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  • Evidentia 3+ v3.9.1: Fixing the Migration Gap with Merge Database

    Evidentia 3+ v3.9.1: Fixing the Migration Gap with Merge Database

    We discovered two issues when moving from Evidentia 3 to Evidentia 3+ that are limitations of the old Evidentia 3 — not problems with the new code. I want to be upfront about what’s happening and share a workaround that’s available right now.

    The Two Issues

    • When v3 creates a backup, it does not export the directlog table — the home of your Lineage Tracker data. That means Lineage Tracker history from v3 cannot be carried over to v3+.
    • There is no way to export custom claim type records from v3, so none of your custom claim types get copied to v3+ either.

    I can’t change the old v3 code to fix these limitations — but I do have a workaround, and it involves Dropbox and a brand-new feature now available in Evidentia 3+ v3.9.1.

    The Evidentia Merge Database Feature

    Version 3.9.1 adds a “Merge Database” button to the Database tab. Unlike “Restore Database” — which clears all your existing data before importing from a backup — Merge lets you import data into an existing table without deleting it first.

    You’ll be asked what to do about any duplicate records: overwrite them with data from the file, or skip them and keep what you already have. It’s a surgical import, not a full replacement.

    The Evidentia merge database workflow is especially useful when you’ve already begun working in v3+ — adding new sources, citations, and notes — because it won’t touch your existing records. Only the data from the imported file is processed; everything else stays exactly as it is. Think of it as a precision tool, not a blunt instrument.

    I had planned this feature for Evidentia 4 — but it turns out we need it now.

    So How Does This Help If v3 Doesn’t Export That Data?

    That’s where Dropbox comes in.

    If you use Dropbox with Evidentia v3, the Database directory contains a separate file for each table. The naming convention is databasename.tablename — so in that directory you’ll find files like evidentia.directlog and evidentia.claimType. You can Merge those individual files just as you would a backup file, and only those specific tables will be affected.

    sample list of dropbox files

    “But I Don’t Use Dropbox”

    If recovering your Lineage Tracker data or custom claim types matters to you, here’s a path forward — even without an existing Dropbox subscription:

    Dropbox Workaround — Step by Step

    1. Create a free or trial Dropbox account
    2. Enable Dropbox in Evidentia v3 (v3 and v3+ can coexist — they just don’t share the same database)
    3. Wait for the database to sync to Dropbox
    4. Locate evidentia.directlog and/or evidentia.claimType in your Dropbox Database folder
    5. Use the new Merge Database feature in v3.9.1 to import those files into v3+
    6. Cancel your Dropbox account if you don’t want to keep it

    A few things worth knowing about the Dropbox approach: Dropbox offers a free plan and a 30-day trial of paid tiers — more than enough time to complete this one-time migration. You don’t need to install the desktop app; you can access and download your files through the Dropbox web interface. Once the migration is done, you can downgrade to the free tier or cancel your subscription entirely without affecting anything inside Evidentia.

    If you’ve been using Evidentia 3 for years, your Lineage Tracker may hold significant research history — ancestor lines you’ve traced, progress markers you’ve set. The same goes for custom claim types: if you’ve built a tailored vocabulary for your genealogy workflow, those definitions represent real setup work. It’s worth the extra steps to bring them across.

    Not ideal, I know — but it’s a reliable path around the limitations of the old system.

    I hope this helps someone. As always — thank you for your patience!

    Get the Latest Version ->
    Cursive signature reading Ed in blue ink on white background

  • How Do I Navigate the Genealogical Proof Standard?

    How Do I Navigate the Genealogical Proof Standard?

    The Genealogical Proof Standard flowchart created by Marc McDermott of Genealogy Explained is one of the most useful visual tools available for genealogists who want to follow rigorous research practices. It distills the GPS into a step-by-step visual guide that makes the standard approachable for researchers at any level.

    It can seem overwhelming, especially to the non-professional. But the GPS really is something we should strive for in our research.

    Navigating the genealogical proof standard flowchart maze

    Marc McDermott of Genealogy Explained has made the process of navigating the GPS a little easier.

