Excerpted from Dick Eastman's online genealogy newsletter -- longish version: Last spring the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched their new FamilySearch site at http://www.familysearch.org. This has become one of the most popular sites on the Internet; millions of people have searched the site's online databases since it opened. The same site also offered another feature of note: the capability to send GEDCOM files of your ancestry to the site. Genealogy files submitted by private individuals to the FamilySearch Internet site are preserved at the Granite Mountain Records Vault, located near Salt Lake City, Utah. Genealogy data submitted via this method is also preserved in FamilySearch databases that are now becoming publicly available on compact disc. They will also be available on the Web site at some time in the future. .... The Pedigree Resource File set contains over six million family history records submitted by individuals through the FamilySearch(r) Internet Genealogy Service. Family information is organized in family groups and pedigrees, similar to how it is displayed in Ancestral File(tm). However, the Pedigree Resource File displays each submitter's information exactly as it was submitted, not combined with information from other submitters, as is done in Ancestral File. Notes and sources are also displayed. This set includes discs 1 - 5 and a master index. .... Navigating around the database is easy. .... The same software also displays Family Group Sheets, a structured report of a man, a woman, their parents and their children. You can click on any individual listed to quickly see that person's data. A wide variety of printed reports are available, including pedigree charts, ancestor charts, ahnentafel lists (a listing of ancestors), family group sheets, Register-format reports (similar to a common format used in many printed genealogy books) and even fan charts. The same software will export GEDCOM files that can be directly imported into almost any genealogy program. In fact, the CD-ROM software looks for a copy of Personal Ancestral File version 4.0, if installed, and directly launches that. However, the GEDCOM files work well with other genealogy programs, too. I feel that I have to express several warnings about the use of these CD-ROM disks: Like all other collections of data submitted by thousands of different individuals, there is no guaranty of accuracy or of the quality of the research. The information is presented "as is" and the viewer must verify each "fact" by other means. Many of the people who submitted this information are highly qualified and highly-motivated genealogy researchers. However, others are not. Some of the submitters may simply have recorded hearsay data or may have guessed at some of the information contained. Others simply copied erroneous data they found in books, thereby perpetuating older mistakes. ....The records that I found on the Pedigree resource often included extensive notes and sources that I can double-check. However, other records were presented with no accompanying documentation as to the source of the information. Would I use this data? You bet I would! But I would use each eference as a possible clue, not as a proven fact. In short, the information found on these disks should be considered as clues of possible ancestors. Every "fact" that I obtain from these disks will be verified by me before I enter any of the information into my primary personal database. Also, for many of the same reasons listed above, never directly import this data into your primary genealogy database. You don't want someone else's possibly inaccurate data to be intermixed with your own hard work. Almost all genealogy programs have the capability to create a second, empty database. Use that. First, make a backup of your existing database. Then create a second, empty database. Import the data obtained from the Pedigree Resource File into that second database. After you have verified this newly obtained data, you can transfer the records to your primary database. You can transfer the data, one individual at a time or in groups, as appropriate. But you certainly do not want to insert unproven data. Even with these caveats, I must say that these CD-ROM disks are excellent genealogy research tools. They allow you to easily obtain the results of thousands of hours of research work done by other genealogists. A careful examination of this data may well result in your finding previously unknown ancestors. The use of CD-ROM disks is faster than doing online searches. I like to use both online and CD-ROM databases. Now, are you ready for the best part? The price of each Pedigree Resource File disk is $5.00. That's right, five greenbacks. As if that price wasn't cheap enough, the collection of the first five disks plus the Master Index CD-ROM disk only costs $15.00. Six CD- ROM disks for $15.00, not a bad price! You may have to pay a bit extra for taxes and shipping. Considering the combination of millions of records and high-quality software to manipulate and report that data, the price of these CD-ROM disks is a bargain! To order the Pedigree Resource File CD-ROM disks, go to: http://www.familysearch.org and click on "Order Family History Resources." ############### Please note that you have to register before you can order. The complete set he discusses is the last item on the list on page 3. The site was pretty busy today and timed out a couple times before I got in. I have several of the other databases that are on the list including the Vital Records Index for North America and the British Isles. These are actual records, not contributions. I also have the Source Guide which contains a wealth of basic information. All are very inexpensive. Cheryl Rothwell clrothwell@mindspring.com