Family Historian v Family Tree Maker

[LynneJ]

I am trying to get my research back on track after losing my Husband and my Mum. I have plenty of time now and want to get it right!

I always used FTM and linked it to Ancestry, but decided I didn't like the linking between the two. I bought Family Historian on the recommendation of a local family history group member, but didn't get much chance to get to use it. This is a few years ago now and I would really appreciate your thoughts, as things have probably changed in that time!

 

[Tim]

Hi Lynne, I've never used Family Historian so I can't speak to that. But I have used FTM for a number of years now. The syncing now works reliably, I'm not sure what else you'd like to know.

 

[Pauline]

My other half uses Family Historian and is very pleased with it. I don’t know what version you have - it’s currently on version 7, but version upgrades are cheaper than the full program. You can’t sync with Ancestry, but you can of course manually upload gedcoms as with any other program.

Why not play around with version you have and see how you get on? Everyone has their own preferences. There is a user forum which is linked to from their own website.

 

[LynneJ]

Thank you both for replies. To be honest, I’m not sure what I want but need to get back on track with regular research after spending what little time I have had over the past couple of years doing DNA searching for my unknown grandfather. He is now in my tree!

I will revisit Family Historian and try to make a decision.

 

[ChalfontR]

I use both - I find Family Tree Maker much easier and quicker to enter data but that may just be because I have used it for a long time, I also find the sync to Ancestry feature can be very useful. I tend to use FTM as my default option.

Family Historian is a more "powerful" tool in that it has far more options and different ways to configure things. It is also way ahead in charting options - something FTM is quite restricted and poor in. The downside is that some of the program features and chart options can be complicated to set up and use, but there is a very good user forum who can help.

For a simple pedigree chart I would use FTM, but for anything more complex I would usually export the data to Family Historian to produce the family tree.

 

[Paul Reeve]

I use family historian and find it fairly easy to use once you’ve got the hang of it. I used FTM in the past but changed when it changed ownership. There is a separate program called ancestral sources which can help with entering the same data for multiple people (such as census records). As ChalfontR says, there’s a very helpful user group. In addition, if you use Findmypast or My Heritage, there is an option to get hints from the programs.