New Site

This is a the first post for the new site. There’s really nothing yet yet, just the home page and this blog post. But stay tuned … there’s more to come.

What this is

I recently created a family tree using a mind map. The few people that I shared it with really like it, want to see more, and want to help develop it.

But I’m not that person in the family who does the geneaology thing. I have the interest, sure, but I’m not into the whole research thing, looking up newspaper clippings, checking birth and death records, looking for marriage certificates, etc. I’m fine with creating a mind map, but the rest? Not for me.

But the tree that we have is such a great start for anyone who really does want to do this. It’s inspiring to have a family tree already made – you just need to start looking up the details, and fill in the blanks.

I’m a nerd. For me it’s easy to get onto a common business site that specializes in the topic. But for anyone else who isn’t technically inclined, or doesn’t want to pay a big monthly subscription fee, where do they go?

So I started to think about creating a small website just for my family tree and the few people who might be interested in maintaining it. I looked for pre-defined site platforms that I could use and invite relatives. I found some that seemed too complex for my/our purposes, some that wanted too much money, some that seemed too difficult to leave if we just wanted to take our data and go.

But I did find a few resources that seemed good for the purpose. These software environments wouldn’t be useful to non-technical people, but for me it would be a breeze to install and get a simple environment up.

And hey, since I’m doing it for my family, why not do it for others too? I’m sure there are others who would want to create their own family tree website.
Hmm, maybe I should get a domain for this, how about … MyFamilyTree.Site?

And here we are.

Right now all we have here is this blog. I’m going to setup a couple sites in the next few days and configure them as described on the home page. Then, let’s see what you have to say. I’ll get it going, take suggestions, and let’s see where it leads.

For Fun? Or Profit?

I’m not sure yet. For my family there will be no fees. There is a cost to run servers so if this does get popular there will need to be a small maintenance fee. This isn’t intended to be a big business, just something small and sustainable for people to do something that many of us enjoy.

What’s next?

Please follow my new X/Twitter account: @MFTSite. I’ll post short notes there and more info in blogs here. If you do know genealogy, please do connect with me as this develops. It will be helpful to know what you would find helpful for yourself or others who venture into this fascinating world.

Thanks for being here!