Created by Julie Goucher – Feb 2020 Using Wordclouds.com

Hi Julie, I enjoyed the online Chat and just read the evening one so have ordered the book mentioned.

I’ve managed to get RootsMagic to work on my Mac – I don’t think it will link to anything online but. For the time being I will use this to start inputting my X records.

So, a question for you please? downloaded a lot from Durham Records Online so want to credit them with the information, is that what I should be doing? I really want to get source information right from the start but am puzzling about how to add the following to RootsMagic.

I have removed the identifying details from this part of the email I received. I have already answered, but though that I would share the response here in case it was of interest.

The majority of software, which includes Roots Magic is that the pre-loaded information is referring to material from the United States. The way I navigated this issue was to use the free text information and created my own information, and in doing so was perhaps vague, but vague for a reason.

Rather than list all the possible records, so there were multiple entries for Parish Records, I record baptisms, marriages and burials as Parish Records and then use the Repository option for any details. The other reason for recording in this way is that some of my research occurred before the internet and therefore I physically went to the archives and look at the actual register or used a microfilm of the register. In some of those cases I paid for copies of entries or the page. In the modern era, we can access material online, the source stays the same, but the medium for the access has changed.

Just recently I was working on something that related to my family in Surrey. I recorded the record like this:

Puttenham, Surrey, England – Parish Records. SHC (Surrey History Centre) PSH/PUT/… accessed via Ancestry 26 March 2020, accessed via the register at Guildford Muniment Room April 1990.

Whilst Ancestry is not a repository in the strict meaning of the word, it is more relevant to record it as that, than as a source. Ancestry (and any of the other providers) do not own the documents, what they have is a license to digitise them and in some cases the license may be revoked or not be renewed and switch to another provider, simply in the course of normal business practice rather than because of anything inappropriate.

I am of the view that I would rather a brief citation than no citation. I have a bit of citation tidying to do, which I hope to achieve later this year. Like with anything, it is always good to reflect on practice and see if a change is required. I wrote earlier about Citations and Sources and you can find those posts HERE