Nomadic Roots Research

Category: Uncategorized

  • Why RootsMagic 11 Became My Favorite Offline Family Tree Software

    Why RootsMagic 11 Became My Favorite Offline Family Tree Software

    When customers ask me what genealogy software I use, they’re usually surprised with my answer. To be honest, there are lots of great family tree programs available and many wonderful researchers who swear by their favorite software. But as someone who has researched his family for many years and tried numerous programs, RootsMagic 11 is the family tree software I prefer.

    That isn’t to say it’s the best software for everyone. Programs like Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, and Gramps are all fantastic programs that serve different researchers in unique ways. At the end of the day, the best genealogy software is whatever allows you to conduct your research the way you want.

    Here Are a Few Reasons RootsMagic Works Well for Me

    My Family Tree Belongs to Me

    I like RootsMagic primarily because it’s an offline program. My research lives on my computer and no one else’s. If the program changes, my subscriptions run out, or another researcher accidentally modifies my tree, it doesn’t impact my family data.

    An offline database also acts as my master copy. I get to choose when and if I want to synchronize or share information with online family trees, all while keeping one definitive version of my research.

    Excellent Source Citation Abilities

    Genealogy is about evidence. If you remember nothing else about researching your family tree, remember this.

    RootsMagic allows me to keep track of where every bit of information originated. I can cite census records, probate files, deeds, tax lists, military records, church registers, and more in a way that’s organized and easy to understand.

    For someone who likes to attach reliable sources to every conclusion they make in their family tree, RootsMagic has excellent source citation abilities.

    Organizes My Research

    Family tree research can be disastrous if you let it get out of control. Thousands of records, photos, documents, and handwritten notes can pile up as you conduct your genealogy.

    RM11 helps me stay organized by allowing me to:

    • Organize people and families.
    • Attach photos and scanned documents.
    • Take detailed research notes.
    • Track citations for every fact I find.
    • Print reports and charts when necessary.

    So much information is kept in one spot that I can spend more time researching and less time trying to find what I need.

    Ability to Connect to Online Sites

    While I prefer to keep my research mostly offline, I still frequent many online genealogy sites. RootsMagic makes it easy to link my research to services like FamilySearch while keeping my local RootsMagic database as my master copy.

    I get the benefit of working with online resources without storing everything in the cloud.

    Simple to Use

    I’m also a big fan of how simple RootsMagic is to use. The program runs smoothly, and I haven’t experienced issues as my database expands. From adding people and entering sources to attaching photos and reviewing relationships, everyday tasks are simple and easy to learn.

    I don’t have to worry about investing hours learning complicated software when I could be spending that time researching my ancestors.

    RootsMagic isn’t perfect, but it has served me well over the years and will continue to be my go-to software for everyday research and special projects.

    What About You?

    Everyone is different, and every researcher has different software needs. Some researchers might prefer Family Tree Maker because it works well with Ancestry. Others might lean toward Legacy Family Tree for its superb reporting or Gramps for being open-source.

    In my opinion, RootsMagic provides the best combination of research organization, easy source citation, local database ownership, and overall simplicity.

    Which is why RootsMagic is my favorite genealogy software and the program I use to build my family tree.

    What Software Do You Use?

    Picking the right genealogy software takes time because your family tree is something you’ll build for years to come. Think about how you work and what you need to be productive. Whether you choose RootsMagic or something else, just remember that genealogy software should motivate you to:

    • Document carefully.
    • Cite your sources.
    • Backup your tree regularly.
    • Research carefully.

    Software doesn’t create family historians. Thoughtful research does. So whatever program you pick, use it to preserve your family history and pass it on to future generations.

  • Stories Never Shared

    Stories Never Shared

    Some of the most meaningful family stories are never told. They remain tucked away in a box of old papers, hidden in a drawer, or carried silently in the hearts of those who lived them.

    This is one of those stories.

    I was about twelve or thirteen years old when my curiosity got the best of me. Like most kids whose dad had a bedroom with the door closed, I sneaked into his room while he was at work.

    Digging through one of his accordion files, I found what he referred to as his “important papers.” As important as many of those papers must have been to him, most of what I found was pretty boring—old check stubs, receipts, and other miscellany that people keep from years of filing away tax documents.

