My mom has been working on one since she retired 2 years ago...so far she has gotten back to the Mayflower on her father's side. Pretty interesting stuff. Mom isn't using any computer programs to do this, she's been visiting county records and looking there.
I think it helps that she has a cousin that is also "helping". I'll have to recommend the computer program to her.
I originally started by adding my family (parents, 4 brothers and 2 sisters), then added aunt, uncles and cousins. After continuing, I included sibling and cousin's spouses and their kids and just grow from there.
I based the family tree off my DD so I have 8 full trees in 1. (4 grandparents on either side of the family) I normally print a copy of each section of the tree once a year and take them to family reunions or picnic. Lay them out on a table with pens for people to add, change, update or correct the information. I also talk (sucker) my mom into visiting an old relative somewhere a few times each year. I take me laptop and scanner to gather info and scan photos. Get on old woman or man started talking about 'the good old days and family' and you will have a hard time keeping up.
The information I gather for each person is...
first name
middle name
last name
nickname
birth city
birth date
marrage date
divorce date
death date
military dates
email
current city
photos
The software has many other options and fields. I've attached a sample of the family tree.
Dawn, I've purchased about 7 different versions of the software over the years. They are full versions a not upgrades so she can have one. The last two versions are written in .dot so you wouldn't want to go older.
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