Free Download: Personal Ancestral File 5.2

You now have sufficient information to begin using a family history database so that you can
stay organized and not become overrun with paper. Personal Ancestral File 5.2 or PAF 5.2 for short is the best free database available. You can find 100% quality support in learning to use it. DOWNLOAD HERE.

You will be able to enter the names of your family, both living and deceased. You will be able to add your findings and document sources. With this program, you can print Pedigree Charts and Family Group Sheets with photographs. PAF will create books and slide shows. The greatest benefit to using this program will be that it will help you determine what information you have and what is missing without sifting through piles of paper.

It is a relatively easy program to learn and you can share you file with family members easily.

If you feel so inclined, you may visit the following site and take free tutorials on the features you are most interested in learning to use: CLICK HERE.

From the menu on the left on the site above, PAF Tutorial, you can view demos. You may want to first watch a demo on how to download and install the program. Then you may want to see demos on how to create a new file and how to add individuals.
Each demo is interactive.

I have found some family historians who shy away from using computer software to organize their findings. This is a grave mistake. PAF and other databases like it help to create the visuals which are needed to help direct you in your search. Without this form of organization, you will soon be too overwhelmed with your findings to sort out important details and leads, and it will be just as difficult for any on else who tries to help you. Family history research is a science, and we should treat it as such. Could you imagine a microbiologist refusing to use a microscope? Silly right? Well, so is the family historian who tries to keep all the facts in his head or in folders, refusing to computerize!

I do not want to sound harsh here. I have been there myself. After all the boxes and filing papers only to find several duplicate copies of the same information that I was just thrilled to rediscover each time, I became more disciplined. I found myself having greater focus and more success in less time. So do not be afraid to learn something new. Take the time now. We will wait while you begin. Each time you discover something new, stop then to record it.

We are on the road to discovering an arsenal of information. Each piece of the puzzle will bring into full view a little more about a person who is anxious to be discovered by you!

The Family Group Sheet: Your Secret Weapon

One of the least understood tools is The Family Group Sheet. You should generate two Family Group Sheets for the person whom you are researching. We will attempt to explain here why this is your secret weapon in breaking down "brick walls." The term "brick wall" is used to refer to what it feels like you have to pass through to uncover resources on you ancestor.

If you would like to print out a Family Group Sheet to refer to, CLICK HERE.
Fill out one Family Group Sheet with your ancestor as a child. Fill out another Family Group Sheet with you ancestor as a parent, if this applies. You should make your best attempt to fill out both sheets completely with spouses, siblings, parents, children, events, and places.

The number one mistake of many whom I have assisted is that they do not trace spouses, siblings, parents, and children. They run out of resources and get stuck in their research for many years. When they gain the courage to begin anew, I always request to have them produce a Pedigree Chart and Family Group Sheet. We will proceed to identify resources which may document the lives of the entire family. If you take the time to complete this step in the process that we are unveiling, you will be happy in the long run.

This is one of the least understood principles: You will have greater success if you will become familiar with the family as a whole. They lived together, interacted with one another,
and appear together in public documents that were generated in their lifetime. Many times when records are indexed, such as land records and wills, you will not find your ancestor's named indexed. The record may be indexed under the name of another relative. When you look at the actual document, you ancestor is named, along with other members of the family group. At times, you will need to search different documents indexed under other family member's names. You may end up searching for the previous generation using a sibling or cousin of your ancestor because your ancestor my not have sufficient resources.

The Family Group Sheet is also most beneficial because it helps you to narrow your search down to the specific time period and place(s) your ancestor lived. This becomes vital information when you discover that even though your ancestor never moved, county boundaries changed and you are having to search holdings in more than one district.

This all may sound confusing. Do not worry. We are building this bridge one step at a time. You can go your own pace here. Just get those Family Group Sheets filled out, and we will take it from there.