    ‘Because I love a good visual, I created this process flowchart to walk you through proper genealogical research using the concepts and ideas of the GPS.”

    Marc consulted Elizabeth Shown Mills and Dr Thomas Jones when coming up with his visualization.  In a recent Facebook post, Ms Mills says “In addition to the verbal guidance, he’s created a great new graphic that, I suspect, many visual learners will love.”

    Marc has given me permission to share his infographic with the Evidentia Community.

    Genealogical proof standard flowchart by Marc McDermott

    How to Use This Genealogical Proof Standard Flowchart

    The GPS has 5 elements: a reasonably exhaustive search, complete and accurate citation of sources, analysis and correlation of collected information, resolution of conflicting evidence, and a soundly reasoned written conclusion. This flowchart walks you through each element visually, helping you understand when you have satisfied each requirement and when you need to do more work.

    For genealogists who want to apply the GPS in their day-to-day research, Evidentia provides the structure to follow each step systematically. Learn how Evidentia supports the Genealogical Proof Standard element by element — and how you can use the software to build a research workflow that meets professional standards.

    You can also use Evidentia’s built-in analysis tools to analyze genealogy evidence claim by claim, building toward the soundly reasoned conclusion that the GPS requires.

  • Blind Spots in Genealogy Research

    Blind Spots in Genealogy Research

    Many of our friends, maybe many of you, will be seeking out the total eclipse that will be passing over the US this month.  This got me thinking about shadows, which got me thinking about blind spots.

    Genealogy blind spots.

    What are genealogy blindspots?  They are those things that make us miss what is right in front of us.  In this case, I am talking about information – the information we look so hard for, the information we already have, but we miss it because it’s not jumping out at us and shouting “HEY, LOOK AT ME!”

    Below I have listed some of my favorites – if by favorites you mean blind spots I “frequently fall victim too”.

    Inconvenient

    OK, I know I am not the only one – if it is not online, I don’t have time for it.

    We know better.  We know everything has not been digitized.  But there is so much that IS online, we focus on those sources instead of taking a field trip.

    hannah thomsonIn the mid-1700s Hannah Thompson married Philip Brown in Salisbury, MA.  There is a chance that my brick wall was born there in the mid-1700s so I am interested in all things Thompson in that area.

    MANY online sources for Salisbury will give me this information about Hannah Brown.  Place, date…but when I visited the Family History Library and viewed the microfilm, and additional fact emerged – the original document indicates that MRS Hannah Thompson married Phillip Brown.  A Hannah Palmer married Jacob Thompson a year earlier.  The same Hannah?  I don’t know, but it is certainly a clue worth following, a clue I would have missed if I hadn’t gotten offline.

    Blindspot. Must learn to inconvenience myself once in a while.

    Out of Context

    If you have viewed one of my online webinars you have probably heard this story. I asked my cousin to remind me why we thought Daniel P Thompson of Woburn, MA was the son of David and Rachel Thompson of Guilford, NH, and neither one of us could remember.  Why had I put that fact in RootsMagic?

    A YEAR LATER, I was entering some records into Evidentia, including a death record for Daniel, in the last column, was Daniel’s place of birth and the name of his parents – Guilford, NH, David, and Rachel.  There was only one couple named David and Rachel in the small town of Guilford – I had my evidence! Birth information on a death record – who knew!

    Blindspot.  Remember that a record may have more than one type of information on it.

    Scroll Fatigue

    fatugueSpeaking of “the last column”, sometimes I just get tired of scrolling.  That should be a flag for me to take a break.  Each record I look at, online or off, deserves my full attention. I work hard to find those records ( and them subscriptions ain’t cheap!).  Once I find one, I need to focus, and if that means taking a break and coming back fresh, so be it!

    Blindspot.  Take a break from scrolling!

    Data Overload

    overloadYes, I am referring to our friend, the census record.  There is SO MUCH information in them if we will just spend the time. We can get overwhelmed, and blind to the richness of the data.

