and cons of all sorts of programs. In this series, I also wanted to explore the options in terms of copyright limitations as well.

The search begins…

For a long time now, I have been interested in finding a good way of mapping various places associated with my ancestors using computer software. Whether that is where they were born, died or where they lived in the census years. There are many times in our ancestor’s lives where we may want to plot their address, no matter if they have stayed in the same place for most of their lives, or if they moved elsewhere. A map of these locations can be helpful as a visual aid and as a collection of the information we have.

There are many different programs available to help with this, so I wanted to discover which one would be most useful for me by taking a look at a few. This is by no means a comprehensive list and personal preference does come into the decisions I have made, so do consider these and any others that you find yourselves too.

What and Why?

To begin then, which programs have I looked at? Firstly, as I already happen to have Family Tree Maker, I have explored their in built mapping function. I have looked at two other software based programs: Family Atlas from RootsMagic and Map My Family Tree. I also looked at two web based programs: Google Earth Pro and the Ordnance Survey online facility. Today’s post will explore Family Tree Maker.

You can imagine that accurate mapping and an ability to input multiple locations on different maps would be of use. Price would also be a factor, but as a genealogist, the ability to share maps with others is also important. This brings me to the issue of copyright. As I also undertake client work, how do these programs set out their copyright clauses? Would I be able to edit a map with the information of a client’s ancestors and include that in a report? Let us find out!

Family Tree Maker

Family Tree Maker is not for everyone. It so happens to be the software I use for creating family trees, but it is certainly not the only one- I have just got used to using FTM over the years. As such, it is perhaps a little expensive in comparison to other programs. The current price (at time of writing) is £79.95 and the main purpose is not really for mapping. That is just a part of the program. Maybe it is not one for those specifically looking for mapping software, who do not already own FTM. After all, the clue is in the name- Family Tree Maker!

What are the features?

Having said that, if you do own it or are considering it, the mapping facility is not bad. It uses Bing maps, so an internet connection is essential. It works off the places you enter for each person in any specific family tree and there are two ways of viewing them:

• By place- this is an alphabetical list of all places associated with people in the family tree. Clicking on a place will then show you who it is associated with and you can expand the person to show the event it is connected to.
• By person- this is again an alphabetical list, but of each person in the family tree. You can then check the boxes of the facts you would like to see on the map and then each checked box shows the place associated with that fact.

An advantage of the second option, is that each plotted place is connected with a line. This means you can easily see where an ancestor was located at various points in their life. I personally prefer this view as it fulfils more of what I want when it comes to mapping my ancestor’s lives. A downside though, is that the points plotted only show which event it relates to when you click on it. The details come up in another window and basic details automatically shown on the map itself.

Other useful points

There are different map views, including a Road map, Aerial and Birdseye views, as well as Streetside and Ordnance Survey options. They include the facility to check unrecognised place names in order to resolve errors and misspellings, although I have not yet found that helpful for the particular tree I used. This tree belonged to some research I am currently undertaking about a language teacher named Paul Benoit Joseph Gouly de Chaville. He was briefly mentioned in my previous post about the history of my own house. Paul was French and born in Viroflay, in what would have been Yvelines, Seine et Oise. FTM doesn’t recognise this and suggests ‘Oise, Picardie, France.’ This doesn’t capture all of the information I would include for Paul’s birthplace. Of course, the program will only be as good as its code and this will dictate how well it recognises more unusual and/or historical names. You can also create migration maps for families, but that is something for another time. I am notoriously terrible at reading the manual, so I highly recommended that you do! The manual will tell you all of the things that the program can do, which I cannot go into here.

Copyright issues

One of the most important things for me, is of course the ability to share maps. FTM does allow you to print maps and share a place usage report (essentially the list of places and the ancestors associated with them). For printing, it captures the specific image/page you are currently looking at. But what about the terms and conditions? They are a bit of a maze, as they also have to take into account terms and conditions from other providers (yes Bing itself uses other providers and links to their Ts&Cs!). Unfortunately, they do not leave me feeling any clearer as to whether I could use their maps in client reports.

The Print Rights section seems to allude to the permissible use of sending PDF prints to customers, under the commercial purposes clause. For some reason, this is specifically for the Microsoft® Bing™ Maps Platform API.[1] On the other hand, the Microsoft Bing Maps and MapPoint Web Service End User Terms of Use, declares,

“Bing Maps and MapPoint Web Service is for your individual use, solely for internal use by you for your business, or for your own personal use. You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, sublicense, transfer, assign, rent, sell or otherwise convey any information, software, products or services obtained from Bing Maps and MapPoint Web Service without the prior written consent from Microsoft.”[2]

This certainly suggests that I could not reproduce anything in a client report without written permission. Bing Maps is obviously not going to be written with genealogists in mind. I would want some further clarification from them before I used any of their maps in a client report- even through FTM.

Conclusions?

The conclusion I have reached is partly inconclusive! The mapping facility is OK and is easy enough to use. It seems to do most of what I would like, but it has a few drawbacks in that a printed map just shows plotted points. There is no indication of what they relate to. Not ideal. Then there is the copyright situation, which I would definitely need to clarify before I use the maps in client work. If any readers have experience with using Bing Maps for client work, I would be happy to hear about it!

