Alan E. Mann, AG

fhfair@alanmann.com                                                                                  Accredited Genealogist

www.alanmann.com/articles                                                                         prepared March 2005         

 

Pedigree Resource File

Using what others have done

 

This syllabus material covers:

Pedigree Resource File introduction

How are the various online databases different?

Pedigree Resource File vs. Ancestral File

Pedigree Resource File: Online vs. CD-ROM

How do I submit to Pedigree Resource File?

PRF Magnet

 

Introduction

 

Pedigree Resource File is offered by the LDS Church through the familysearch.org web site as well as on CD-ROMs.  It consists of family data on deceased persons submitted by individuals. It is important to understand the concept of submitting personal family data and what that means to someone trying to find information about their own family. The general idea is that we should search through collections of data already researched by others in hopes of finding something about our family, then being able to benefit from the work of someone else.

 

There are many other files that contain data submitted by individuals—available from commercial genealogy companies, church groups, and societies or volunteer groups. It is often possible to submit the same family data to several different places and making it available through each. On the other hand, sometimes family data is submitted to only one group or company and you have to look at that particular group’s database to find it. For example, if I submitted my family data only to Ancestry World Tree, then you normally wouldn’t find my data on Pedigree Resource File, Ancestral File, or any of the other databases available online.

 

 

How are the various online databases different?

 

The various databases available online differ in several ways, most importantly:

  • WHO puts the information online (WHO the data is submitted to).
  • WHAT is made available online – some show names only, some names and dates, some names, dates, places, and sources. Most exclude living people. Some attempt to add value to the data in some way.
  • WHERE the data is available (differences may depend on where you access it).
  • WHEN the data was sent in.
  • HOW the data is made available (different search techniques, Some charge money to see it, etc.).

 

Thus, Ancestry World Tree is free, but the same company’s Online Family Tree is not free. Genealogy.com charges to see any data, while Ancestral File is totally free.

Pedigree Resource File online shows you names, dates, and places, but only the CDs include the notes and sources. Ancestral File online does not include living people, but the CD-ROM version does. Ancestral File tried to add value by merging duplicate submissions. Online Family Tree tries to add value by matching what you submit to data in the company’s private record collection. OneGreatFamily tries to add value by automatically putting you in touch with people who have submitted the same individuals as you submitted and visually representing that overlap.

 

 

Pedigree Resource File (PRF) vs. Ancestral File (AF)

 

Here are the major differences between PRF and AF:

PRF is an improvement over AF because it allows individuals to submit their notes and sources along with the names and dates associated with their ancestors.

PRF is data that has been submitted primarily over the Internet since May 1999, while AF is data that was submitted before 2000 on paper or diskette.

AF tried to merge duplicate submissions. PRF does not merge anything—even when resubmitted by the same person (is that the good news or the bad news? Probably both; note that Richard de Clare appears in PRF 2472 times!)

Both are available online and on CD-ROM. The AF CD-ROMs are the only place that data on some living people is available.

The way to download information is different. AF has configurable options that limit the size of a download by the number of generations (5-13). It is very difficult to download PRF online (and you probably shouldn’t).

 

 

Online or CD-ROM?

 

The notes and sources are not available on the Internet—only the name and contact information given by the submitter. The notes and sources are available only on CD-ROM, which can be purchased or used at a library or Family History Center which has purchased them. There are now over 100 CDs, so even at the nominal charge for them, the cost for the full collection would $236. However, the notes and sources can be the most important data to obtain.

 

Another difference between the Internet version and the CD-ROM is the way that searches take place and what is displayed on the screen. The CD-ROM has some nice ways to display data that is not available in the online version. Note that there is a product called PRF Magnet that adds the display functionality (see below).

 

You are encouraged to use the online version of PRF to find possible submissions of data on your ancestors. However, once you find some information and want to include that data in your own genealogy database, you should:

  1. Use the submitter name and address (and sometimes webpage) to contact the person who sent the data to PRF. There are several reasons to do this.

a.      The submitter may have updated or corrected information since it was submitted. By contacting the submitter directly, you get the most current and correct data.

b.      You may be able to collaborate in the future—two people together can research better than one alone. If nothing else, split the workload and share your results.

c.       The submitter is apparently related to you. You should be interested in getting to know your relatives.

  1. Get a current copy of the data from the submitter, preferably in GEDCOM format. Check it out, then import it (or a portion of it) into your database.
  2. If the submitter has moved since submitting the data, use online resources such as switchboard.com, whitepages.com, and www.infobel.com/teldir/ to locate them and then contact them.
  3.  If the submitter is deceased or not contactable, download the information from the CD-ROM only—do not use the Internet to download (even with PRF magnet), as the information will be incomplete and incorrectly sourced.

 

 

How do I submit to PRF?

 

  1. The first thing you need to do is decide what it is you want to submit. It is best to limit your submission to deceased persons. One option would be to select all of your data then eliminate living persons. Another would be to select the specific information you wish to submit.

a.      Please make sure to submit your notes and sources (unless your notes have things in them you shouldn’t share). If you haven’t entered sources, you need to do so. This is the most important part of a genealogy database. Enter your sources before you share.

b.      If you received any of your data from someone else, it would be a good idea to get their permission to share it with others.

  1. Create a GEDCOM with the data you’ve decided to share. DO NOT share temple ordnance data. It is OK to share ordnance data with member friends, but it should NEVER be placed on the Internet (per President Hinckley). Creating a GEDCOM is easy—just click on “export,” then save the file. Just remember where you saved it and what you named the file.
  2. Go online to www.familysearch.org and click on the Share tab. Enter your username and password (if you don’t have one, click on the “I need to register” link). You will need to agree to the terms, fill out a short form with a description of your file, and then click on browse and locate the GEDCOM you created in step 2. Then just click on submit, wait for confirmation, and it’s done! For a description of your file, enter something like the family of John Preston HOWARTH of Pennsylvania (1772-1851) and the related families of WILKINS, BATTLEBORO, FULLER, PRATT, and DINGBAT.

 

 

PRF Magnet (www.pedigreemagnet.com)

 

There is a tool to help people get more out of PRF, called PRF Magnet. This product searches the PRF online and then does things that you normally can’t do unless you have the CD-ROM version of PRF. Namely, it will search out and display both a pedigree chart and descendants of the individual. PRF Magnet can be a useful tool if you don’t have the CD-ROMs, but there are two major cautions:

  1. Use PRFMagnet only to help you see the information on the Internet. Once you find a someone in the file, always go to the CD-ROMs to get the full story. The most important information available in PRF is the source details. For 70% of the submission to PRF, it comes in the form on notes and sources that are not available on the Internet and are therefore not available in PRF Magnet. But for all submissions (even those without notes and sources), you get at least the name and address of the submitter, which PRF Magnet omits.
  2. PRFMagnet does a totally incorrect job when citing sources. It merely cites PRF online as the source and does not even tell  you the submitter. DO NOT download using PRFMagnet—it gives you flawed source information and should not be used for this purpose!

 

 

©Copyright 2005 by Alan E. Mann, AG. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce all or part of this syllabus material in any format, including photocopying, data retrieval, or the Internet, must be secured in advance from the copyright holder.