I'm #1

With each new hobby there's always the realization of a whole new world out there. Knitting, photography, running. Each has their own little world to navigate. Lingo to learn, tools to aquire, and knowledge to amass. Genealogy is no different.

I've been using ancestry.com not only as my primary research tool, but also as my family tree. I've realized that I need to find a program for helping me manage all of this information I've been finding.

Googling "genealogy software" seemed like a logical place to start. Wow! Definitely lots of choices. After a lot of research, I narrowed it down to a few choices. TMG seemed like the forerunner. I had seen the abbreviation before, but had no idea what it meant. Too Much Genealogy? I think not! Trace My Genes? Nope. Finally in my search for software, the mystery was solved. The Master Genealogist. Of course, why didn't I think of that?

I downloaded the demo video and was definitely intrigued. Downloading the 30-day trial came next. The bad part about having my tree on ancestry.com was that I had no option to use the technology that TMG has for importing data. I had to resort to a GEDCOM. The problem was that when it transferred I didn't like the way it was numbered. I was listed as #744 (or some other ridiculous number).

Now don't misunderstand, I'm really not an egotistical maniac, but in this case I need to be #1. I guess I've been spoiled by the ability to click "Home Person" on ancestry. I need to go back to me when I lose my bearings, or to be able to move on to another line. Since I didn't see any way around it, I've resorted to hand entering each person one by one into TMG. Once I'm past the first couple of generations, I really don't care much about the numbering system, but I need to be #1.

ABC

One of my "favorite" ancestors has to be Albert Barnes Cutler Salmon. He has always stood out to me simply because of his name: ABC Salmon. Since I've delved seriously into genealogy in the last couple of years, it has been so intriguing to find more information about him.





One of the biggest mysteries surrounding him has to do with his death. At 67 years old he left California for Guatemala. We never understood why. I recently found three pages from his passport application. Evidently, Guatemala was only supposed to be the first stop. He listed Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Salvador, Mexico and Panama as the countries he was "indefinitely" planning on visiting. He lists "Land business" as his reason for visiting these countries. I wonder what he was planning on accomplishing? This application was from March 1923.

He is listed on the Passenger and Crew list for the SS Ecuador in December of 1923. I believe that this is actually his body returning to California from Guatemala, but I'm not certain. Did he go to Guatemala and get sick? Was he still alive and actually died in California? Is there more to the story than I realize? I'd love to find more details.

Taking the plunge

Out there seeking my roots.