~by Valerie Ogren for the Greene County Genealogical Society
Meeting notice: The Greene County Genealogical Society will meet Saturday, Feb. 6, at 10 am in the basement meeting room of the Jefferson public library. Terry Clark, children’s library director, will present the program. I’m not sure what the topic will be, but you can be sure that when a librarian is at the helm, the information will be interesting, useful and educational. The reference library will be open at 9 am if you would like to do some research before the meeting.
Don’t panic: Ancestry announced in December that it plans to discontinue sale of its desktop genealogy software, Family Tree Maker, though the company will continue to offer tech support through 2016. Family Tree Maker has enjoyed years of popularity for its ease of use. Many genealogists (including yours truly) consider it their software of choice.
Upon hearing the news, I realized that I really don’t need to worry since it is has been installed on my computer for years and still does everything I need. I have never updated to the newer version every time they are introduced and am not tempted to try another brand of software.
But I realize many of you are much younger than I and no doubt much more tech savvy. In a recent electronic newsletter from the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, they shared a link to a “Best Genealogy Software Review”.
You can read reviews of the top10 programs here: http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/. If you plan to shop for a new desktop genealogy software program in 2016, you should visit this site. It also provides direct links to each of the software sites where you can learn more about each product.
By a large margin, the reviewers like Legacy Family Tree best, but RootsMagic and Family Historian are also popular.
More news will appear in 2016 regarding the demise of Family Tree Maker and the best alternatives for replacing it. Ancestry has already announced that it is exploring possible relationships with other software publishers about providing full integration to its website. Stay tuned for more developments.
If you use Family Tree Maker, it may be wise to wait awhile for new software announcements before choosing to purchase an alternative.
I will just keep on using what I have. At 80, I’m too old to change!!
Stop the presses!! Received this news too late for one press release. Re: the above article, Family Tree Maker is back from the dead!! Here is a link with today’s blog. http://www.geneabloggers.com/family-tree-maker-back-from-the-dead/
Reference library: Keep in mind that our reference library will probably not be open on a regular basis during the winter months. To make an appointment, call Arlene Johnson at 515-386-5431.
Just a reminder that all of our Greene County publications of birth, death, marriage, census, cemetery, etc. are available for reference in the adult section of the Jefferson public library. In addition, you can also view newspaper microfilm there for Jefferson, Grand Junction and Scranton. If you are interested in some one-on-one assistance at the reference library computer with some beginning level tasks, just give me (Valerie Ogren) a call at 515-370-3570.
Contact us: Our web page is located at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iagcgs/. Email us at gcgsiowa@hotmail.com or PO Box 133, Jefferson IA 50129-0133.
