How to Program Your Family History

By David Jackson

As advertised, FAMILY TREE MAKER from Broderbund (about $82 for the deluxe 15-CD version; $45 for the four-CD version; Windows or Mac) is the easiest and most complete software package available--ideal for beginners. With more than 2 million in sales, it's also the industry leader. The 15-CD package includes a Family Finder index on three CDs, with information on more than 200 million people; two more CDs listing Social Security death-benefits records; five volumes of actual family trees for tens of thousands of families; and an international marriage-records index for more than 1 million couples--and more. The interface is intuitive and easy to learn, and the templates will simplify a daunting organizational task. In late March, Broderbund launched an impressive website genealogy.com that further broadens its offerings.

GENERATIONS FAMILY TREE GRANDE SUITE ($69.95; Windows) by Sierra Home includes 12 CDs of data on 200 million names and resources, plus three different programs: the Generations genealogy software; SnapShot Special Edition, photo-enhancement software that helps you add old family photos and documents to your records; and MasterCook, a cooking software program (experts say recipe collecting is uncannily similar to ancestor collecting), allows you to rearrange your ancestors in a variety of formats with just a click of the mouse.

THE MASTER GENEALOGIST from Wholly Genes software (about $89 for the gold version; $49 for the silver; Windows), one of the most expensive programs but also one of the most powerful, handles an unlimited number of people, relationships and sources. "There are easier programs," admits Wholly Genes president Bob Velke, 36, "but they're nowhere near as powerful. This has all the power and flexibility that professionals need, but you don't need to be a pro to use it." (www.wholly genes.com or call 877-TMG-FAMILY).

ULTIMATE FAMILY TREE (about $50 for the five-CD platinum version; $30 for the two-CD deluxe; Windows) by Palladium is another top-selling program whose own genealogy is as complex as any family's. Palladium was bought out in December by the Learning Company, which two months earlier had acquired Broderbund, which itself had acquired two other genealogy-software publishers. A few days after the Palladium deal was announced, Mattel said it would buy the Learning Company.

Devoted fans of Ultimate Family Tree are worried that the product might not survive, but the company insists there's plenty of room in a growing field where different programs appeal to different audiences. In UFT's case, the new owners are touting it as a user-friendly but powerful program that should appeal to more experienced genealogists than buyers of Family Tree Maker. Most of these products can still be used by either amateurs or professionals, depending on which user interface you like best and how much you want to spend.

MILLENNIA'S LEGACY FAMILY TREE ($49; Windows) is a favorite of many Mormons because it includes ready-made templates for Church of the Latter-day Saints documentation. (The software has plenty of non-Mormon admirers as well.) If you have an Apple computer, consider the no-frills, straightforward interface offered by Reunion from Leister Productions ($99).

Before making your choice, ask around at your local genealogical society, through mailing lists and even in website chat rooms for advice. The good news is that it's not hard to export data if you later decide to switch from one software package to another. But don't try to run these products on an old 486; you'll get the best performance on a Pentium-class machine. And save plenty of room on your hard drive. The better you get at tracing your ancestral past, the more you'll need the space.