Ability to import a Gedcom file for a Family Finder Project

[Wing_Genealogis]

I have put in a request to create a Family Finder project for the descendants of a couple married in 1816. The family has been having annual reunions since 1892 and we have extensively mapped out the descendants, their spouses and the ancestry of the spouses to show how descendants are related in multiple ways (besides just their common descent from the original couple).

All of this information is currently hosted on another genealogy web site, but I wish to create a Gedcom export of this tree and import it to the new project (assuming the project will be granted).

I do not want to have to add all of this information in by hand and do not want it tied to my individual DNA kit.

Is it possible to allow such a Gedcom import into a Family Finder project?

[John McCoy]

The idea of including a large GEDCOM file on a FTDNA web site does not sound like a good idea to me. FTDNA does not have a good enough way of displaying that kind of data. I think what you really want is a combination of software and a web site where the full contents of you genealogical database can be displayed in a way that includes everything: individual data in a format similar to the standard family group sheet, pedigree information tied to each individual, all names, dates, research notes, and sources, and indexes. In this way, you will end up with an on-line database that can be used in a variety of ways depending on the needs of your project. You or a designee would host the off-line version of the database, make updates as needed, and periodically publish the revised database to your web site.

The basic software requirements are: (1) A good basic personal genealogy program that can generate a GEDCOM file without peculiar alterations, glitches, or oddities -- I use Brother's Keeper, but there are many other possibilities. (2) Software to generate HTML pages in a format you like, from your GEDCOM file -- I still use a customized version of the old GED2HTML program, but I believe some newer personal genealogy programs already include this capability. (3) File transfer software for efficiently uploading the HTML pages to... (4) A web site where the HTML pages can be hosted, and to which your FTDNA project will link.

I've been publishing my own genealogy and additional research related to my World GenWeb project for many years. Having my detailed notes available on the internet has turned out to be a big help for my own research and a great way to encourage collaboration with other researchers.

[Wing_Genealogis]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply

John,

Thanks so much for your reply. I do have the family on another online site. I was just wanting to copy the basic data from that site to my Family Finder site (assuming it will be granted).

Given the fact the family lived in a rural area for generations, there are multiple relationships between folks, and I wanted the ability to see whether two individuals who shared common FF segments had other ancestors in common besides the one I am trying to track.