Here are the select set of resources you’ll need to explore your family’s history.
Family Tree Maker makes it easier than ever to discover your family story, preserve your legacy and share your unique heritage. If you're new to family history, you'll appreciate how this intuitive program lets you easily grow your family tree with simple navigation, tree-building tools, and integrated Web searching. If you’re already an expert, you can dive into the more advanced features.
- Note: This article was updated on 1 Jan 2017 to include additional information from Software MacKiev. Less than a year after Software MacKiev acquired the Family Tree Maker (FTM) software from Ancestry.com and promised to improve both the Mac and Continue reading about Family Tree Maker Updates Officially Released Updated 1 Jan 2017.
- If you are looking for Macintosh genealogy software, please see MacGenealogy.org Note: As of June, 2017 – this page is severely outdated, but is in the process of being updated. Mac Genealogy Software.
Start with Software
Your genealogy software is the repository for all the information you discover. It’s the main tool in your genealogy toolbox. Which one you choose will likely depend primarily on whether you use a Windows PC or a Mac.
Already Have Software?
Handy indexes of articles and videos by application are linked below for your convenience:
Still Looking for Software?
I’ve also created a couple of buyer’s guides to help you make a choice between software:
See my recommendations in the following sections.
Genealogy Software for Windows
I recommend RootsMagic 7 and Family Historian. There are many good alternatives though.
- Family Historian
- Family Tree Maker 2017
- Legacy Family Tree
- RootsMagic 7
Genealogy Software for Mac
- Family Tree Maker 2017 for Mac
- GEDitCOM II
- iFamily for Leopard
- MacFamilyTree 8 by Synium
- Reunion 12 by Leister Productions
Get Good Books
Setup Folders on Your Computer
You’ll need places to put archival copies of scanned documents, photos, and other files on your computer. This series of video screencasts will walk you, step-by-step, through setting up a folder system and putting files into it. They’re created on a Mac and take advantage of the powerful alias feature in Mac OS X, but most of the system will work well on Windows too.
Get Information About Your Ancestors
Not all of the information about your relatives is online, so you’ll need to do some sleuthing in the real world. But, there is a wealth of information available online. My advice to you is to consider everything, but only trust it after you prove it. That said, these online databases provide a great source of leads! There’s some overlap between the records on these sites and they each have treasured family history that the others won’t. You can search for free to get an idea which holds the most (and most interesting) genealogy data for your ancestors.
- Fold3.com (Military Records)
- Newspapers.com
- NewspaperARCHIVES.com
- Find out how you are related to the rest of humanity at OneGreatFamily
Mac Os Genealogy Software
There are tons more sites, but I want to keep this concise so that it’s most useful for you.