BOYD TREES DATABASE

In the late 1990s, I began researching my family tree in a serious way. However, I quickly found out that there was far TOO MUCH data available for me to make any reasonable analysis of a more than a small portion of it. I also found that there were LOTS of people researching the same families or families in the same area and time that I was. So, I began looking for a way to help organize some of the information, and help researchers to contact each other to share their information.

The result was the Boyd-Trees file. I began collecting family tree files that were available electronically. The only requirement was that the family had to contain at least one person named Boyd. I received files from individuals, from the Mormon Church data base, from Family Tree CDs from World Family Tree, and some trees from printed sources. I noted each individual in each tree with the source of the information, and generally with the date I received the file.

As I received a new file, I would merge it into the master Boyd-Trees data base (maintained in Family Tree Maker). As I merged a new file, FTM would identify possible identical individuals already in the existing data base. If the match seemed to be reasonable, I would merge the two individuals. This would leave one individual in the file, with two Contributors listed. The two contributors normally had some different information, as well as different individuals in their trees. Therefore, once a merge was completed, I would have a family that now included information not known by the original contributors, and well as family members not previously known by either researcher. Please note, that I do not verify any of the information submitted, or its original source.

I then published the file on WorldConnect.com, which is now part of RootsWeb.com. I immediately began getting inquiries from people about the information and individuals listed in the data base. Some of them had corrections, some had additional information, and some of them wanted to contact the original contributor to expand their research. The data base currently includes 130,000 individuals, and generates 5-10 e-mails a week asking for additional information.

You might ask about the practical value of a data base like this, with no verified information. Well, I have personally made contact with 4 living cousins, including putting my father in touch with a cousin that he hadnt seen in over 40 years. (He remembered her as a beautiful lady, and spent over an hour on the phone talking about memories.) I have also made contact with 6-10 people researching families connected to mine, and we exchange information on a regular basis.

My next goal is to add the queries from The Dean Road to the Boyd-Trees. I plan to work my way through each issue, entering the information, and the name of the person who submitted the query. If you would like to get your name published on the Internet <G>, I would appreciate any help you can give in putting the information into a file to merge into the Boyd Trees. Also, if you would like to add your information to the data base, send me a GEDCOM or FTM file, and I will merge it for the next update. John H. Boyd

johnhboyd@earthlink.net

Note:

The House of Boyd Society (HOB) has a Boyd data base that was started in the 1980s by myself and other early members of HOB and it was kept in a PAF data base before everyone was on the internet. Members would write to the HOB genealogist to add their Gedcom or to have a search done. No schooling was required to be HOB genealogist, still isn't. He/she is just a member of HOB and just entered the data in the PAF program or Gedcom. HOB members were asked to submit their Boyd line via a data base sheet. We put this PAF data base on a web site when the internet opened up and expanded it from there. HOB now has it on a new data base program. I still have copies of theoriginal sheets filled out in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These are the sheets that make up the HOB data base and these sheets are also on John Boyd's "Boyd Trees". Of course Boyd Trees now has over 123,000 entries.

Remember data is entered by humans in data bases, and humans can err.

This data is not meant to be your source data. Confirm all internet data in the original sources. (Richard G. Boyd)

Boyd Trees Data Base

History of HOB

NOTE: Use this data as a finding tool, just as you would any other secondary source. When you find the name of an ancestor listed, confirm the facts in original sources.

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NOTES TO RESEARCHERS

When you use this site, please keep in mind the difference between primary and secondary sources and the importance of checking those sources. Accept nothing without further checking. It is our hope that through this collection of data from many sources, you will find a piece of the puzzle that you are working on and that may lead you to other discoveries.

Do not duplicate in any form without permission of Clan Boyd Society International.