Scott_J on Family Tree Circles
Journals and Posts
Family Bee: Genealogy App for Android phones
How many times have you been out visiting family and end up in a discussion about your family tree? It doesn't take too many generations back for the details of who's who to become fuzzy and if you're like my family, you end up spending more time trying to recreate the tree in your heads than having some more productive discussion around family history.
In any case, I like to have my family research with me wherever I am as I never know when I'll need it.
iPhone owners have been blessed with a plethora of GEDCOM-viewing apps that have been available for years now.
Though if you've got an Android-based smartphone (like the Motorola Droid or the Google Nexus One) and have been feeling left out, there's now a nifty application available that allows you to store and view one or more GEDCOM files, called Family Bee, available from Beekeeper Labs.
Family Bee is a simple GEDCOM viewer (not editor), which means you can store your GEDCOM file(s) in your Android phone and view any of the people in your tree in many different ways (more on that below). But you cannot edit and make changes. This is fine with me, as I'd prefer to be able to carefully make edits to my family tree information at the comfort of my computer keyboard.
Set up
After purchasing it from the Android Marketplace and installing it, you're prompted with three ways to import your GEDCOM file:
- Download directly from the web
- Email as an attachment
- Copy from the computer via USB
I chose the third option as it seemed the simplest, and it was. I copied my largest (and most bloated with inaccuracies) GEDCOM file downloaded fresh from Ancestry.com into the /familybee folder on my phone's SD card.
?
Once this was done, Family Bee quickly loaded the file and displayed the list of people in my tree.
Using Family Bee
The first thing you see when loading Family Bee is a list of people in the GEDCOM. You can scroll through this list or search. Here I searched for the name SLADE.
Once you choose a person, here Coralinn SLADE, you're presented with the Family View.
Next you can drill down to the details on a specific person in the Detail View
And finally you can get in to the very specific details on any record such as Residence data, birth, death, etc. Virtually all information included in the GEDCOM source and notes fields are accessible.
And for any person, you can view their list of descendants, here switching to someone way back with a big list, Abigail ADAMS.
Switching to Tree View, you can navigate the entire tree by touching each box. Touching boxes on the right will move the tree to the right. Touching a box on the left will prompt you with a list of children to choose from.
Family Bee should with with any Android phone. I scrolled through the comments in the marketplace and didn't see any major issues with specific phones. It currently has a 4.5 star rating and virtually nothing but great reviews.
All in all, this is a very function GEDCOM viewer for the Android OS, and well worth the $10 price tag to always have my family tree in my pocket.
Family Tree Circles Update. And Your Input Needed!
Hi All.
Here's an update on what's been going on beyond the recent spam updates...
Mobile Usability
I've been doing a lot of work to make the site more mobile friendly. There are a full 40% of visitors using a phone or tablet and the site is much more usable. It was pretty well impossible to browse FamilyTreeCircles effectively on a phone before, but not any more. Take a look next time you're browsing on your phone.
This basically means more new members.
More Improvements
Now that we've got those boring but necessary things out of the way I'm now entering a phase of development and looking forward to improving the website. There are two major areas of improvement that I'm considering equally: 1. getting new people involved, and 2. making life better for the people who are already here and using the site on a daily basis.
I would love to hear your ideas for both.
Is there anything you think we could do to bring in more researchers? New features or sections? Can I organize information in a different way than we do currently, which is primarily by surname currently.
And what can I do to make your life easier? Whether you're managing a lot of journals, or trying to stay on top of the latest posts and comments, or doing something unique that I'm not even aware of...how can I make it better for you?
I'd love to see a conversation here about that.
Family Tree Circles Updates
Hello All.
I've just posted some updates to Family Tree Circles, that I hope will start us on the road to making this a better place for everybody. Here's what I've done...
The Family Tree Circles points system has been removed. I believe it has been broken for a long time, but in any case, the feedback that I've been getting is that it is encouraging a quantity over quality approach for some. I originally put that in place to recognize the top contributors, and I think it did serve a purpose for many years. It seems it is time to move on from that model. Instead, I do plan on doing some sort of user scoring/reputation system going forward. More on that in a bit.
