The couples that research together stays together. But should they have
their ancestors in the same database? That’s the focus of today’s video.
Howdy, I am Devon Noel Lee, and you’re watching another episode
of Family History Fanatics. I love to teach you how to build your family tree.
Today, we will address a question posted to a Facebook genealogy group, of which I'm a part.
If I am researching my own ancestors and also those of my wife
is it better to maintain two completely separate RootsMagic databases or combine them?
Many people have weighed in from the RootsMagic user's group regarding what
they do with that genealogy program. However, I want to broaden the scope of the question to
include any genealogy tree-building website and/or genealogy software.
Let’s first discuss the two approaches to tree building in
the genealogy community that address this topic.
Many prominent genealogists prefer to have anyone and everyone in a massive family tree. The theory,
as best as I understand it, is that the “One Tree to Rule Them All.”
And that will help you see when people are linked together that you had not expected.
Plus, it keeps you focused rather than fragmented. And
some researchers say you’re not doing double the work.
By contrast, Targeted Family Trees segment sections of a family tree.
In this way, a researcher works on a specific research question,
a specific location, specific surnames, or their side of the family versus their spouses’ lines.
These researchers avoid being distracted by tree hints in other trees or individuals
they are not interested in researching on that platform.
Additionally, some researchers work with other researchers on a small tree.
By having separate trees, these researchers collaborate
on only the portions of the tree
that they share a common concern.
Both genealogical approaches have their merits and deficiencies.
Only you and your spouse, if you’re researching together
(or you for your spouse’s tree)
can decide which one will work best.
Except for collaborative family trees such as FamilySearch, WikiTree, and Geni,
you can have separate or shared trees in the programs you see on the screen.
Here are some things to consider when deciding with your spouse
whether to have one or separate trees.
If you’re doing the research for your spouse, then maybe these will apply.
But take a watch and then tell me what you decide at the end.
Some genealogists believe that if you have children, you should definitely create one
tree because it will be much easier for your offspring to manage later.
However, the age of your children and how many years you may have left to
research will impact your decisions. For example, Andy and I are in our
mid-40s. We have children at home involved in sports, band, and academic pursuits.
Another child is on a mission. Our eldest is working entry-level jobs and in college.
In short, we have children, but they are not ready to take on the roles of genealogists for
our family. We can, and do, keep separate trees in our Ancestry accounts and all those programs I
said before. Although, I only also use genealogy software. Andy builds his family tree projects
online and in spreadsheets for his DNA analysis. By contrast, when my mother passed away,
her genealogy research came to me. She had combined the lines with my father and hers
into one tree. Since I was a married adult, the one tree for mom’s research made sense.
In short, consider your age and the stage of life your children are in
before deciding whether to combine or keep your personal trees separate.
In a previous video, I discussed how you could color-code portions of your family tree
using RootsMagic. You can also color-code your family tree using Family Tree Maker.
Some researchers have found that by using color-coded names, they can
share a family tree with their spouse. However, if you and your spouse can not
agree to your color coding system, it might be best to separate your trees.
Additionally, if you do not have enough colors to show your spouses line and your line,
you might want to do separate trees.
Are You and Your Spouse from One Location?
If you are, it would make sense to make one database.
It’s possible you will discover you have pedigree collapse or endogamy in your family tree.
Thus, a combined family tree helps you see how interrelated your ancestors are.
However, my husband and I do not share ancestors or cousins in common back
to our 6th generation. Since we focus our active research in this time frame,
we can keep separate databases without missing possible intersections.
However, since we have our ancestral lines on collaborative family tree platforms like
WikiTree and FamilySearch, we can find any connection outside of our active research there.
The next topic pertains to efficiency in genealogy research.
As some of you may know, I am always looking for ways to be a more efficient researcher.
Hence, the release of the video about the Goldie May Research Log being the best tool ever!
One time-consuming research task is creating source citations.
Some researchers assert that their combined family tree reduces source citation efforts.
If you have watched my video about creating citations,
you have learned about the many ways we can be more efficient with our citations.
However, the ‘one tree’ advocates do have a point
about combining their family tree to reduce citation work.
If you’re using citation templates or copies of previously created free-form templates,
you could save time by not creating these sources again and again.
However, if your and your spouse research in very different locations,
you will likely not have much overlap in citations.
Thus the potential for saving time is negligible.
One RootsMagic user said that when her tree exceeded
35,000 persons, the database was too cumbersome to work with.
I would have to agree.
I advocate creating smaller research trees to tackle your active research projects,
particularly brick walls.
If you find yourself going down rabbit trails,
it’s likely the result of having too many people clamoring for your attention.
One other thing I have found is transferring databases, and cleaning up facts, sources,
and locations are more manageable when you’re working with a smaller tree.
As I mentioned earlier, the couple that researches together, stays together.
However, do you and your spouse research in the same way?
Off-camera, Andy and I have had many discussions about different research approaches.
Some discussions get very heated.
We both agree on the need to support our research with evidence.
However, that’s where many of our agreements end.
For instance, cleaning up place names is a constant obsession of mine.
This is why I created a playlist about fixing locations in your Ancestry,
FamilySearch, Family Tree Maker, and RootsMagic family trees.
And do not get me started on our citation differences!
There’s a reason I made a video entitled
“Genealogy Source Citations Made Easy for Those Who Dislike Them.“
Since we have such different genealogy research styles, it’s better that we
keep our family trees separate. In the future, our children
(or I most likely) will have to combine our trees and resolve these differences.
But for now, we are more at peace with separate trees.
One final thing to consider is whether you and your spouse share genealogy subscriptions.
If you are sharing a subscription and there is a cap on the size one family tree can be,
then you might want to have separate trees.
Or, if you and your spouse don’t want to be bothered
with tree hints for “their side” of the family, have separate accounts.
However, if you don’t have a tree size limit or you both work out a solution
to the consistency place names, sources, and tree hints, then have a shared tree.
Andy and I are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
One benefit of membership for genealogists is we can each have separate access to
Findmypast, Ancestry, and MyHeritage to build our family trees.
As such, we don’t need to have the other spouses’ tree data in our account.
So, which is Right For You?
There is no genealogy standard for which tree-building strategy is
right for couples. Before making your decision, I hope you have some things
to consider and get a little insight into the people behind Family History Fanatics.
Remember, it’s your and your spouse’s decision or your decision for the different lines you work on,
not someone crazy person on the internet.
However, I would LOVE to know what you have decided. Let me know in the comments section.
Like this video and leave a comment. Your feedback
is important to keep Family History Fanatics on YouTube.