While for most Family Tree Maker is an easy program to get into, interacting with a User Group will enable you to share your knowledge with others and learn from them too. There are always lots of tips and tricks to pick up and you will learn creative ways of using Family Tree Maker. If you are new to the Family Tree Maker (or new to a newer version), attending a User Group meeting will help you get started, both in finding out what you can do in Family Tree Maker, and how to how to use it efficiently.

New South Wales – Sydney
Meetings: once a quarter
Where: 120 Kent Street, Sydney
When: need to check the SAG website for details
Cost: $8.00 for members, $12.00 for non-members
Contact: the Society of Australian Genealogists
web: http://www.sag.org.au/
they also have an online forum for FTM Users

Queensland – Brisbane
Meetings: 1st Friday of every month, and last Sat of each even numbered month
Where: 58 Bellevue Avenue, Gaythorne
When: starts 10.00am
Cost: free (and non-members are welcome)
Contact: Kerri Kleidon familytree@qfhs.org.au
Organised by the Queensland Family History Society
web: http://www.qfhs.org.au/

South Australia – Adelaide
Meetings: 3rd Saturday of each month
Where: Salisbury TAFE Heritage Centre, 3 Ann Street, Salisbury
When: from 2.00pm
Contact: info@andfhg.org
Organised by Adelaide Family Tree Maker User Group, in association with the Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group
web: http://www.andfhg.org/

South Australia – South East
Meetings: no meetings
Contact: http://www.sefhg.org/index_files/membership.htm
The South East Family History Group don’t hold regular Family Tree Maker User Group meetings, but they do have an online forum where you can post queries. Their Membership Page has information about how to do so.

Victoria – Melbourne
Meetings: 3rd Monday of each month (not December or January)
Where: Wadham House, 52 Wadham Parade, Mount Waverley
When: doors open 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start
Cost: $2.00
Contact: ftmusers@vicgum.asn.au
held in association with VicGUM
web: http://vicgum.asn.au or on Facebook

If you know of any other FTM groups around (even informal meetings), or are interested in starting one up, please send an email to alona@gould.com.au, so I can keep this list up-to-date.

1. Open the program and click on the People section at the top

2. Click on the Share button in the upper-right corner and select Upload to Ancestry…

3. Decide what options you would like to upload your file with, and click OK. You can choose between Entire file and Selected individuals on the left, as well as different Privacy and Media options on the right

• Checking Privatize Living People will change the name of anyone considered by the software as living to Living Surname. Facts and Shared Facts for living individuals are also not exported. However, Ancestry.com automatically privatizes living people for you
• Include private facts uploads all facts. Private facts are not private on Ancestry.com. They are treated as regular facts. Privacy is handled by privatizing the tree file itself. You will be given this option when you upload your file to Ancestry.com
• Include private notes uploads all notes. Notes are always treated as private on Ancestry.com, and can only be viewed by the owner of the tree and those invited as Editors.
• Files uploaded to Ancestry.com have a limit of 75 mb. Media files, such as photos, can add a lot of weight to a file. If you are having a hard time uploading your file, try un-checking Include media files

4. The file will be processed and uploaded to Ancestry.com. An Internet window will then open titled Upload Your Family Tree Maker Tree with various options

• Tree Name is a required field. Please type in a name for your tree. It would be best to name your tree using only alpha-numerical characters. Using other characters such as slashes and commas can cause issues loading your tree
• Allow others to see my tree as a public member tree allows you to adjust the privacy of your tree. By default, this box is checked, which means your tree will be a Public tree. If you want your tree to be private, please un-check this box
• Description allows you to type in a description for your tree. This isn’t a required field
• The checkbox labeled I accept the Submission Agreement is required to be checked. If you would like to read the Submission agreement, you can click on it to view that, or also view that by clicking here
• Click the Upload button to finish this process. You’ll then be taken back to your Home page with a screen that says your file is being transferred to Ancestry.com and will be available shortly

Click the Upload button to finish this process. You’ll then be taken back to your Home page with a screen that says your file is being transferred to Ancestry.com and will be available shortly.

Visit the Ancestry.com website for more Questions and Answers relating to Family Tree Maker, and using the Ancestry.com online trees.

[Please note, a portion of this blog post has been copied from the Ancestry.com Help file]

The Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group have agreed to host the meetings at their Salisbury premises. Peter Applebee the President of the group has just sent out advice of their first Family Tree Maker User Group meeting:

… next Saturday the 17th of April is our gathering to attempt to set up a Family Tree Maker User Group here in South Australia. For those that are still interested or are new to this list, we have scheduled a start time of 2.00 pm. But I shall be there from about 1.30pm. I will open the full museum up for those who wish to browse the exhibits while they wait.