Block/Unblock Users: A a sort of pressure relief valve, I've implemented a "block user" feature. This will hide journals for any blocked user in the places where journals are listed. You can still view individual journals or the profile of a blocked user. And you can always unblock a user from your own profile.
To block a user, click the "block this user" link in the bio section of a journal or that user's profile.
To unblock a user, you can click that link again (it'll change to "unblock"). Or you can view all the blocked users in your profile and unblock them from there:
Yes, you can block yourself. :-)
I don't love having to add this last feature, but it'll be interesting to see if it gets used.
What's next?
I know that neither of these solutions solve the difficult problem of someone flooding the active journal page with many posts, or lots of comments on their own posts. You can clean up the view for yourself with blocking, but most people won't do that and the flooding can continue. This is a difficult one to solve because some people who post great stuff may also post a several journals in a row. So, simply putting basic flood control in (ilke to limit posts to a certain number per hour) would hurt users who don't deserve it.
As I indicated above, I plan to implement an algorithmic scoring/reputation system that will take peer feedback into consideration when deciding which journals will be displayed in the journals lists.
Many of you have surely noticed back in the spring that I introduced "Thank" and "flag" links on journals. To those of you who have been using those, thanks. I'll be using that information in a future update.
In the meantime, I hope these two short-term changes help some.
Family Tree Circles Weekly Recap
This email went out the the Family Tree Circles mail list last night. If you didn't get it and would like to be on that list, click here to sign up for the list.
========
Hi
It's been a busy week on Family Tree Circles. We had dozens of old friends come back after the last newsletter. Thank you! Each week, I'll be providing a recap of what happened here in a newsletter, and on social media.
Weekly Recap
This past week on Family Tree Circles, we had 24 new posts, 63 new comments, and 65 new users.
The posts in the past week also had the following surnames. Are there any you've got information on?
This isn't the full list of surnames as people don't always fill them in. This is a great reason to do that in your posts!
You can see the full recap of the prior week's activity here, including all the posts and comments:
Family Tree Circles Weekly Recap
Please come see if you can help someone out!
New Feature: Surnames
We've always had surname pages on Family Tree Circles, but we've beefed it up with over 150,000 surname pages based on surnames from the 2010 US Census. Of course there are peple interested in lots of countries other than the US, but the US Census is the only on that I know of that has provided a full list of surnames gathered. I'd love to learn of other countries that provide this!
See it here: Surnames on Family Tree Circles
Adopt a Surname
Did you know that you can help edit the surname pages? If you've earned enough points through activity on Family Tree Circles, you can edit the surname pages to add information about any surnames you have knowledge about. The more information we have, the better our resource will be for everyone.
Just go to a surname page, and below the blue section, there's a link to edit the surname. If you don't have access to a surname you'd like to edit, please contact me and let me know. You can reply to this email or send a message to Scott_J on the site.
Happy Holidays!
Finally, I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever you and your family celebrate this time of year. I have a lot to be thankful for, not least of which is a great community on Family Tree Circles. Thank you for being a part of it. We'll see you one more time before the new year!
Best,
Scott
Family Tree Circles
FamilyTreeCircles Newsletter 16 Sept 2012
This week I’m realizing that we are approaching some big FamilyTreeCircles milestones. We’ll soon be at 100,000 members, and 50,000 journals. We should reach those levels by the end of 2012.
And that’s not even considering the 28,000 comments and 27,000 private messages that flow through FamilyTreeCircles. Wow.
In this newsletter, I’d like to acknowledge the people who give so much to the FamilyTreeCircles community. Thanks to everyone who not only posts journals but are also so very welcoming and helpful to other members.
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy
Last week’s writing prompt was a tough one, and we only had a few takers. See here for the recap of week 37.
|
Genealogy Abundance, Week 37: State Archives
via: www.familytreecircles.com |
This week promises to be a lot more fun.
Week 38: Funny Ancestor Stories. Tell us a funny ancestor story that stands out in your mind. When did you first hear the story? Do other family members tell different versions? Does this tale play a large part in your family tree?
Create a journal and write about this week’s topic.