    BUT, (shameless pitch coming) Evidentia makes it easier to capture all the information that might be valuable, it is worth the effort. I can capture a family in a census record in about 20-30 minutes.  I need to remind myself it is not a race, though.  If a catalog the information in one “session” and tag the subjects in another, at least the first session let’s organize the information in a way that I am not overwhelmed.

    Blindspot.  They call it data mining for a reason – its work!  But don’t get overwhelmed with information overload – find a way to organize the information so you don’t lose any of it.

    More?

    What about you?  What are your genealogy blind spots? Do you have warning signs that tell you you might not be getting the most from your sources?  Please let us know in the comments below.

    Until next time.

  • Evidentia Experiment – Progress Report #3

    Evidentia Experiment – Progress Report #3

    I have a confession to make – I got stuck.

    I let the creation of ONE citation intimidate me and set aside my effort.

    Last week I posted in the Google+ group:

    I have a copy of my Dad’s birth certificate. It’s a document in his personal possession. Do I reference it as coming from the RI Dept of Health, or from my Father’s “private collection”, or something else?

    I got some great suggestions, and a reference to an excellent article on Layered Citations.. But Evidentia doesn’t have any shortcuts for Layered Citations, and its sounded like a lot of work.

    Evidentia is NOT a Citation Tool

    When I hear someone say the Evidentia is a Citation tool at a convention, I have to put on my poker face. Yes, Evidentia INCLUDES a citation tool, and we have made citation creation a mandatory part of the process, but citation creation is not the reason to use Evidentia.

    Citation creation should not get in the way – we want to do it right, but we shouldn’t let it stop us from our goals.

    Getting Out of My Own Way

    end-44178_640I chose not to do a layered citation in this case. The reason was that I do not know the provenance of the record in my father’s possession, except for what I can extract from the record itself. I chose to do a very simple birth certificate citation, noting it was in my father’s private collection.

    A citation should help another researcher validate your work, but that doesn’t mean that my goal is to research the history of every document I use. You may disagree, but in this case I was using a document that is relatively trustworthy to validate facts that not being contested. If there were conflicts to be addressed, I might feel differently, but my father is still alive, I grew up knowing his parents and sister, and my REAL goal was just to solidify the evidence.

    Moving On

    So where are we? I have documented myself and my parents. I have documented my paternal grandparents, and I am currently working on my maternal grandparents. Once I finish that I will import what I have into RootsMagic, before moving on to generation 4.

    Getting stuck was not the only reason I slowed down – I am also hip deep in developing the next version of the program, so please bear with me.

    Summary

    Hopefully you can learn something from my mistake – don’t let citations get in your way. Take your best shot, then move on to the REAL reason you are using Evidentia – to organize your information and analyze your data!

  • Evidentia and the Genealogical Proof Standard

    Evidentia and the Genealogical Proof Standard

    The Evidentia Genealogical Proof Standard integration is one of the most important aspects of how the software was designed. Every feature in Evidentia maps directly to one of the 5 elements of the GPS — the framework established by the Board for Certification of Genealogists that defines what rigorous, credible genealogical research looks like.

    Whether you are working toward BCG certification or simply want to research with confidence, here’s how Evidentia supports each element:

    So how does Evidentia support the tenants of the Genealogical Proof Standard?