The address for the group is The Salisbury TAFE Heritage Centre, (Old Police Station), 3 Ann Street, Salisbury.

If you would like more informtion about the Adelaide Northern Districts Family History Group you can find them on the web or send them an email: andfhg@yahoo.com.au.

It has been mentioned in passing that Salisbury is too far for some people to attend. If  this is the case, and you would like to be involved or host a group in your area, please send an email to Alona at alona@gould.com.au (please include your name and area). Please note, there is no guarantee that any more FTM SA groups will be started, but the more interest we get, the more likely it is to happen.

Gould Genealogy would like to wish ANDFHG all the very best for their first FTM User Group meeting next week.

The steps to follow are:
1. Open your Family Tree Maker program.
2. Click Help > Activate Ancestry Subscription. The Welcome window opens.
3. Click Activate Subscription.
4. Enter the name and email address you use for your Ancestry membership and click Continue.
5. If you have more than one Ancestry account, you will need to choose the account you want to use.
6. Enter the password associated with your Ancestry account and click Continue.
7. Click Finish to complete the activation.

From our feedback there are a few people in Adelaide who would be interested in getting a Family Tree Maker User Group started. While we did have some response from our newsletter entry – it is not enough to warrant starting a group at this stage … so if you would be interested “please do let us know”, otherwise it may not happen.

You can send a email to Alona at alona@gould.com.au, or otherwise phone advising of your interest (08) 8396 1110.

Apart from more interest in a group, it will also need someone who is reasonably familiar with the program to demonstrate it to others. You don’t have to be an expert, just someone that knows their way around it reasonably well. If this is you please contact Alona at the above details.

We would love to see a User Group start up. These are important as you can learn lots about the software and also family history in general from interaction with others who are using the same program.

New South Wales Telephone Directories 1930s: Sydney – DATA CD – $79.50
These four New South Wales Telephone Directories from the 1930s all include the city and surrounding suburb exchanges of Sydney including: the City North, the City South, Ashfield, Castle Hill, Liverpool, Manly, Sutherland and many more.

South Australian Almanac and Directory 1845 (Allen) – DATA CD – $23.50
The Almanac contains a range of useful information on various statistics, Acts, information on the geography of South Australia, together with Justices of the Peace, charges for licences and more. The Adelaide Directory section list names alphabetically by surname, together with their occupation and street address.

Tasmanian Government Gazette 1908 – DATA CD – $47.50
Example entry taken from the 7 January 1908 issue:

• Register of Midwives [please note: only a few entries transcribed here - this does go on for pages]
  No. / Name / Address / How qualified / When Registered
  92 / Ayres, Mary / 32 Bathurst-st., Launceston / 6. – II 1 Edward V11., 24 / May 9 1902
  363 / Allen, Ida Weston / Old Beach / Certificate of British Lying-in Hospital / February 19 1906
  316 / Blyth, Amy T. / St. John-street, Launceston / Certificate of Queens Victoria Hospital, Launceston / December 23 1904
  402 / Benjafield, Winifred / Hastings / Honors Certificate of Queen Victoria Hospital, 28 June, 1906 / August 5 1907

Torrens Valley Historical Journal No. 72 (August 2009) – Book – $8.00
This volume continues on with references from ‘The Mount Barker Courier’ newspaper, which was a weekly paper that came out on Fridays. All references which relate to the area of interest (Torrens Valley region) are noted, with the exception of the District Council reports.

England

The Beautiful and Historic Villages of Yorkshire Illustrated – DATA CD – $25.00
The Beautiful and Historic Villages of Yorkshire Illustrated was published by the ‘Leeds and Yorkshire Mercury’ newspaper. It was a souvenir of a prize competition and correspondence in the pages of the ‘Leeds and Yorkshire Mercury’, published in 1907. It includes topographical and historical notes and over 50 full page photographs. This is a real ‘snapshot’ of Edwardian rural Yorkshire.

Devon Parish Registers: Hemyock 1635-1837 – DATA CD – $25.00
Transcripts of the registers for the parish of Hemyock, covering Baptisms, Marriages and Burials for the period 1635 to 1837. Also contains Bishops’ Transcripts for the years 1602, 1606, 1609, 1610, 1611, 1617, 1625, 1626, 1633 and 1636. Complete with an index of names and places.

Yorkshire Manorial Records: Sheffield c.1384-1660 – DATA CD – $25.00
Hundreds of names are mentioned, in connection with transfer of copyhold land, disputes, crimes etc. Even includes deduced family trees. Complete with a useful index. Essential for family historians with Sheffield and district ancestors.

The History of Parish Registers in England – DATA CD – $24.00
Republished here on fully-searchable CD-ROM, John Southerden Burn’s “The History of Parish Registers in England” presents a thorough critique of the parish registers of England, their origins anomalies and uses and is a must for the contemporary user of parish records in England.