See here for more information.
|
Genealogy Abundance, Week 38: Funny Ancestor Stories
via: www.familytreecircles.com |
FamilyTreeCircles Highlights
FamilyTreeCircles member Kerbent has an interesting mystery that she has written up in these two posts. She’s developed some interesting theories and I’d love for some experienced genealogists to give her some help on these. If you could lend a hand, please do. I’ll feature any developments in a future newsletter.
|
Two Mary Ebbotts help need to disentangle them
There are two Mary Ebbotts in the 1841 Census, and both are living with relations. I have managed to solve the identity of one of them but the other who must somehow be related is a complete mystery to me…via: www.familytreecircles.com |
|
Developing a working theory to reconcile the Mystery of the two Mary Ebbotts
Mary Ferrett is my fourth great-grandmother she married Philip Upton Ebbott in 1804, in Trenglos, Cornwall thus becoming Mary Ebbott. As explained in a previous post entitled Two Mary Ebbotts help need to disentangle them I have been trying to distinguish which of the two Mary Ebbotts that appeared in the 1841 was my ancestor. To recap…via: www.familytreecircles.com |
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you on FamilyTreeCircles.
Best,
Scott
p.s. As always, your likes on our Facebook page is always appreciated. We’ve grown to over 2000 fans. Like us here: FamilyTreeCircles on Facebook
FamilyTreeCircles.com as Cousin Bait
Note: This was originally posted on the FamilyTreeCircles blog over a year ago. As I'm pulling that content into the new FTC blog, I've been post-dating them. But this one I think is worth reading again, so I'm setting the dates to today.
Catching up on my blog-reading, I came across Randy Seaver's post about "cousin bait".
Here's his overview...
Greta Koehl used the term "Cousin Bait" last month in her post Online Trees about the purpose of posting online family tree data. At least, that was the first use of the term I've seen published - an excellent term! Her point was that putting a family tree online in a database or on a web page may help induce distant cousins, who share your ancestry, into contacting you and perhaps provide more information about the common ancestral families.
While I've also never thought of it as "cousin bait", this is exactly what I had in mind when I created FamilyTreeCircles.com.
I've always described the concept as "casting a net" for other family tree researchers to find your posts, and then connect via FamilyTreeCircles.com.
And it's true that you can set some very effective bait with some simple posts on FamilyTreeCircles.com.
I wish Randy's example produced a FamilyTreeCircles.com result, but alas. Let's take a look at some recent posts and how they rank on Google.
Starting with the most recent FamilyTreeCircles.com journal, William SPINLEY + Emily WILHAM - Auckland 1800s, posted about an hour prior to writing this blog post.
A Google search for [William Spinley] produces a number one search result on Google just an hour after it was posted...
Here's another example of a more popular search result, [white family dna], 17MM results.
The author of this entry about a White family DNA project posted it here on FamilyTreeCircles as well as on Genforum at about the same time.
Her FamilyTreeCircles post is #3 on Google.com. The Genforum post is at #6. While not all posts make it to the first page of Google's results, both are a very effective way of getting some search engine exposure of your genealogy work.
If you're not doing so already, you should consider adding FamilyTreeCircles.com to your toolbox for getting your "cousin bait" out there on the search engine result pages.
Genealogy Abundance Week 40: Wild Card
Week 40: Wild Card. Is there something for which you are thankful that has not been discussed yet? Share your genealogical abundance on a personal level. How does this person/item/group/memory or other entity impact your family history?
Write a journal on FamilyTreeCircles about something you’re thankful for.
http://www.familytreecircles.com/ejournal.php
When you do, please put “[52 Weeks]” in the journal title somewhere so I can be sure to see it and feature it right here in this post. (I’m switching to a standard thing to put in the title, which will make it easier).
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy created by?Amy Coffin?is a series of weekly blogging prompts courtesy of?GeneaBloggers?for genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more.
Genealogy Abundance, Week 37: State Archives
Here’s this week’s challenge:
Week 37: State Archives Which state (or federal or government) archives repository is your favorite? Have you been there in person? What does their website offer to visitors? Share any advice you can to potential visitors who may visit the archives in the future.
Write a journal on FamilyTreeCircles about your favorite state archive.
http://www.familytreecircles.com/ejournal.php
When you do, please put “State Archives” in the journal title somewhere so I can be sure to see it and feature it in this week’s FamilyTreeCircles blog post about it.
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy created by?Amy Coffin?is a series of weekly blogging prompts courtesy of?GeneaBloggers?for genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more.
