Merry Christmas from the Zamora Family

Merry Christmas

From the Zamora Family

William, Renee, Philip & Garrett

May the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's birth
bring peace and joy into your life.
He is the greatest Gift ever given.

To view our family Christmas Card visit:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~renee/xmas15.html

RootsMagic Extended Holiday Offer

The following is from RootsMagic.

Discounts, Delays, and Extended Holiday Offer

On behalf of everyone here at RootsMagic, we want to wish you a wonderful holiday and time to connect with family and friends. We've certainly had a very busy last few weeks.

We've been doing our holiday offer for many years now, but after running out of product last year we made sure we had more than enough product for the holidays and through January.

What we didn't anticipate was the announcement by Ancestry that they were going to be discontinuing their Family Tree Maker software.  Between the normal holiday sales and the rush of FTM users we have sold and shipped every last RootsMagic book (and most of the CDs) that we had in stock. When we heard about FTM being discontinued we placed a rush order with our manufacturer for more. But with the manufacturer's holiday hours, we aren't expected to have more books and CD's in stock until early January.

Although our holiday offer has expired, we've decided to extend it (and our FTM upgrade) through January 4, 2016 with a slight modification.

With the delay in being able to ship the book, we will offer the download of the RootsMagic program plus a PDF version of the RootsMagic book for $20.  Don't worry, if you ever lose your registration key, you can always have it re-sent to you and download the software again.

You can also still order the physical CD and printed book at the special price, but the order will not be shipped until our supply arrives in January.

To take advantage of our holiday sale, visit:

http://rootsmagic.com/holidayoffer

If you are an FTM user looking to switch to RootsMagic, visit:

http://rootsmagic.com/ftm

Save 10% right now on a family history gift to Ancestry

The following is from Ancestry.

GIVE FAMILY HISTORY FOR THE HOLIDAYS

The past makes a great present for everyone on your list.

Give a gift they’ll remember long after the holidays. An Ancestry Gift Membership is simple to give and meaningful to receive. And right now you’ll save 10% on every Gift Membership you order.

6‑month membership starting at $89 $99 SAVE 10% Give now Offer ends Dec. 25 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

*Offer ends December 25 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Gift memberships valid for new subscribers only and not for renewals for current subscriptions. $89 price valid for 6‑month U.S. Discovery Membership.

Family ChartMasters Gift Certificate Solutions for Late Shoppers

The following is from Family ChartMasters.

Announcing the Year's Biggest Gift Certificate Sale:

  

  BUY 4 GET ONE FREE

on all Family ChartMasters Gift Certificates

http://familychartmasters.com/gcs

The gift certificates are a .pdf that comes immediately to your email so you can then send to your friends electronically or print to give.  They come in $25 and $50 denominations.

Our gift certificates are the perfect Christmas gift to help a friend show off their family's history. A Personal Designer will help your friend create a beautiful chart from the family history information they send in.  Or if you are planning to create a chart for yourself in the next year, now is the time to save money on it.   For information, visitthe blog and our website familychartmasters.com.

Sale valid through December 25, 2015.

MyTrees.com: Giveaway Final Week

The following is from MyTrees.

MyTrees.com Annual Giveaway - Final Week!   Register now for the Final week of the MyTrees.com giveaway of a one year subscription. Click the teddy bear link at the top of the homepage. Enter your information and submit your registration. The next drawing will be held Monday, December 28th.   Almost 34 million names have been added to the Ancestry Archive since last December. So be sure to take a moment to make a search for your ancestors since that elusive ancestor may be among the additions.  Each week's winner of the giveaway will be selected randomly from a list of patrons who submit an entry for the contest during that week. Our December 21st winner was David Tabbutt. Happy New Year from MyTrees.com!   Thanks for using MyTrees.com, a valued genealogical online resource since 1996! Sincerely, Cindy newsletter@mytrees.com www.MyTrees.com

Legacy Family Tree offer - upgrade from Family Tree Maker for $10 off through 12/31/15

The following is from Legacy Family Tree.

Earlier Ancestry.com announced in this blog post that they will discontinue their Family Tree Maker software effective December 31, 2015. We know this change is difficult (my very first genealogy software purchase was FTM...), yet know that you will enjoy Legacy Family Tree. Millions have already downloaded it.

How to Import a Family Tree Maker file into Legacy - 90 second video.

Also, download the FREE guide here.

