managing a large db of surnames

[Avigdor Ben-Dov avigdorbd@gmail.com]

X-No-archive: yes
I am trying to organize a large db of surnames for the RUTKIEWICZ
clan of which I am a direct descendent. I began with multiple searches
and combined many sources into one Excel spreadsheet with standard
header fields (name, surname, father, etc.). This method has given me
many clues to family relationships across time and place. The problem
is how can I maintain the relationships within the db while preserving
individual searches on the given names? I tried using a spouse field,
for example while also making a separate entry for the spouse. In the
case of a woman, the surname change is not clear or unknown and in any
case there is a problem with searches for female family members and
seemingly duplicate work in listing spouses in individual fields as
well as noting these couples, or offspring, in a note field with each
family relation. Is there a technique or method to arrange the data by
fields so as to efficiently incorporate all individuals related to any
particular entry (by family relation)? This is becoming too
complicated for me!
Avigdor Ben-Dov
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X-No-archive: yes
jewi...@lyris.jewishgen.org (Avigdor Ben-Dov avig...@gmail.com) wrote on
28 Jul 2015 in soc.genealogy.jewish:

> I am trying to organize a large db of surnames for the RUTKIEWICZ
> clan of which I am a direct descendent. I began with multiple searches
> and combined many sources into one Excel spreadsheet with standard
> header fields (name, surname, father, etc.). This method has given me
> many clues to family relationships across time and place. The problem
> is how can I maintain the relationships within the db while preserving
> individual searches on the given names? I tried using a spouse field,
> for example while also making a separate entry for the spouse. In the
> case of a woman, the surname change is not clear or unknown and in any
> case there is a problem with searches for female family members and
> seemingly duplicate work in listing spouses in individual fields as
> well as noting these couples, or offspring, in a note field with each
> family relation. Is there a technique or method to arrange the data by
> fields so as to efficiently incorporate all individuals related to any
> particular entry (by family relation)? This is becoming too
> complicated for me!

"a large db", that's rather relative, isn't it?

Imho, namechanges by marriage do not change the individual,
so better keep the maidenname throughout in Genealogy,
as is legal custom overhere in continental Europe anyway.

===

Stop using Excel, that won't do when it becomes so large,
that you cannot see your own mistakes.

Use a real 4th generation interactive database
and use pointers troughout.

Put all people in one table.

So children have two pointerfields to their parents,
but then parents don't need pointers to their children,
children are found by indexing, so the number of children
is unlimited and independent of marriage status.
[having parents point to children is just duplicate information,
and could lead to erroneous reasults on a crash]

A marriage is a date and place with two pointers to the partners
in a seperate marriage table, so the number of marriages is unlimited too.

Make some room for remarks in every record,
the unexpected is behind every corner.

etc. etc. etc.

Programme "views" that do selected searches
I like HTML clickable anchors to other "views".

Perhaps use MS-Access, or an online server.

If you are not up to programming this to your own liking,
better use one of those commercial genealogy programmes,
that never exactly do what you want them to do,
or use an online service with the same expectations.

--
Evertjan Hannivoort.
The Netherlands.
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