This week’s journals
|
Indiana State Archives for Perry County, Indiana, USA :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
State Archives hold a multitude of mysteries and answers to many of a genealogier’ questions; but local county ones do, also. In this journal update, I want to tell about the amazing genealogical library in the Tell City, Indiana, USA,library and the curator of the genealogy/history library – Evelyn Lasley. In 2009, my youngest grandson and I were returning from Louisville, Kentucky, and since we were on no strict time schedule, I decided to return thru Southern Indiana, and visit my sister, S…via: www.familytreecircles.com |
|
STATE ARCHIVES – New Zealand :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
this week’s ‘Abundant Genealogy’ topic is STATE ARCHIVES ... HOWEVER for New Zealand we will call it REGIONAL ARCHIVES ... New Zealand is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses, the North and South Islands and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New…via: www.familytreecircles.com |
Genealogy Abundance, Week 38: Funny Ancestor Stories
This week’s writing prompt should be a lot more fun than last week’s dry topic of state archives. Thanks to the few of you who mustered up journals on that.
Week 38: Funny Ancestor Stories. Tell us a funny ancestor story that stands out in your mind. When did you first hear the story? Do other family members tell different versions? Does this tale play a large part in your family tree?
Write a journal on FamilyTreeCircles about your favorite state archive.
http://www.familytreecircles.com/ejournal.php
When you do, please put “Funny Ancestor Stories” in the journal title somewhere so I can be sure to see it and feature it in this week’s FamilyTreeCircles blog post about it.
“Funny Ancestor Stories” Journals From FamilyTreeCircles Members
|
FUNNY ANCESTOR STORY :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
Great Uncle Bill was born in Ireland in the late 1800s He arrived in New Zealand about 1920 with a number of his siblings and they established themselves in various parts of NZ Most of them settled near Wellington but great uncle Bill stayed in Christchurch so in all my life I think I only met him half a dozen times The first time I met him he gave me 2/- (20 cents) so he was forever embedded in my mind!! I loved him. He was very quiet. Tall and thin, he would bend right down to talk to me ...via: www.familytreecircles.com |
|
Funny family stories :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
My grandfather was born in 1878 and lived to be 106. As I was growing up he would sit with me on the porch or in front of the fireplace and tell me stories of the Civil War. I was in Junior High before I realized that Grandpa Eubanks had not actually ‘lived’ those stories, they were ones he had been told by uncles and other members of the family. The best one was about his father and grandfather burying all the family valuables and money under a big rock shaped like a frog out in the pasture. Wh…via: www.familytreecircles.com |
|
More Whoppers Families Tell You :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
Just reading about Sue Graham’s post regarding the whoppers families tell brought to mind a whopper in our family. I really can’t mention names, because I am sworn to secrecy. But a certain person’s great grandmother was so secretive about her age that she went so far as to cut up her marriage certificate and hide the pieces inside her handbag, never ever leaving the bag out of her sight. No ammount of pleading or trickery would loosen her lips as to her age. Then on the 7 September i…via: www.familytreecircles.com |
|
Funny Ancestor Story: James Kinsey Brown :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
When my Great, Great Grandfather, James Kinsey Brown, returned from fighting in the Civil War, he married and had four daughters. He named them Annie ATLANTA, CAROLINE Jane, Fannie MISSOURI, and Sally VIRGINIA for wars he fought in.via: www.familytreecircles.com |
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy created by?Amy Coffin?is a series of weekly blogging prompts courtesy of?GeneaBloggers?for genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more.
Genealogy Abundance, Week 39: Society Journal or Quarterly
Week 39: Society Journal or Quarterly. Share with us your favorite genealogy society journal or quarterly publication. How long have you been reading it? Which group publishes it? Why is this publication one of your favorites? How has is helped you research your family history?
Write a journal on FamilyTreeCircles about your favorite genealogy society journal or quarterly publication.
http://www.familytreecircles.com/ejournal.php
When you do, please put “Genealogy Society Journal” in the journal title somewhere so I can be sure to see it and feature it right here in this post!
(Mine is the Mayflower Quarterly)
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy created by?Amy Coffin?is a series of weekly blogging prompts courtesy of?GeneaBloggers?for genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more.