Onwards to the next post then, which explores Family Atlas from RootsMagic and Map My Family Tree. Will they be more suitable? Will they be any clearer in terms of copyright? Join me next time to find out!

© 2021 Shersca Genealogy.

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[1] Microsoft. Bing Maps: Print Rights – Under the Microsoft® Bing™ Maps Platform APIs’ Terms of Use. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/maps/product/print-rights : accessed 09 February 2021.

[2] Microsoft. Bing Maps: Microsoft Bing Maps and MapPoint Web Service End User Terms of Use and Embedded Maps Service Terms of Use. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/maps/product/terms-april-2011 : accessed 09 February 2021.

Welcome to my first post of 2021. It is just a short(er) one to ease into the new year. I have some other posts planned, which I am very excited about! Keep on the lookout for those throughout the year! In the meantime, check out my previous posts.

YouTube and Genealogy

For today’s post then, I thought I would talk a little bit about YouTube and one particular video that I found highly interesting. Contrary to what you may think, I don’t actually have a YouTube channel, either for genealogy or for personal use. I tend to only use Twitter for Genealogy related business too. So, you can see that I am not a heavy user of social media.

Imagine my surprise then, when I discovered the world of YouTube videos a few years ago! Unsurprisingly, I have been watching more since the Pandemic began. The sheer volume of ‘stuff’ you can get is mind blowing, but I had never really considered using them with genealogy in mind. I never thought that genealogy would really lend itself to a platform which consisted of videos. The very nature of research is not really something that can be illustrated like a musical performance or even a cooking demonstration.

What kind of videos are there?

How wrong I was! Merely typing in the search term ‘genealogy’ on YouTube returns a whole host of different videos. You can find explanatory videos from the big companies such as Ancestry, which take you through a ‘how to’ of different aspects of genealogy. You can find a company (Usefulcharts) which creates charts (including family trees), who take you through various historical (and sometimes not) family trees using their chart as a visual. There is also the common theme of ‘Top ten’ videos and things to avoid when researching your family tree. Other things that pop up are historical channels that have a few genealogical videos, DNA related videos and many more. The list goes on and I would be here for quite a while if I attempted to list them all.

When it comes down to it, the best way to deal with YouTube is perhaps in a similar way to other internet and social media platforms. It has a search box, so I need to think about my search terms. What you put in is what you get out (broadly speaking). There are bound to be many more videos that are useful and relevant to genealogists, no matter what your area is. You just have to pick your search terms.

An unexpected find…

That aside, whatever algorithm YouTube uses to suggest videos to you can also bring up some surprising results. Yes, some of them are not necessarily what I would be looking for, but some do pull you in. How these videos are chosen and the technical side of things is best addressed, both in a separate post and by someone more knowledgeable about these things than I am! Suffice to say that there is one particular video that popped up for me lately that I found immensely interesting.

There are those of us in the genealogical world that have (wait for it) no London ancestors or genealogical ties at all! I know, it is positively shocking! In all seriousness though, in my case my ancestors all come from the South West of England and Wales, with some added branches in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. Most of them seemed fairly content to stay in those areas, as I have so far not come across any that made the trip to London. This means that I find understanding all things London, a bit trickier than those that live there and those who regularly find their ancestors making that journey.

Exploring the London Boroughs

This is where the specific video that popped up on YouTube comes in. It was called ‘Why does London have 32 boroughs’ and was made by Jay Foreman (who is also one half of the Map Men). As well as maps being a useful source for genealogists in general, this particular video aids in the understanding of London’s boroughs and how they ended up as they are today. As a non-Londoner, I found it a very clear explanation which certainly improved my understanding. Thought should also be given here, to the fact that some videos are sponsored and therefore have adverts within them (like the Jay Foreman videos). It is personal choice as to whether you are happy with this.

The video takes you through the history of the division of London and how the difficulties of past boroughs led to the current system. It would seem that even historically, the boroughs were not considered a satisfactory system (as they were) and so needed revision. The difficulties of this revision is also explored, along with the leftovers of the old system in London today. One of my favourite examples that the video uses is that St. Marylebone Crematorium is nowhere near the St. Marylebone of today!

…and a useful one!

I won’t go into great detail here of what the video contains. It would be better watched in my opinion! But, it does address certain issues that genealogists researching in London no doubt face. The difference of the pre-1965 boroughs compared to the post-1965 boroughs is certainly something you would need to be aware of. Knowing some history behind these and the changes would help any genealogist make decisions in their research. If a person disappears from one borough, what are the neighbouring ones for instance? Could they have travelled to a neighbouring borough or would they have travelled further afield? Were there specific boroughs they may have come from or gone to depending upon their religion, occupation, societal class and even nationality? London was after all, the home of many immigrants. And, what would the boundaries and names of these boroughs have been, depending upon the time period being looked at?

Essentially, you could see London as a mini country in itself. The type of research performed and information you might need could be similar to differentiating between different counties in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or any other country.

In conclusion…

At the end of the day though, this particular video certainly enhanced my understanding of the London borough system. I can now go to other sources for more information as well.

With that brief account in mind, I will leave you to explore YouTube for further genealogical videos that might be of use. You should still keep in mind the source of the video and the reliability of the information imparted, but it is certainly worth a look. You never know what you might find.

© 2021 Shersca Genealogy.