This past year, RootsMagic Genealogy computer program began linking to Ancestry.com. Now, Family Tree Maker did this, also, and for a very short while (like, only a few months) I was using FTM. I had just bought the program, and began synching my trees.
However, I experienced a computer crash. I had a back up computer waiting on the sidelines, so I installed all of my programs, files, etc. (It pays to back up every six months). All of my programs worked just fine - except FTM. It would not acknowledge the activation key. So, I called FTM (which, at that time, was still owned by Ancestry.com. They have since sold it off). I was told that I would have to purchase the program AGAIN to get another activation key. In your dreams! I just bought it a few months ago. So, I began using my RootsMagic as my main gen program.
Now, the whole purpose of this is not that story. See, I have been researching for over 30 years. My tree is old - with thousands of people, records, photos - and mistakes.
As a young whippersnapper in internet genealogy, I got a tad too loose with the research. I was adding people left and right. And I was using the info from other trees without a thought that they could be in error. Over the years, I've learned many things.
So, lesson number one - don't use other people's trees. I can't say I've totally sworn off this, as I do view other's work if I hit a brick wall. But I analyze their work carefully. And I spend time looking down other avenues for possibilities. And I only do this as a very LAST resort. I'm still sorting out people from my tree, years later, from a tree that I stupidly took from and added to my own tree. And it was all WRONG.
Lesson two - review, review, review. I go over everything - a lot. Typo's are made, errors occur. We are not perfect. Are the dates right? Are the spouses correct? The descendants? The parents? The records? The photo's? Are there duplicates? Have I weeded out the foo foo?
Now, if you like foo foo, that's okay. It's your tree. For me, it's just clutter. What is foo foo? It's what I call photo's of cemeteries, maps (unless it has the name of the ancestor directly on it, such as the Sanborn maps), Coat of Arms, photo's that say, "End of Line", "Immigrant", "DNA Match", "Direct Line", "Female Ancestor", "Male Ancestor" - well, you get the point. It's all just clutter that has nothing to do with the person. And it's a pain when hundreds show up on the Ancestry hints.
I have limited myself to photo's of people and family, grave markers, records, and correspondence. I will save write-ups by researcher's if it has important family stories or info in them.
Okay, so I digressed a bit. The purpose of this post is to talk about RootsMagic's Tree Count.
Tree Count? Isn't that just the number of trees I added to RM?
Well, no. What you added to RM were databases. And within that database is your tree. If you have one or more people that are not connected or linked to you, you have multiple trees in your database.
When I downloaded my Ancestry.com tree into RM using TreeShare (a great tool I am finding invaluable), I ran tree count. I had over 123 trees in my database. Three quarters were single persons not connected to anyone. I took care of them right away. I only merged two of these profiles into existing profiles. And only because they had information and/or records attached to them that was not included with the primary profile. Other than that, all were deleted. In RM as well as on Ancestry.com. I am now down to 39 trees of multiple profiles.
There is one that I will not delete. I have known about it, having unlinked it from one of my branches when it was discovered that most researchers could not, for certain, say that the parents of one of my ancestor's was his true parentage. I keep it in hopes that, at some point in time, it can be proven. I will color-code it so that I know it does not belong, as of yet, to my original tree.
Tree Count is a powerful feature in helping to correct errors and keep a database healthy. I like RM, but even if I didn't, just that feature alone sells me on the program.
