Mr Ferguson, I appreciated your and Chris response. I rather think it would be too easy sitting around trying to decide the best tool and never build anything. I was interested in your response, as you clearly want to assist me but your message is beyond my comprehension! Not trying to be cheeky - but what does it mean? Norman Thornton -----Original Message----- From: ronfergy.aul via Sent: Sunday, December 7, 2014 3:40 PM To: Christopher Gray ; goons@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [G] Guild Marriage Index Chris, You may not be aware that Legacy is an SQL DB with an Access based front end. Ron Ferguson Sent from my Xperia™ smartphone Christopher Gray via <goons@rootsweb.com> wrote: >Good morning Norman - your stated reason for joining the Guild is not >uncommon - I too joined because I had so much data unrelated to my line of >research. > >Spreadsheets are widely used for gathering data together in a way that can >be readily indexed or cross-referenced - and Excel is a commonly used tool. >There are many, many members who are experienced in using this approach. > >Some use the Custodian tool. This was developed by members of the Guild >specifically for One-Name Studies and is geared towards enabling easy >recording and assimilating seemingly unrelated data from a wide range of >sources. > >Many people use hand-written records and some keep their data in a >word-processor (e.g. Word). Others record it directly onto a web-site >(e.g. >a "blog"). > >Lots of different approaches - the problem many have is finding one that >suits their way of working. Then one needs to recognise that, as one gains >more experience of what it is that one is aiming to do and how one prefers >to do it, then the original choice of tool can be outgrown. I frequently >find that trying to guess what type of tool I may need in the future is >wasting my time and I need to plump for a widely used one I feel >comfortable >with. In my case it was the spreadsheet in Works. I'm now starting to >investigate the use SQLserver with an MSaccess front-end - but Excel is >still my main data holder. > >So - choose what you are comfortable with. > >Chris > >-----Original Message----- >From: goons-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:goons-bounces@rootsweb.com] On >Behalf Of Norman Thornton via >Sent: 06 December 2014 15:18 >To: Paul Howes; goons@rootsweb.com >Subject: Re: [G] Guild Marriage Index > >Hi, I am a new member and was greatly encouraged by Mr Howes' thoughts. The >reason I joined the guild was because of the wealth of extraneous Thornton >data I was collecting as I singlemindly plodded on with my own line of >research. To me it seemed sad there was no way of storing all this valuable >data that had no direct bearing on my research, this seems to mirror some >of >his thoughts. >I am interested in databases and what form they take. > Having hit a brick wall, I decided to continue my own researcher by >indexing all the Thorntons or related name variants in the Old Parish >Records in Scotland. I did it by eye onto a word page and I doubt it could >be readily copied. similarly the related research on all the Thorntons in >the 1851 Census in West Lothian is probably not in an acceptable form for >copying. > I have found some new variants of my name And am contemplating updating >first exercise using Excel to sort the whole data base. I would have >thought >this would be one suitable storage vase, as it is commonly available, and >therefore when superceded [as is the fate of all things it seems], the IT >community will produce a programme to transcribe it into the latest format. > As I am new to the Guild I would be interested in feedback. Norman >Thornton > > > > > _____________________________________________ > >RootsWeb lists - surnames, regions, software, etc >http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >GOONS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes >in the subject and the body of the message _____________________________________________ RootsWeb lists - surnames, regions, software, etc http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GOONS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Good morning Norman, Please forgive us for going "techie". For most people, knowledge of acronyms such as SQL, together with database tools such as Microsoft's Access, are not applicable to their lives or their hobby. What is more important is the tool you choose to use. Ron mentioned "Legacy", which is one of a wide range of tools that can be used to support the management of data pertaining the "family trees". I mentioned Custodian and Excel as two of a number of tools that can also be used in a one-name study. Your comment "I rather think it would be too easy sitting around trying to decide the best tool and never build anything." is spot on. You choose what is best for you today. If you want to bounce ideas around - then this forum is a great place to do so. Chris -----Original Message----- From: goons-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:goons-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Norman Thornton via Sent: 07 December 2014 18:42 To: ronfergy.aul; goons@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [G] Guild Marriage Index Mr Ferguson, I appreciated your and Chris response. I rather think it would be too easy sitting around trying to decide the best tool and never build anything. I was interested in your response, as you clearly want to assist me but your message is beyond my comprehension! Not trying to be cheeky - but what does it mean? Norman Thornton -----Original Message----- From: ronfergy.aul via Sent: Sunday, December 7, 2014 3:40 PM To: Christopher Gray ; goons@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [G] Guild Marriage Index Chris, You may not be aware that Legacy is an SQL DB with an Access based front end. Ron Ferguson