Some people eat, sleep and chew gum, I do genealogy and write...

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Ask the Ancestors -- a new genealogical social media program


AsktheAncestors.com is a new free genealogical social networking program. The program is explained as follows:
Ask The Ancestors offers 2 free services;
  • Full access to our Surname social media community for surnames.
  • We currently have a separate community page for over 11,000 family surnames. If your surname is not in the database you can create on in less than 30 seconds.
  • Once you have joined and found your surname page or created a new one you can post content to the community from your page.
  • Post photos of your ancestors.
  • Ask the community for information on your ancestors or family.
  • Ask the community for help in tracing family who may have moved to another country. 
In fact the community is there to help you on any aspect of your own family history.
The effectiveness of any social networking program depends on the number of people involved. Personally, I'm not particularly interested in a "surname" based system. My surname, Tanner, is rather common in only a small percentage of the people with that surname in the United States are related.

In this case, AsktheAncestors.com also allows you to upload a GEDCOM file of your family tree. Here is a description from the website about the family tree program.
You will also have access to a free family tree template to create your own family tree on line. 
There is no limit to the number of names you can have in your tree and if, in fact, you do have a GEDCOM family tree file you can upload this via the upload button in the top menu bar and store it with Ask The Ancestors at no annual charge. 
Once you have joined: select Family tree from the top menu bar and a blank tree will appear. Every time the tree page will show 4 levels
Level 3: My great parents
Level 2: My parents
Level 1: Me and my spouse
Level 0: My children 
Click on "Edit" button, the page will show the details of the selected member. You can edit and save the information. 
You can also access your personal family tree by going to “community” in the top menu bar and then when community displays select Family tree.
 This type of program may have benefits for those with relatively unique surnames.

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