Scotland

The Loyall Dissuasive and Other Papers Concerning the Affairs of Clan Chattan – DATA CD – $34.50
This work centers around Sir AEneas, the events of the period noted – when civil wars raged among the Highland families – and in particular MacPherson and Mackintosh, Farquharson, Fraser, Gordon, Grant, Keith, Leslie, MacDonald, Mackenzie, Maclean, Shaw, and Robertson. The work consists of an abstract of MacPherson’s life, the Loyall Dissuasive itself, and extensive introductions and commentaries, all centered around the question of Jacobitism and the role of these great families.

Bruce Family Records – DATA CD – $34.50
This is a collection of articles relating to the history of the Bruce family.

Historical Account of the Family of Frisel of Fraser – DATA CD – $34.50
The rest of the title describes more: “Historical Account of the Family of Frisel or Fraser, Particularly Fraser of Lovat, Embracing Various Notices, Illustrative of National Customs and Manners, with Original Correspondence of Simon, Lord Lovat”.

Alexander Family Histories – DATA CD – $34.50
A Collection of Materials Relating to the History of the Alexander family. This CD contains three separate books or articles relating to the history of the Alexanders.

Boyd Family Records – DATA CD – $34.50
The “Boyd Family Records” is a collection of articles relating to the Boyd Family compiled together on a CD-ROM. This collection contains four separate articles relating to the history of the Boyd family.

History of the Partition of the Lennox – DATA CD – $34.50
This work is a detailed examination of the complicated genealogical, historical, and legal problems involved with settling the rightful ownership of the Earldom of Lennox, a region also known as the Sheriffdom of Dunbarton.

Small Graveyards Monumental Inscriptions, Dundee – DATA CD – $39.50
This is a collection of monumental inscriptions for four small cemeteries around Dundee: Logie Cemetery, Logie Street; St Peters Churchyard, St Peters Street; St Andrews Churchyard, King Street; and Roodyards Cemetery, Broughty Ferry Road.

History of Clan MacFarlane – DATA CD – $34.50
The Clan MacFarlane is a branch of the ancient Celtic Earls of Lennox, descending from Gilchrist, younger brother of Malduin, Earl of Lennox, who gave him the lands of Arrochar on the western shore of Loch Lomond about 1230. This is an historical and genealogical account of the clan, chief by chief, from Gilchrist down to John, the 22nd chief in the early twentieth century. There is as well a discussion of the main MacFarlane septs, including: McAllan, Arrol, Barclay, MacGreusach, MacInstalker, MacNiter, MacNair, Robb, McWilliam, Weir, MacJock (or Jackson), and MacCondy.

Software & Related Products

The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2010 – T. Pedersen – $37.50
This in-depth guide will help you use Family Tree Maker 2010 to create a family history that you and your family will treasure for years. Start building your tree by entering what you already know. Then follow the author’s step-by-step instructions to locate more information about your ancestors online, add photographs and rich media files, design charts and reports to display and share, and view your ancestral homelands on maps.

The Family Tree Maker 2010 Little Book of Answers: Tips, Tools and Extras – T. Pedersen – $15.00
Whether you want to learn how to create a family health history, discover the best way to enter adopted individuals in your tree, or create custom exported files, the “Little Book of Answers” can help. In quick, easy-to-understand topics, you’ll learn how to adapt Family Tree Maker 2010 to work for you and your unique family. Works as a great companion piece to The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2010.

Scrapbooking

Kaisercraft Duchess Alpha Stickers – Scrapbooking – $6.95
Three pages of antique styled serif letter stickers. Includes uppercase, lowercase and numbers.

Kaisercraft Duchess Die-Cut Elements – Scrapbooking – $3.50
This pack of die-cuts (pre-cut) will be a welcome addition to your family heritage pages. With a total of 22 die-cuts featuring journalling boxes, circles, corner frames, titles boxes, and edgings there’s plenty here for several pages.

Paper Pizazz 8×8 Blue Definitions – Scrapbooking – $0.90
Sold as a single sheet, this page which measures 8″x8″ page (20.5cmx20.5cm) is great if you just wish to create a small page for an individual and family, or use it on a larger 12″x12″ or A4 size page. Pale blue coloured, this paper contains words like reflections, treasure, destiny, mother, legacy, home, memories and more in typewriter font written all over the page. So why not create your own memories.

EK Success Jolees Stickers: Family Tree – Scrapbooking – $8.95
You will love these 3D stickers from EK Success. This Family Tree design is MADE just for the genealogist! The pack contains eleven pieces – a tree with a sign saying “my family”, a cart, and 9 apples each labeled with a family connection (me, sister, brother, dad, aunt, grandma etc.).