FAQ Frequently Asked Questions: My Family.... a personal genealogy site

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Some of these questions and other topics are covered in more detail on our Help page.

How do I find who I am looking for?

How do I find an individual's ancestors?

What if I want to see an individual's descendants?

Can descendants be shown in a graphical format?

Is there a way to tell if two individuals are related?

What is the Timeline function?

If I see a mistake in the information presented can I correct it?

Is there a way to print the display without all the headers and icons?

What are the three drop-down boxes for (upper right of the page)?

Why can't I see all the information on a certain person?

What are the benefits of Registering as a User?

What if I forget my username and/or password?

Q: How do I find who I am looking for?
A: There are a number of ways, but the 'Search' function provides the most straight forward method. The search box on the bottom right of the Home page has a simple and advanced search. Advanced search (also at the top left of all pages) allows you to enter various information about the individual you're looking for; both methods present you with a list of possible matches from the database.

There are some other Name types in 'Other Search Criteria' on the Advanced Search page: for example the person you are looking for may have changed their name or have been known by an alternative name.

You might also want to try looking at 'Surnames' or 'First Names' if you don't have a clear picture of who you're looking for. You'll find these in the Home page menu and the 'Find' drop-down menu at the top right of all pages. If you think the person is likely to be there but you can't find them, then please contact me for help.
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Q: How do I find an individual's ancestors?
A: Once you locate an individual and have displyed the person's details, the easiest method is to press the Ancestors tab.

This will show you a graphical display of both the paternal and maternal ancestors. Once you have the ancestor chart displayed, you can click on the arrows located at the far right ancestor if you need to see additional ancestors. There are a number of formats for you to choose from (Standard, Compact, Box, Text, Ahnentafel, and Media) to display ancestors. Try clicking on the various options and see which one works best for you.

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Q: What if I want to see an individual's descendants?
A: The tab marked Descendants can be used to display the descendants of an individual. There are four different formats in which descendants can be displayed. You can switch between these to display the information the way that works best for you.

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Q: Can descendants be shown in a graphical format?
A: Yes, Once in the Descendants are displayed, you can show a specific branch of descendants from the selected ancestor by pressing the descendant icon next to the descendant you wish to display.
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Q: Is there a way to tell if two individuals are related?
A: Yes, the Relationship tab will show a graphic display of all the people between two relatives. To use this function, locate the first individual and then press the Relationship tab. Then use the find button to locate the second person to be displayed. Once you have the two people selected click the calculate button to display their relationship.

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Q: What is the Timeline function?
A: A timeline is displayed for an individual when the Timeline tab is clicked. The time line shows important events in history that occurred during the life of an individual or a group of individuals. It gives you a unique perspective to see what was going on in the world during the lives of our ancestors. I still need to populate this data.

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Q: If I see a mistake in the information presented can I correct it?
A: The suggestion tab allows you to send corrections, updates, comments or any other information to the database administrator. Information on which individual you are referencing is automatically attached to the message when you make a suggestion using the Suggestion tab. The database administrator will evaluate your suggestion and add it to the database in the next web update cycle if appropriate.
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Q: Is there a way to print the display without all the headers and icons?
A: Yes, just click on the Print link located above the control tabs. A format that is simplified for printing is presented and you can use the print function of your browser to print the page.
NOTE: On the Individual, Ancestors and Descendants pages you have the option to create a report in 'pdf' format for the information you are viewing. To make use of this option you will need to have installed Adobe Reader in order to view the report. If you don't already have it, you can download the (free) Adobe Reader software by clicking this link.
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Q: What are three drop-down boxes for on the upper right of the page?
A: These provide menus that let you access various information contained in the database. You can hover your mouse pointer over each to see the options available. Click on the one you want. Note that some options are only available to registered users.
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Q: Why can't I see all the information on a certain person?
A: We take great pains to protect the privacy of all family members. All names, dates and other information of living individuals are 'hidden'.
Registered users can have access to this information. If you are a direct descendant or relative of people listed on this website, please take a moment to register by clicking on "Register for a User Account" on the home page. You will be asked to provide evidence of your relationship. When accepted, you will be able to view all records of your ancestor's descendants contained in the database.
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Q: What are the benefits of Registering as a User?
A: To see the details of living descendants of your ancestor(s) and their records, documents, photographs and biographies, you must Register for a User account, and Log In when registration is approved.
Registration also ensures the Webmaster can e-mail you with any major changes to the site.
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Q: What if I forget my username and/or password?
A: If you can't remember your username then, via the 'Log In' page, enter the email address you supplied when you registered and I will send you your username.
However, for security purposes we do not have access to your password. So, if you forget it, you can ask the system, again via the 'Log In' page, to issue you with a temporary one. Just enter the email address you supplied when you registered and your username.
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