Family Tree Software - Do I Need It?

It sounds in #19 that Chimp was writing about Brother's Keeper!! I suspect most genealogy programmes do more or less the same thing. I keep my "To Do" list in my notebook and have never used that function in BK.

As for adding a sibling where you don't know the parent -- you can't, at least not in Brother's Keeper anyway. To do that I create a false parent (say Mr Smith) for John Smith's father then add his sibling Peter Smith. At some point you will discover the Smith brothers' father's name and you can change Mr Smith's name when you find it.

I hope this helps.
Malcolm Webb
Lincoln UK

 

The problem I currently have with BK was that one 1st cousin 3x removed of mine was illegitimate, and her mother met and married someone else twenty-four years later - BK won't have it that this chap isn't her father. Maybe it knows something unknown to me and the registrar! As soon as I attach a husband for my gg-grand aunt, it happily switches it from 'unknown' to the new husband's name.

BK does come with a manual. Perhaps I need to read it properly. Other than that, I do find BK very user-friendly. I write lots of notes to myself on it, too.

 

I use My Heritage, too, and have done for some time. It is very easy to use

 

If you have the child attached to the mother (initially without a father) and then add a husband for the mother later you then have mother, husband and child as one happy family group of mother, father and child. What you need to do is add the child's father as unknown then add later husband as a second spouse. When you add a second spouse, BK asks if you want to change the name of the unknown spouse. Just say no and it will add the new chap as a second husband not attached to the child.

I hope this helps,
Malcolm Webb
Lincoln UK

 

Ahh, thank you, Malcolm! I knew you'd have the answer. Very simple when explained.