Write On!

              23 sometimes be used for trial periods to see if you like the program or if it has the type of information that you need. I am using a subscription to Ancestry.com. This is a comprehensive website that fits with the Family Tree Maker software. It presents to you all possible matching persons from their extensive records collection, for each name that you have in your family tree. Names are listed by star value, the higher star value, the more likely this person is the one in your tree. It allows you to compare, match and merge each person for birth year, place of birth, place of residence and family members. What used to take years of painstaking research is now available at your fingertips. My family is from Great Britain and I am able to access census records for 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871 online, The one hundred year rule applies to release of census information so that it will be 2012 before the 1911 census data will be released. The censuses for 1861, 1851 and 1841 are not yet available online but will be in the next few years, perhaps even this year. All these census records have enabled me to track my family back for seven generations. Census information is considered to be second hand information due to the potential for error. Corroborating census information with a second source is useful. It is possible to look at the original census documents online. The handwriting from an earlier era can be challenging to read but there is also a typed format to assist you. In the censuses are names, sex, marital status, age, occupation and place of birth. Previous generations were not so particular about spelling of names so there are frequently differing spellings of both first names and last names. This can be confusing but the program will pick up on names with a similar sound. I am also able to find birth, death and marriage certificates from July 1, 1837 onwards, which is when compulsory registration in the British National Register came into force. Birth certificates confirm the date and place of birth, parentage and also include the occupation of the father and maiden name of the mother. Marriage certificates give the full names and ages of the parties, their fathers' names and their addresses prior to the marriage. Death certificates confirm the date and place of death, cause of death, previous occupation, address, and the person registering the death, who is frequently a family member. It is possible to send away for a copy of the registration for a small fee, the address for which is available with the citation on the website. Small successes are very motivating and soon your whole family will be interested in your findings. Any assistance that they