I frequently hear individuals talk about how much they like storing all their genealogy information on FamilySearch Family Tree. I cringe when I hear this because I know the value of storing all my information on a desktop program designed for family history. While Family Tree is a great program, it was not designed for us to store EVERYTHING we find as we research our ancestors. Here are a few arguments in favor of a desktop program that I find especially valid.

You need to use the right tool for the job. If your job is searching and finding ancestors, then you need to be organized to do that effectively. It was only a few short years ago that the only tool available to record research was paper! If you have reams of family group sheets, you’ll understand that statement. While I often like a hard copy of some information to study and write on, I find it more helpful to record that information in a desktop program that I keep myself. No one can come in and change that information, like happens at times on Family Tree.

What if you have some sensitive information that you want to record but don’t really want to share on Family Tree? If you are one of the few that has no skeletons in the closet or a family that has never done anything that they wouldn’t want the world to know about, then Family Tree may be where you record your information. But most of us don’t have a perfect family, especially as we venture back in time. Keeping information in your own program allows you to do further research while trying to make sense of your findings. If and when you are ready to share that information, then put it in Family Tree.

One of the things I like about my genealogy program is entering information only once but having the ability to view that information in a variety of ways. I can view my person as a person only, in his family of birth or marriage, part of a tree, etc. I can also create reports that I use to find errors, locate duplicates, merge people, etc. Once you find a duplicate in your own program, then you can move into Family Tree and make corrections if there are any.

Genealogy programs make it easy to share information and files with others who are also researching an individual. You can create GEDCOM files to send to others, and they can send them back with their information. What if the person that is doing research isn’t online? We often make the assumption that others are all online. Remember that older individuals doing research may not have access to the internet. So being able to print the information from your desktop program can be helpful to them. I know I said that we have moved beyond paper but not everyone else has.

Desktop programs allow you to organize your information in a variety of ways. You can group people using certain parameters. I find it helpful to identify those individuals who may have died in Utah during the years that death certificates are available online. That way I can find those death certificates without going through every person in my database. This is a task that I perform occasionally as I add new people to my database.

One of the things that I especially like about my desktop program is that it isn’t changing every time I visit it like some websites. With a desktop program you can stay with an older version that you feel comfortable with. You can control your program. Websites are always finding ways to “improve” their access, but not always in a user-friendly way.

I like having the option to maintain several databases at the same time, especially if I am doing research for others who are not in my personal family. I can also create a “fake” database to use for learning the desktop program or testing features without disturbing my own tree. I can separate my various family lines as I work on them or want to send that information to a branch of my family.

Maintaining your own database is the only way you can insure that information is not being changed. While Family Tree is designed to let everyone contribute, not every one who contributes to Family Tree does so responsibly. I personally want to find and verify my sources and the individuals in my database before I add them to the Tree. That way I can be certain that I have a unique individual who hasn’t been put into the system a dozen times. Family Tree is a great place for beginners. Why? A lot of people begin family history work but don’t always continue. If you are one of those or are working with beginners, then putting info in Family Tree may be just the ticket for them. But as they continue and become more skilled at doing family history work, they will realize that they need more features to help in their research efforts.

It used to be that you would have to spend $20- $30 to buy a desktop program. Several popular programs offer a free version of their genealogy programs. RootsMagic, Ancestral Quest, and Legacy Family Tree all have a freeware version of their programs. These are also available on the desktop at the Family History Center, so you can view the options and even explore what each of them offers. Just remember that the free versions will not have some of the features that the paid versions offer, but they are good, usable programs.

If you haven’t invested in a desktop program, you might want to reconsider doing so. It is well worth the time and effort to find a program that will work best for you. — Liz Kennington