Enter Family Tree Information

Open Ancestra Quest 14 and click on "Use Ancestral Quest Basics" -- this is a free program which you can download from the Ancestral Quest web site.

To begin a new family tree file...

• Click the "New" button 
• Locate your folder on Thawspace
• Enter a File Name (i.e. Obama) and click "Create"
• Close the little advertisement windows.
• Begin entering your family tree information (starting with yourself if you are doing your own tree)

 Some of the questions you may have:

• Surname:  This is your last name (i.e. mine is Griffith)
• Given Names:  This is your first and middle names (i.e. mine is Robert James)
• Gender:  If you know the gender, enter Male or Female.  Occasionally you will find a person in a tree that you aren't sure of.  In that case, do "Unknown".
• Nickname:  This could be something like "Tiny" or "Bubba" or "Griff".  It helps later to keep track of these because that could be a name they gave to a census taker, a survey, or on a form they filled out.
• Title (Prefix):  This would be something like Dr., Sir, etc.
• Title (Suffix):  This would be things like Jr., Sr., III, Esquire.
• Death/Burial:  These are both here because sometimes someone will pass away and their wish is to be buried somewhere else.  My grandmother, for example, passed away in Ukiah and wished to be buried in a family plot in the Central Valley.
• Add Other:  If you choose, you can add other events like Baptism, Bar Mitzvah, Degree, Graduations, Naturalization, Tribe, Occupation, etc.

For now, just enter the main data (names, birth, death, marriage) and fill up as much as you can.

Next, click "Save" and it will take you do a Family window with yourself highlighted and waiting for you to enter your parents information.  You can easily enter your parents information here.

Notice on the top of the page you can view different tabs, including Pedigree, Family (currently selected), Name List, Individual, and Timeline.  Note: Individual and Timeline don't work in the free version.