    How Evidentia Meets Each Genealogical Proof Standard Requirement

    Element of the GPS Supported by Evidentia
    Reasonably exhaustive search
    • Evidentia’s Research Summary Report tallies the current breadth of cited source material in an easy to review format.
    • Evidentia’s source first approach encourages a thorough cataloguing of source material, often uncovering minor facts that might otherwise not be captured by a researcher using other software.
    Complete and accurate citation of sources
    • Evidentia REQUIRES citations before a researcher can draw ANY conclusions.
    • All Evidentia reports include proper citations of source materials.
    • Evidentia’s customizable Citation Templates insures consistent citations written based on the researcher’s preferred methodology.
    Analysis and correlation of the collected information
    • Evidentia requires that EVERY assertion be analyzed for quality and acknowledged with an ‘analysis’ paragraph before any conclusions can be drawn.
    • By not hard linking claims to subjects, Evidentia encourages capturing not only positive evidence, but also conflicting and even ‘missing’ evidence.
    Resolution of conflicting evidence.
    • Evidentia’s Analyze Evidence screen brings all relevant assertions together in one place, encouraging the researcher to weigh the source of information and review conflicting evidence.
    • Where conflicting evidence may add confusion when included as supporting information in a standard genealogy program, Evidentia is built from the start to accept, and indeed expect, this kind of data.
    Soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion.
    • When analysis is complete, Evidentia unlocks a separate Summary Conclusion box for documenting the current conclusion based on ALL the evidence. The Summary Conclusion is prominently featured in Evidentia’s Genealogical Proof Report, the center piece of Evidentia
    • Evidentia’s Summary Conclusion is always presented in the context of all individual assertions, holding the researcher accountable for all the relevant information, and insuring a response that can be reviewed for credibility.

    Why the Genealogical Proof Standard Matters

    The Genealogical Proof Standard is not just a checklist — it is a discipline. Many genealogists collect facts without evaluating them, which leads to family trees built on unverified assumptions. The GPS forces researchers to slow down, look critically at every source, and acknowledge what the evidence actually says rather than what they hope it says.

    Evidentia was built with this same philosophy. The software does not let you shortcut the process. You must record your source before you record your claim. You must analyze each claim before you draw a conclusion. This workflow aligns precisely with how the GPS expects a professional genealogist to operate.

    If you are studying for BCG certification, preparing a proof argument, or simply trying to do more credible research, Evidentia gives you the structure to stay on track. Every report Evidentia generates — from the Source Inventory to the Genealogical Proof Report — reflects the standards that distinguish rigorous research from casual ancestor collecting.

    Want to see Evidentia in action? Learn how to analyze genealogy evidence step by step using Evidentia’s 4-step claim analysis method.

  • What Do You Expect Your Genealogy Software to PRODUCE?

    What Do You Expect Your Genealogy Software to PRODUCE?

    After my blog post on Evidence-based and Conclusion-based genealogy, and the “right tool for the job” position I took on software in general, I got to thinking more about the genealogy software I use, and why I have more than one tool in the “toolbox”.

    Entering data into a software program is work; necessary work, but work none-the-less. I was asked this question during the BETA testing of Evidentia: “Why should I enter all this citation information into Evidentia?” What do I expect in return?

    That’s a great question. Data-entry is tedious, time-consuming, and monotonous, and no matter how much the software tries to simplify or speed up the process, data-entry is NOT our goal. That’s why the number one enhancement request I got was the ability to import GEDCOM data from other programs (a topic for another day). Even after sharing data between programs, there is a cleanup step. (Ever tried sharing FTM data with ANY other program via the GEDCOM?)

    What’s the payoff? I value my time – why should I invest it into entering data into Evidentia, RootsMagic, Ancestry.com, or any other genealogy program.

    “Data entry is tedious…what’s the payoff?”

    What follows is an inventory of the genealogy software I use (or should I say, the software I use when doing genealogy), and what I expect the product to produce – the return on my investment. I will exclude software that doesn’t require me to enter substantial data or import a GEDCOM.

    I started with RootsMagic in 1995, so it makes sense to justify it’s usage first.

    RootsMagic

    • Relationship charts – a visual, easy to understand representation of my family tree
    • Relationship calculations – very useful in researching
    • Narrative report – the beginnings of the family “story”
    • Other reports – the “status” of my current research
    • Data repository – a safe place to store all my work to date (this one is easy to forget, but crucial)

    GenSmarts

    • Gap Analysis – identification of gaps in my research
    • Lead Generation – a potential list of sources to be checked

