|
Pages: 1 [2]
|
 |
|
Author
|
Topic: Spreadsheets help track Surnames (Read 2221 times)
|
MarieC
RootsChat Marquessate
 Offline
Posts: 3082
In Queensland, Oz
|
Oh, I'm glad there is someone else with this problem!! I was really keen to get this software, loaded it in with alacrity, made a start on entering data - and haven't done any more since! It is such a HUGE task!!!
MarieC
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Martins in London and Wales, Lockwoods in Yorkshire, Hartleys in London, Lichfield and Brighton, Hubands and Smiths in Ireland, Bentleys in London and Yorkshire, Denhams in Somerset, Scoles in London, Meyers in London, Cooks in Northumberland
|
|
|
kerryb
RootsChat Marquessate
Offline
Posts: 9566
|
That sounds a bit like my website, I have several blank pages that I am intending to put stuff on about the places where my family lived plus photos. Have I done anything yet - no!!!!!!
Kerry
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.ukSearching for my family - Baldwin - Sussex, Middlesex, Cork, Pilbeam - Sussex, Harmer - Sussex, Terry - Surrey, Kent, Rhoades - Lincs, Roffey - Surrey, Traies - Devon & Middlesex & many many more to be found on my website .... www.kerrysfamilyhistory.co.uk |
|
|
macphail
RootsChat Extra
Offline
Posts: 34
Veni, Vidi, Visa - I came, I saw, I spent
|
I started entering data in Excel about 5 years ago. It has its limits, 65,000+ rows per worksheet, so I'd need about 150,000 rows for a Master database. I don't have MS Access so I'd love to hear of any alternatives.
If you're just starting, keep it simple (not what I did). One worksheet each for Births, Marriages, Deaths, Baptisms, Burials, Census etc.
I've just finished the GRO births & deaths for Sampson/Samson - a mammoth task during which time I found data missing due to trying to be too clever so I have to double check the whole lot to be satisfied of getting 100% completion. Theres still 45,000 rows of names though. Not bad going.
What I'm having trouble with is getting all that into a Gedcom. Nothing I've tried, works. I have to manipulate the columns and data so much I risk losing data. I have backups made.
Pete
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Sampson - London, Uttoxeter, Stoke, Salford
Cockshaw + var; (Mc)Cawley - Swinton, Lancashire
Buckley - Manchester, Dublin, Pendleton Salford
Hogarth - Liverpool, Birkenhead
Parton/Pardon - Salop, Swinton, Lancs
|
|
|
|
|
downside
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 2532
Make my day
|
What I'm having trouble with is getting all that into a Gedcom. Nothing I've tried, works. I have to manipulate the columns and data so much I risk losing data.
Let me try and understand you. You are trying to convert an Excel spreadsheet into a gedcom file? I would have thought that was impossible.
Basically, a gedcom file uses a database consisting of 3 major tables:
Individuals (I numbers)
Groups (F numbers)
Notes (N numbers)
Individuals contains:
Individual ref number (e.g. I0100)
First, middle and surname
where and when born
gender
where and when died details
ancestry ref number (e.g. F020)
descendancy ref number (e.g. F001)
Groups contains:
Husband ref number (e.g. I0100)
Wife ref number (e.g. I0101)
Where and when married
Children ref numbers (e.g. I0300, I0301, I0302, I0303)
Notes contains:
Notes based on the Individual ref number e.g. I0100 is N0100 in the notes table.
All the tables are contained in the one file but they are laid out in a specific area of the file i.e. Individuals, followed by Groups, followed by Notes. There is also a 4th table called Sources (S numbers), which is relatively small.
Organising your data by having separate workbooks for births, marriages and deaths is also fraught with difficulty.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Sussex: Floate, West
Kent: Tuffee
Cheshire: Gradwell
|
|
|
macphail
RootsChat Extra
Offline
Posts: 34
Veni, Vidi, Visa - I came, I saw, I spent
|
There is a utility (ExcelToGedcom) that gives you a very basic layout in Excel, working with Individuals only with Birth & Death data. It doesn't link families. After much tweaking, your spreadsheet data can be saved as a text file that presents the data in a Gedcom format after a bit more tweaking in a word processor. Then paste the whole lot into a 'dummy' gedcom you create that has the vital headers and footers that make a gedcom work. 1,000's of rows of data means months of work can be done in a couple of hours. I tried it once, then twice & worked perfectly at the third attempt with a smaller batch of data. But the instructions you get aren't perfect but it's definitely possible, just with a lot of work if you are comfortable with excel.
What I'm going to attempt next is to add Family groups with Maiden name data, which will be interesting.
Organising your data by having separate workbooks for births, marriages and deaths is also fraught with difficulty
I have one workbook with a few worksheets for each type of data. Excels row limits don't give me much option to keep everything in one workbook or worksheet. So a workbook for births include worksheets for Freebmd births, UKbmd births, IGI etc. Then a workbook for marriages with similar worksheets and so on. I found using one workbook with 20+ sheets was a very large file (75MB) that was liable to crash. It was safer to split the load. I have backups on DVD with everything on it. If I do want to manipulate sheets I simply copy the sheet into a new book, so if it goes wrong, I've not lost anything.
Pete
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: Tuesday 20 May 08 07:48 BST (UK) by macphail »
|
Logged
|
Sampson - London, Uttoxeter, Stoke, Salford
Cockshaw + var; (Mc)Cawley - Swinton, Lancashire
Buckley - Manchester, Dublin, Pendleton Salford
Hogarth - Liverpool, Birkenhead
Parton/Pardon - Salop, Swinton, Lancs
|
|
|
macphail
RootsChat Extra
Offline
Posts: 34
Veni, Vidi, Visa - I came, I saw, I spent
|
Just want to report a successful conversion of birth data with gender & linked mothers maiden names from excel into Gedcom.  
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Sampson - London, Uttoxeter, Stoke, Salford
Cockshaw + var; (Mc)Cawley - Swinton, Lancashire
Buckley - Manchester, Dublin, Pendleton Salford
Hogarth - Liverpool, Birkenhead
Parton/Pardon - Salop, Swinton, Lancs
|
|
|
|
Pages: 1 [2]
|
|
|
|
|
All this wonderful, technical info and I still haven't managed my web page.... 