Why FTM users love Legacy

So many former FTM users have turned to Legacy, and we asked them why. Here were their top reasons:

1. Company-user relationship, support
2. Reasonable pricing and free updates
3. Navigation and data entry
4. Sourcing capabilities
5. User-friendly
6. Reports
7. Name list
8. View multiple databases side-by-side / drag-drop
9. Web pages

Here's the complete list with the users' comments.

Special Legacy Pricing

1. Free - Standard Edition. Millions have downloaded Legacy.Download here and import your FTM file in minutes.
2. $10 off - through December 31, 2015, Legacy Deluxe (download-edition) is just $19.95. Click here to purchase.

Need help?

If you ever need a little hand-holding, we are there to help. We are known for our quality and responsive technical support.

• Email: support@LegacyFamilyTree.com
• Support website: http://support.legacyfamilytree.com
• Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/LegacyUserGroup
• Legacy QuickTips and videos: http://familytreewebinars.com/legacy_videos.php

Quick Video Overview

Need a little research help?

Not only will we help you organize, research, and share your research, we'll show you how to find your ancestors. Visit www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com to learn from industry experts. As of today, 284 classes are available and more are added every month.

* UPDATE *

Lots of you have asked similar questions about media, sources and other data importing.Read this follow-up article where we address many of these questions all in one place.

Family Tree Maker/Ancestral Quest Announcement

The following is from Ancestral Quest.

Ancestral Quest Provides Family Tree Maker Users 

with Path Forward and a $10 Discount

We know that Family Tree Maker (FTM) users were disheartened to learn recently that Ancestry.com will be discontinuing FTM, and even though FTM will continue to function for some time, many FTM users are anxious to explore alternate software. Incline Software invites them to give Ancestral Quest (AQ) a serious look. Here are a few things they should know about AQ:

* Ancestral Quest can easily import their data. You can watch a short video that will guide you through this process here: watch video

* Ancestry.com has previously licensed AQ to be the base of their company product. Prior to acquiring the company that owned FTM, Ancestry.com had licensed AQ and distributed it to millions of their users under the name of Ancestry Family Tree (AFT). Just like AFT, AQ has the option to do background searches on the Ancestry.com databases, and provides links to the results.

* Ancestral Quest has been licensed as the basis for other major family tree software titles that have been used by millions of people, including the Windows versions of Personal Ancestral File (PAF).

* Ancestral Quest is available both for Windows and Mac.

* AQ is easy to use, yet full-featured. Beginners and professionals alike enjoy the simple yet comprehensive options for recording and sharing their family tree information.

* AQ has a unique capability for teams of users to share their data on a private cloud-based system. We call this “Collaboration.”

* AQ was the first family tree product to be certified to share data with FamilySearch, and received an award for the completeness of that offering.

* Ancestral Quest Basics is a free version of AQ. FTM users could download the free AQ Basics, import their FTM data into it, spend some time getting a feel for the screens and reports, and then make a decision about whether to continue using AQ as their FTM replacement – all without any cost.

* Thanks to the efforts of volunteers around the world, AQ is available in many languages other than its native English. These include German, French, Spanish, and many others.

* Until January 31, 2016, you can apply a $10 discount to your upgrade to AQ.

To learn more about Ancestral Quest, the transition from Family Tree Maker, and the $10 discount, please visit this page: www.ancquest.com/ftm.

FTM users are welcome to use Family Tree Builder

The following is from MyHeritage.

Dear friends, I hope all's well on your side.

At MyHeritage, we believe there is still a place in the world for genealogy software, and there is value in the ability to work offline, and enjoy more powerful functionality that many websites cannot offer. We also believe that people should be able to discover and preserve their family history on whatever platform they are comfortable with. That's why we are constantly innovating new technologies and enhancing our website, mobile apps and our Family Tree Builder genealogy software.

We are delighted to offer FTM users who move to MyHeritage, and who choose to sync their family tree with their MyHeritage family site, unlimited tree size capacity on their online family site, which is normally limited to 250 individuals on a free account. 

Please see the blog post here which includes information on how to claim this gift, and let me know if you have any questions.

http://blog.myheritage.com/2015/12/ftm-users-join-myheritage-and-get-family-tree-builder-with-an-unlimited-size-family-site-for-free/

Best regards!
Daniel Horowitz

Chief Genealogist Officer & Translation Manager

Charts for Family Tree Maker users

The following is from Progeny Software.

