Ten Question Survey Challenge

This week the Saturday Night Genealogy Challenge consists of answering a ten question survey.  It can be found by clicking  HERE along with links in the comments for whoever accepted this weeks challenge.

1) Which genealogy software programs for your computer do you use?    I switched from Family Tree Maker to Reunion last October.  I started with Family Tree Maker several years ago when I had a windows pc.  When I switched to a MAC I switched to the Family Tree Maker for MAC.  But I found since it was a program that was made for windows and adjusted to work for MAC it was clunky with the MAC version and crashed a lot and I really got frustrated with the syncing.  I would fix things at my computer and in syncing with the app and with Ancestry my correction would get changed back to the wrong way.  I also was getting multiple entries that I know I only put in once with the syncing. Syncing was fairly new and I just found it messing me up.  I have enough problems keeping things straight with out the software messing me up worse.   I have been very satisfied with Reunion.  It was developed for MAC to begin with.   It was an easy transition and while I am still learning all there is to know about it,  I was quickly able to do enough to get by.

2) Which online family trees have information submitted by you - in either a separate online tree  or a universal online tree?  Rootsweb is where I update my working file periodically.  I like it because it is available to everyone at no charge.  It is not that I mind paying for access to records that cost the site money to digitalize and make available but it bothers me to pay to put the information I have gathered on a site and then have them collect money from  other people to see my work.   And then since Rootsweb is not able to house my media files I work collaboratively on FamilySearch.  I have just started working on their universal tree in the last six months.  I am sometimes not so sure if I am helping or hurting the group effort.  I am not a member of the LDS church but I appreciate their free site.

3) For which subscription genealogy record providers do you have a subscription?  None at the moment.  In the past I have had subscriptions for short times to Genealogy Bank and to Fold3.  Several years ago I subscribed to Ancestry.   What I prefer to do is a 30 day subscription during a time when I can hit what they have hard with searching and then wait till I have time again to do a great deal of searching to join again.  In between times I write to local libraries and local historical or genealogy societies and when they respond with information I donate to their facility.   Since I belong to the Ohio Genealogy Society I do as a result pay to have access to their data bases.

4) Which free genealogy record providers do you use regularly?  I use Family Search,  Find A Grave, State Archives,  Google,  Genealogy Gophers,  Rootsweb,  USGENWEB,  USBiographies,   and as I mentioned before,  I have really had good luck writing local libraries for information.

5) How much time do you spend doing actual genealogy research?  Average number of hours per week.  Some weeks I spend no time on my research.  Other weeks I spend several hours each day.   It depends on how much luck I am having finding things and what else is happening in my life.  For me it is feast or famine as far as time spent.  If I had to guess an average lets say four hours a week.

6) How much time do you spend doing research in an actual repository (library, archive, courthouse etc) estimate average hours per month over a one year period.   Again it would vary because I might take a research trip over a weekend or a day trip to a nearby place but it would be something that would always happen.  I would guess it would average over a years time to eight hours a month.

7) How much time do you spend each week adding information to your software program? Estimate an average number of hours per week over a one month period.  I spend more time in the winter than summer doing this.  I am going to estimate an average of four hours a week.   But in this too I go in spurts.  I have times I do  concentrated hours of work  and times I don't do much.

8) How much time do you spend each month at a genealogy society meeting, program or event (excluding seminars and conferences) estimate hours per month over a one year period.  None.  I always say I am going to but I work second shift and since most of these events are either early on Saturday morning or in the evenings that leaves me out.   I haven't found a group to eat lunch with yet.

9) How much time do you spend each month on genealogy education?  (reading books, periodicals,  seminars, conferences, workshops, webinars, etc) Estimate average number of hours per month over a one year period.  I attended my first conference this past April.  I do periodically watch a youtube video.  I keep saying I am going to watch a webinar or listen to podcasts but do not very often.  I have  a fairly long list of books on my wish list of instruction but do not buy or read them.  I do once in awhile go over to the Family Search Wiki.  So I am going to estimate six hours a month.

10) How much time do you spend each week reading,  writing and commenting on genealogy blogs, websites and social media?  Estimate an average number of hours per week over a one month period. This is hard to say because the time is in short spurts.  But it does add up.  I am going to estimate 14 hours a week.


Total hours per week:  I think that is 27 1/2 hours a week.  Wow.  But that is not every week.  Some weeks I spend much more than that  and other weeks I don't do much with genealogy.