Here are the select set of resources you’ll need to explore your family’s history.
Start with Software
GEDitCOM is free as a GEDCOM file browser and shareware to edit files as well. Gene Macintosh Genealogy Software. A commercial genealogy program for MacOS X. It features an easy to use interface, database with search functions, family tree. If you need to draw genograms for assessing inherited risk, ProGeny Pedigree is the best pedigree chart software you’ll find for Mac. GenoProX is a spin-off of GenoPro – probably the most widely used genogram software on PC and Windows. Unfortunately there has never been a version of GenoPro for Mac. When you need a method for recording the family tree information, it is necessary to use the Genealogy software. It supports unlimited entry of data and resources to keep on maintain the family tree. 23+ Best Omnichannel Commerce Software for Windows, Mac, Android 2021.
Your genealogy software is the repository for all the information you discover. It’s the main tool in your genealogy toolbox. Which one you choose will likely depend primarily on whether you use a Windows PC or a Mac.
MacFamilyTree 9 - Genealogy for Mac. Discover and experience your personal family history, explore your origins, your ancestors, and how your family has evolved over the course of time. MacFamilyTree 9 offers you a wide range of options to capture and visualize your family history. Search the free FamilySearch archive, which contains billions.
Already Have Software?
Handy indexes of articles and videos by application are linked below for your convenience:
Still Looking for Software?
I’ve also created a couple of buyer’s guides to help you make a choice between software:
See my recommendations in the following sections.
Genealogy Software for Windows
I recommend RootsMagic 7 and Family Historian. There are many good alternatives though.
- Family Historian
- Family Tree Maker 2017
- Legacy Family Tree
- RootsMagic 7
Genealogy Software for Mac
- Family Tree Maker 2017 for Mac
- GEDitCOM II
- iFamily for Leopard
- MacFamilyTree 8 by Synium
- Reunion 12 by Leister Productions
Get Good Books
Setup Folders on Your Computer
You’ll need places to put archival copies of scanned documents, photos, and other files on your computer. This series of video screencasts will walk you, step-by-step, through setting up a folder system and putting files into it. They’re created on a Mac and take advantage of the powerful alias feature in Mac OS X, but most of the system will work well on Windows too.
Get Information About Your Ancestors
Not all of the information about your relatives is online, so you’ll need to do some sleuthing in the real world. But, there is a wealth of information available online. My advice to you is to consider everything, but only trust it after you prove it. That said, these online databases provide a great source of leads! There’s some overlap between the records on these sites and they each have treasured family history that the others won’t. You can search for free to get an idea which holds the most (and most interesting) genealogy data for your ancestors.
- Fold3.com (Military Records)
- Newspapers.com
- NewspaperARCHIVES.com
- Find out how you are related to the rest of humanity at OneGreatFamily
Free Family History Software For Mac Laptop
There are tons more sites, but I want to keep this concise so that it’s most useful for you.