ANCESTRY DROPPING FTM - GET YOUR CHARTS FROM CHARTING COMPANION

 

 

As you may have heard, Ancestry.com is discontinuing Family Tree Maker.

Ancestry will support Family Tree Maker throughout 2016. After that, FTM will continue to run as long as Windows does not introduce any incompatibilities. 

 

Many FTM users, who prefer a desktop program, are wondering whether they will be able to create charts & books, should they switch to another genealogy program.

 

Others, who will be converting to the on-line Ancestry family trees, have observed that Ancestry does not provide the variety of charts they have come to depend on to share their story with their family.

 

Progeny has a solution for both cases: Charting Companion, Genelines and Map My Family Tree provide you with a comprehensive range of ways to publish your family history.

 

Charting Companion reads the database format of all popular genealogy programs. If your tree is on Ancestry, download a GEDCOM to create charts.

 

Get Charting Companion today for $34.95 download, $39.95 CD-ROM. Tell the glorious story of your family. 

Pierre Clouthier
President, Progeny Genealogy

Family Tree Maker® users have a new home at RootsMagic

The following is from RootsMagic.

Family Tree Maker® users have a new home at RootsMagic; Upgrade offer and Free Book and Magic Guides

In a blog posting today, Ancestry.com announced the retirement of its Family Tree Maker® (FTM) genealogy software.

“True to this focus, we’ve taken a hard look at the declining desktop software market and the impact this has on being able to continue to provide product enhancements and support that our users need. With that, we’ve made the decision to stop selling Family Tree Maker as of December 31, 2015.”

Family Tree Maker support and online features will continue through the coming year. During this “sunset period”, many Family Tree Maker users will want to transfer their data into another desktop application that is actively being developed and updated such as RootsMagic.

We understand that change isn’t easy, so we’ve worked hard at putting together some new tools and supports to make the transition to RootsMagic as painless as possible for Family Tree Maker users.

A New Home

Over the past few years, thousands of Family Tree Maker users have made the switch to RootsMagic.  They’ve enjoyed its amazing new features such as color coding, Problem Alerts, Shareable CD’s, running straight off of a flash drive,FamilySearch integration, DataClean, multi-provider WebHints, Mac and Windows versions with a single license, and more!

But don’t take our word for it.  Here’s what some of our satisfied-switches have had to say:

“Had [Family Tree Maker] for years, did a couple of upgrades, but switched to RM, imported my FTM database and never looked back. I’m a happy camper!” — Paul

“I think you will find that RootsMagic has a much easier and more complete data entry than FTM. I have tried FTM several years ago and RM was so much more logical in data entry and report generations.”— Keith

“I used [Family Tree Maker] on and off for years. Every time I would try to get serious about citing my sources I would get so frustrated with the software I would just give up. I finally got smart and started to look around for a more user-friendly program and found RootsMagic. I love it! I am now methodically transferring all my data from FTM to RM and citing everything as I go with more confidence and less frustration!”— Kathy

“I’m all Mac and switched [from Family Tree Maker] back in Feb 2015. So glad I did.”— Sondra

Update Discount for Family Tree Maker Users

To make the transition as painless as possible, we’ve set-up a special website at www.FTMUpgrade.com that includes training videos, testimonials, and more.  And for a limited time, we are offering Family Tree Maker users the full-version of RootsMagic for the amazing low price of only $20. We will also include the printed book, “Getting the Most out of RootsMagic” absolutely free (a $14.95 value).  You must visit www.FTMUpgrade.com to receive the discount.

Of course, we also offer a free version of RootsMagic named RootsMagic Essentials that offers basic capabilities for those who are just beginning their genealogy journey.

Free Videos and Magic Guides

We’ve also put together special videos and printable “Magic Guides” to help you with the transition.  We encourage our users to download these guides and freely share them with any Family Tree Maker users who may benefit from them.

• Importing Family Tree Maker (2008 – 2014) Files into RootsMagic (Video)  (Printable Guide)
• Importing Family Tree Maker (2006 and Older) into RootsMagic (Video)  (Printable Guide)

We’re Here to Help

If you’re a Family Tree Maker user, we understand that change isn’t easy. But with a little of your time and a little help from us, you’ll be just as comfortable with RootsMagic as you were with Family Tree Maker.

Ancestry to Retire Family Tree Maker Software

The following is from Ancestry. I'm sorry to be so late posting this. Since this announcement came out I have been swamped at RootsMagic helping people switch to new software.  I will be posting all the companies press releases offering options to FTM users to help in making new decisions.



