Family Tree software

I have inherited a lot of genealogical material, from 4-5 different branches of the family, with some extending 22-24 generations. I also have a lot of photos (from 1850 forwards), notes and letters.

Ideally I would like to organize this in a database, that could be searched either forward or backwards from any one name, and linked to photos and other material relevant to that person.

When completed, I would like to share with both close and distant relatives, so the number of users could be significant. This means that software licenses for hundreds of users are not attractive.

Does anyone know of any off the shelf software that could be used for this project?

I am a big fan of Geni.

Geni is a free social network, genealogy tool. The neat thing about it is that as you build your family tree backwards, you will find distant relatives who have also inputted genealogical information. Through Geni, I've met 7-8 distant relatives and been able to share some really precious information.

Geni takes some effort to get the hang of (so would any software), but I think it's worthwhile.

We've used geni.com for several years and have been very happy.

I use Ancestry.com ... but it isn't free.

I have a big family tree on Ancestry.com, but have hit a wall trying to find any more information on recent generations, so I'm not going to renew. Is it possible to download the Ancestry tree into geni.com, or do I have to totally recreate it in geni? Thanks.

22 generations, that's astounding.

How much personal information gets published to the world through geni.com?

Steve said:

How much personal information gets published to the world through geni.com?

The profiles of living, non-famous people on Geni are only visible to relatives, who would already know someone's parentage anyway.

So I don't think any private information is revealed to the general public, but a malicious distant cousin could, in theory, learn a birth date, or your mom's or grandmother's maiden name, and use that for identity theft.

To avoid something like this happening, I think you should never use a birthdate or an ancestor's maiden name as a password or security question for any sensitive login. Birthdates and maiden names aren't that private now as it is.

Geni works by being open, since the purpose of Geni is to find distant relatives and then collaborate. So, if you use Geni, I recommend being cautious about using genealogical information for passwords and security questions.

Thanks. But I thought you said it would connect you with distant relatives who had input the same person. Would that relative then have access to your entire dataset? Just trying to understand. Also, is it findable through Google like it is on genealogy.com?

genie.com appears to be an energy site. Anyone know the correct url? Google does not seem to help.Thanks.

Steve said:

Thanks. But I thought you said it would connect you with distant relatives who had input the same person. Would that relative then have access to your entire dataset? Just trying to understand. Also, is it findable through Google like it is on genealogy.com?

Yes, if you and a 4th cousin input the same ancestor - eg, John Ellison, born 1840, died 1899 - Geni will give you a "tree match" and then you can merge your trees.

There is a consanguinity limit for when Geni will let someone see the profile of a living person. It's 4th or 5th cousins.

If the person were within the limit, the person could see all the relatives you share and any deceased person in your tree.

Yes, Geni is findable through Google, that's how I found it!

I randomly Googled my great-grandfather (who was an obscure person) and could not believe that there was a "webpage" about him and other relatives. There was even a webpage about myself that had been created by a third cousin once removed.

If you Google your great-grandparents you may find that there are already Geni profiles of them.

Just a note, Geni is a "fremium" service, but everyone gets a one-time-only two week trial of the premium service. I advise building out your ancestors and getting the hang of Geni before you sign up for the two week trial.

wedjet said:

genie.com appears to be an energy site. Anyone know the correct url? Google does not seem to help.Thanks.

http://www.geni.com/

Steve said:

Thanks. But I thought you said it would connect you with distant relatives who had input the same person. Would that relative then have access to your entire dataset? Just trying to understand. Also, is it findable through Google like it is on genealogy.com?

PS Please be 100% sure that when you are merging profiles that you have people who are really the same person.

You cannot unmerge profiles without getting a Geni Admin's help. It's a hassle.

Runner_Guy said:

Yes, Geni is findable through Google, that's how I found it!

Sorry, I think that I was unclear. As an example, if I google "Steve genealogy.com," you'll find where a relative put me on a family tree and it displays certain information about me. Is Geni like that, too?

Steve said:

Runner_Guy said:

Yes, Geni is findable through Google, that's how I found it!

Sorry, I think that I was unclear. As an example, if I google "Steve genealogy.com," you'll find where a relative put me on a family tree and it displays certain information about me. Is Geni like that, too?

The profiles of living people on Geni are not publicly viewable. A non-relative would not see anything about you.

If your great-great-grandfather's name was "Steven James Lincoln," and you looked him up, Geni might have a profile for him. In that case, you might be able to see where your branch of the family tree should be and then add it.

Getting the hang of Geni takes time, but I think it's worth it.

One wonderful way it connected me to distant relatives was when I visited my gg-grandfather and gg-grandmother's graves and saw someone who had to be a brother of my gg-grandfather.

I'd never heard of the brother before and neither did anyone in my family, but one of his descendants had created a Geni profile of him, which I found.

I then was connected to a branch of my family tree I didn't know existed. I was able to fill them in on some European ancestry of ours and they were able to identify dozens of people in old family photos I had.

Another relative I met on Geni sent me a photo of my ggg-grandfather, which was something I never expected to see.

Steve said:

Runner_Guy said:

Yes, Geni is findable through Google, that's how I found it!

Sorry, I think that I was unclear. As an example, if I google "Steve genealogy.com," you'll find where a relative put me on a family tree and it displays certain information about me. Is Geni like that, too?

This has more information

https://www.geni.com/company/privacy

Runner_Guy said:

wedjet said:

genie.com appears to be an energy site. Anyone know the correct url? Google does not seem to help.Thanks.

http://www.geni.com/

Thanks, duh.

thanks