    Evidentia

    • Source catalogue – a data repository for all the sources referenced in my research (in citation form)
    • Claims catalogue – a comprehensive list of the claims made by any given, and its relationship to a person of interest. (#2 reason it was written)
    • Genealogical Proof Report – a detailed analysis and justifiable conclusion for relating a fact or event to a particular person. (#1 reason it was written)
    • Research Summary report – the “status” of my current research, including the identification of gaps in my research
    • Data repository – a safe place to store all my work to date (this one is easy to forget, but crucial)

    Family Tree Maker 2012

    • Data Repository – an offline repository for my ancestry.com source data
    • (I find RootsMagic easier to use for everything else FTM does).

    ancestry.com, familysearch.org

    • Lead Generation – a potential list of sources to be checked
    • Clue Generation – a potential list of events and facts to be verified
    • Public Relationship charts – a visual, easy to understand representation of my family tree that is shared with others of like mind
    • (I have other expectations of ancestry.com, but not that require significant data sharing.)

    RootsPersona

    • A Web Site – relationship charts and summary reports presentable to my family in a context where I have control of the data and presentation.

    I tried to catalogue what I expect from each too. A side effect is that I have probably shown my ignorance vis-a-vis what I expect the software to produce and what the software is capable of. I invite you to point out these gaps in the comments, as well as comment on your own genealogy software tool chest and what YOU expect it to produce, either in the comment section or in your own blog.

    What Do You Expect Your Genealogy Software to PRODUCE?

  • Sex and the Genealogist

    Sex and the Genealogist

    …or why documenting research is NOT sexy.

    It’s a slow morning, so I decide to approach Evidentia as a user. Evidentia is the software product I developed to help genealogists follow the Genealogical Proof Standard and generate conclusions that they can stand by. BETA is almost complete, the product is stable, and I have a lot of data I want to enter. It has been a while since I shifted to “user mode”. My focus has been on fixing bugs and adding features that the volunteer BETA testers said they couldn’t live without. A cup of tea in hand I crank up my laptop and jump in…

    (That sound you hear is the song of Gryllus assimilis, or the common black cricket.)

    Wow, I have a lot of data. 86 sources I already have citations for in Roots Magic. I have as many or more in digital files scattered on my laptop’s hard drive. Then there is the crap information on ancestry.com I need to verify.

    Is my teacup empty already? I wonder if Becky bought any cookies. Hey look, kitty’s come to play with Daddy!

    This is the WRONG way to document research. It’s not the fault of Evidentia or any other genealogy program for that matter. If people travel down THIS road, I will never sell more than 10 copies of Evidentia, and that INCLUDES the one Mom bought. My baby will be unappreciated. It will never have the chance to go to school, get married, have a family of its own!

    REBOOT!

    tumblr_m6n6hg87241qe1bqp[1]
    I warm up my tea (there are no cookies). I nestle down with one of my favorite sources, “Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910”, from www.americanancestors.org. We are good friends, MVR and I, especially vol 481 p 105 line 73. MVR helped me to break through a MAJOR brick wall last year; and for my part – well I think I rescued him from obscurity if lack of citations on the internet is any indication.

    I zoom in to line 73…then zoom back out and open up Evidentia. I want to enter a citation first, get that over with, make sure its accurate while the material is right in front of me. The kitten rubs against my leg as I hit save, then return to my good friend, zooming back in on line 73. Oh look at that, my GG-GF was buried in Chelsea – I missed that last time we visited. I add an assertion for that fact in Evidentia. I’ll analyze it later, but at least I have it cataloged.

    In fact, there is a LOT of good stuff to line 73 – even a reference to his parents. I begin to type, recording all sorts of interesting little tidbits. Ah, MVR vol 481 you have always been so giving. I hit save again, and Evidentia has all the information recorded. Later I’ll use Evidentia to compare these assertions with others I have collected. For now, I tuck my friend back into his folder; then notice his cousin, volume 437. When was the last time we visited? Did I miss anything? I think my GGG-GF is on that one!

    I record a new citation and warm up my tea, ready to nestle down with a new friend, MVR vol 437 p 637 line 15. A quick scratch behind the ears for kitty, and hit zoom once more.

    I really wish Becky had bought cookies…