Dear Family Tree Maker™ community,

Ancestry is proud to have made a significant investment this year to bring valuable new content and records to the Ancestry site. In 2015, we’ve made 220 million searchable historical records from Mexico available, more than 170 million pages from the largest collection of U.S. will and probate records, among others. We’ve also introduced new features such as Ancestry Academy, and major advancements for AncestryDNA.

As we strive to provide our customers with the best experience possible, we are constantly evaluating our services and product offerings. True to this focus, we’ve taken a hard look at the declining desktop software market and the impact this has on being able to continue to provide new content, product enhancements and support that our users need. With that, we’ve made the tough decision to stop selling Family Tree Maker as of December 31, 2015.

We will continue to support existing Family Tree Maker owners at least through January 1, 2017. During this time, all features of the software, including TreeSync™ will continue to work. Our Member Services team will also remain available to assist with questions or issues you may have.

These changes are never easy. But by focusing our efforts, we can concentrate on continuing to build great products for our loyal Ancestry community. 

You can find additional details about the retirement of Family Tree Maker on our blog.

-------Updates------

After 6,660 comments (8,830 today) were made by concerned Family Tree Makers users on Ancestry's announcement, there was a follow-up blog posting on December 9, 2015  "More Information on Family Tree Maker Desktop Software" that addressed concerns. The question below was the most frequently asked.

Will third party providers be able to integrate with Ancestry family trees?
We are exploring possible relationships with other desktop software solutions that would make it possible for their producst to integrate with Ancestry API. Stay tuned.

As of today there are 1,144 comments on that recent blog post. 

New FamilySearch Collections - December 21, 2015

The following is from FamilySearch.

New FamilySearch Collections Update: December 21, 2015

Nearly 12 million records were added to the Find A Grave Index. Other substantial additons this week included Wales Glamorgan West Glamorgan Electoral Registers 1839-1925, England Kent Register of Electors 1570-1907, Missouri Pre-WWII Adjutant General Enlistment Contracts 1900-1941, United States GenealogyBank Obituaries 1980-2014, andPhilippines Manila Civil Registration 1899-1984. Find these and more by following the links below.

COLLECTION	INDEXED RECORDS	DIGITAL RECORDS	COMMENTS
Australia Tasmania Civil Registration (District Registers) 1839-1938	0	21,131	New browsable image collection.
BillionGraves Index	498,448	498,448	Added indexed records and images to an existing collection
Delaware Vital Records 1650-1974	191	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
England Kent Parish Registers 1538-1911	124,979	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
England Kent Register of Electors 1570-1907	1,750,138	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
England Lancashire Cheshire Yorkshire Parish Registers 1603-1909	734,466	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
England Lancashire Parish Registers 1538-1910	301,523	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Find A Grave Index	11,992,104	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Italy Pescara Civil Registration (State Archive) 1809-1929	102,882	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Italy Ragusa Civil Registration (State Archive) 1900-1940	7,104	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Italy Reggio Calabria Civil Registration (State Archive) 1896-1943	45,338	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Italy Savona Civil Registration (State Archive) 1806-1813 1838-1936	153,763	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Missouri Pre-WWII Adjutant General Enlistment Contracts 1900-1941	0	607,070	New browsable image collection.
Netherlands Zuid-Holland Province Civil Registration 1679-1942	18,153	284	Added indexed records and images to an existing collection
Philippines Manila Civil Registration 1899-1984	434,250	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Spain Province of Sevilla Municipal Records 1293-1966	0	169,305	Added images to an existing collection
Tennessee County Marriages 1790-1950	0	420,566	Added images to an existing collection
United States Census 1940	0	2,566	Added images to an existing collection
United States GenealogyBank Obituaries 1980-2014	0	222,961	Added images to an existing collection
Utah Weber Ogden John David Eccles Photograph Collection 1951-1976	0	26,807	New browsable image collection.
Wales Glamorgan West Glamorgan Electoral Registers 1839-1925	1,644,555	0	Added indexed records to an existing collection

Help Us Publish More Free Records Online

Searchable historical records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of online volunteers worldwide. These volunteers transcribe (or index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are always needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published weekly online on FamilySearch.org. Learn how you can volunteer to help provide free access to the world’s historical genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org/Indexing.

 

About FamilySearch International

 

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,893 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.