    Then I saw it.

    His WWII discharge papers.

    Unfolding the crisp white document, something caught my eye. My dad had been awarded a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts!

    You don’t have to be a particularly intuitive young boy to figure out what that means.

    My dad was a HERO.

    At that moment, my father walked into the room. He wasn’t angry, however. He simply asked me what I was doing. I told him I had found his military papers and began grilling him about how he received his awards. He must have done something brave or noble to earn those medals, right?

    “What are you doing?”

    “What?” I replied. “Oh, I found these…” motioning to the papers in my hands.

    Instead of answering, he looked me dead in the eyes and said,

    “All I did was make it home alive. The real heroes never did.”

    Those were the only words he would ever give me on the topic.

    Decades passed, and through small snippets here and there, I discovered that he had friends that he lost “over there.” Like so many veterans of that war, they called it that. No names. Just “over there.”

    He was like so many others from what has since been called the Greatest Generation. He didn’t talk about the war. What he saw and experienced was locked away in his heart. He never spoke of how he received the Bronze Star or his Purple Hearts.

    After I fell in love with family history and grew up, I wanted to learn more. I ordered his military records from the National Personnel Records Center. That’s when I hit another sad, all-too-common roadblock.

    The 1973 fire at the records center in St. Louis destroyed millions of Army personnel files, including most of my father’s military record.

    Devastated, I almost gave up.

    Then I received a call from the archives in St. Louis.

    Most of his file was gone, but they had found some records that had not been archived at the time of the fire. Not much, but enough to start filling in some blanks.

    The records that survived confirmed that Dad had contracted malaria in Burma. His dental records, along with a few other surviving documents, also gave me enough information to trace his path overseas through North Africa before eventually ending up in Burma.

    My searching had now turned into detective mode.

    Pouring over unit histories, military records, and anything I could get my hands on, I eventually narrowed his unit down to Company C, 1836th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Now many of the small stories he told me made sense. I remembered him telling me about playing basketball with some Black soldiers who were stationed at a neighboring base. That was something that was rare back then and obviously stuck with him.

    Digging deeper, I uncovered just how important his battalion’s job was. They worked up to twenty hours a day with few tools to build two B-17 bomber airfields in Burma from scratch in just six months. Those airfields allowed Allied aircraft to fly deep into enemy territory and provided critical support for operations across one of the most challenging battlefields of the war.

    I’ll never look at my father the same way again.

    He once told me he didn’t feel that he was a hero. The heroes, he told me, were the guys who didn’t make it home.

    But my dad was—and always will be—MY HERO.

    Exploring family history is more than discovering names and dates. It’s about discovering the stories that never got the chance to be told. It’s about honoring the sacrifices that our families made for us and preserving those stories so that generations to come will know and remember them when those stories are no longer able to tell themselves.

  • This Story Again

    This Story Again

    By Joseph Howell, Founder of Nomadic Roots Research

    As a youngster, I remember spending hours listening to relatives tell the same stories, again and again. The picture above features my grandmother, Alta M. (Fitts) Howell, my great-aunt, Eileen Virginia (Fitts) Lindskog, and my great-grandmother, Katherine “Kitty” Maude (Hunsaker) Fitts. Families like to gather and share stories, memories, and remembrances of days gone by.

    Sometimes, as a kid I would get a little frustrated and think to myself,

    “This story again?”

    I realize now that as a child I didn’t appreciate just how special those stories really were.

    Until they were gone.

    It was only two months between the passing of my grandmother and my father. Two months that brought life changes that forever changed my perspective on how quickly life can change. I was married only a few months myself and expecting my first child. I suddenly felt like I was standing in between generations; losing my links to my family’s history at the same time that I was about to bring a new generation into those families.

    Their deaths left many questions unanswered.

    There were stories I wanted to hear again. Questions I wanted to ask. Memories I wanted to capture forever.

    I knew that if I wanted answers to those questions, I would have to start finding them for myself.

    What began as a quest to learn about my own family tree became a passion. I began interviewing relatives, gathering documents, researching records, and studying anything I could about family history and genealogy. The more I learned, the more I realized that every family has a story that deserves to be preserved.

