After you have completed entering the names that you know on the pedigree form and then preparing a family group sheet for each of those persons, you are ready to take the next step as an amateur genealogist.  Do not be concerned that you do not have every piece of information, but rather get a feel for the concept of how and what information is recorded.  This method of recording ancestral and descendant information is universal.  If you do not have a computer that is adequate, then consider the ideas shown on the "No Software" page.

Your best place to continue organizing your genealogy information is in one of the many commercial genealogy programs.  Each program has its special features and the things that it does best, so choosing one can be confusing and sometimes expensive.  Although I have my specific needs, you may not know just how these special features will fit with your capability, computer, and information.  It is also difficult to anticipate what your future needs will be.  You will basically want to record names, dates, places, and sources for various events which describe the life of the person and then record their relationship to others.  Their history will come alive if you can describe their movements, decisions, and significant events.   You will also may want to record pictures and stories about these ancestors.

I have tried writing my own software for many years and found that my needs out paced my ability to maintain new programming code.  I have purchased commercial programs like The Master Genealogist, Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, and Personal Ancestral File.  Others are Brothers Keeper, Family Reunion, Family Origins, etc. and the list (see list below) goes on and on.  Each of these has unique look and feel, similar structures, as well as special features.

The best place to begin is with something FREE, comprehensive, user friendly, and with the ability to completely move all data to another program if desired.  The PAF (Personal Ancestral File) is a place to begin that meets those requirements.  Navigate to their download page by:

• Open the Family Search site at http://www.familysearch.org/.
• Click on "Order Download Products" near the top of the page (in the green).
• Click on "Software Downloads - Free" in the table.
• Click on product 77062999 "Personal Ancestral File 4.0.4" in the table.
• The above file is 5.75 Mb and suitable for Windows 95+ only.
• You can also choose 77064999 "Personal Ancestral File 5.2.18.0" at 9.7Mb for a more comprehensive, yet still easy to use, program.
• Program settings and preferences for PAF 5 may be found at the PAF Settings page.  <-- new

The above is NOT an endorsement of the LDS Church in any way.  This just happens to be an excellent place for the new genealogist to begin and the program can be customized to eliminate any LDS specific fields from showing if desired.  The latest release (version 5.2.18.0) is slower than version 4.0.4 to load, but is worth the wait.

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Some links to reviews of commercial software are:

http://www.gensoftsb.com/winsoft.htm

Some commercial program names are:

Ages-Family Tree Database, Ancestors & Descendants, Ancestral Quest, Behold, BirthWrite, Brothers Keeper, Create Family Trees Quick & Easy, Cumberland Family Tree, Dynas Tree, Family Explorer, Family Matters, Family Origins, Family Reunion, Family Ties Deluxe, Family Treasures, Family Tree Maker, Fzip Family Tree, GenDesigner, GeneWeb, Generations Family Tree, GenePro, Genesis, Genius Family Tree, Kindred Konnections, Kinship Archivist, Kith & Kin, Leaf's of the Family Tree, Legacy Family Tree, Parents, Personal Ancestral File, The Master Genealogist, Ultimate Family Tree, Win-Family -- Please use GOOGLE to find their home pages.

Each has their own style and unique interface, but to find the "best" for you may be expensive.