    Family stories can offer valuable clues to help us learn about our past. Names, Places, Occupations, Military Service, Migration, and  Family traditions. Stories are facts that are often filtered through emotions and personal biases. Sometimes stories are told accurately. Other times the truth is stretched over time. But they can provide wonderful starting points to help us uncover the facts.

    My personal journey has turned into over 30 years of genealogical research. Along the way I have earned an Associate Degree in Family History and Genealogy from BYU–Idaho, completed the Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program, and worked as a Family History Consultant for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But one thing I learned along the way is what made my journey so worthwhile:

    Listen to the stories.

    Talk to your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and relatives while you still have the opportunity. Ask questions. Record the answers. Preserve photographs. Save letters. Protect family Bibles. Keep family records. Those stories that you may tire of hearing now may become priceless one day.

    I started this journey because I didn’t listen carefully to stories when I had the chance. If I could go back, I would listen differently.
    I want my children, my grandchildren, and future generations to know their family history. That is why I am devoted to teaching others how to find their own stories.
    Now, as I think back on those “stories I had heard too many times”, I would give almost anything to hear some of them just one more time.

  • Why Every Genealogist Should Use an Offline Family Tree Program Alongside Online Trees

    Why Every Genealogist Should Use an Offline Family Tree Program Alongside Online Trees

    One of the mistakes I see most often as a genealogy tech blogger is family historians using online trees exclusively. Companies like Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, and Findmypast have great online tools for discovering new information about your ancestors. However, they shouldn’t be the only place you work on your family tree.

    Instead, power users employ an offline family tree program along with their online trees. Genealogy software like RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, and Gramps offer advantages that many online-only genealogists never realize they are missing.

    Own Your Information

    When your tree lives only on a website, you don’t truly own your information. You are at the mercy of that company’s subscriptions, policies, and technology. An offline family tree program lets you store a copy of your database on your computer. You own your data and can access it no matter what changes an online company makes to their trees.

    Use RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, or another program and you’ll have peace of mind knowing you own your own information. Online trees should be viewed as tools, not home.

    Better Organization

    Genealogy programs run on your computer are specifically designed for genealogy. Many have excellent source citation, research notes, timelines, reporting, and analysis tools that you just can’t find online.

    Offline trees become more valuable as your family tree grows to include hundreds or even thousands of people.

    Security From Mistakes

    Collaborative trees on the internet can be edited by others. Collaboration is great, but too many people making changes or adding mistakes can create problems. By maintaining your own tree separately, you can ensure that you have your own version of your ancestors carefully documented.

    Think of your offline tree as being the master copy. You can publish shares of it to the online world for collaboration or discovery.

    Superior Research Documentation

    Genealogists are taught to document sources and carefully evaluate evidence. Offline family tree programs typically have much better source citation capabilities. Being able to record where you found information and how you reached your conclusions is invaluable to the research process.

    Future generations may inherit your research. Proper documentation now will help them understand how you reached your conclusions.

    Data Backup and Security

    Hard drives crash and websites come and go. Having a database on your computer allows you to make regular backups on external hard drives or cloud storage. “Lots of copies keep stuff safe” is a rule of thumb in genealogy for a reason. Don’t put all of your tree in one place.

    If your subscription expires or a website decides to change how their trees work, your family tree is safe on your computer.

    Advanced Reporting

    All of the programs mentioned above can create beautiful charts and reports. You can create descendant and ancestor reports, family group sheets, research logs, and historical narratives with greater flexibility than many online trees allow.

    Preserving your research in a printable format is a great way to share your family history with relatives.

    Online and Offline Trees Can Work Together

    Online trees are great for discovering new records, getting hints, collaborating with relatives, and connecting with unknown cousins. Computer programs are great for organization, research documentation, preservation, and data security.

    Don’t rely on just online trees or just an offline program. Use both and experience the best of both worlds.

    Maintain a master tree on your computer that is well documented and backed up regularly. Then connect with the online genealogy community by publishing a share of your tree to your favorite websites like Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, and Findmypast. Using an offline tree program in combination with online research is the best way to preserve your family’s history.