Absolute beginner

[K Oliver]

I tried using Reunion 2 years ago, and found it too hard to understand. I am back again having found a lot more information out (all listed long hand in notebooks) and would like to try again. Is there a very simple getting started guide? I find I do not understand the terminology when looking at explanations on this forum...like what is a family card? I also have some complicated information, a woman married twice, had 6 children, 2 before her first marriage, a stint in the workhouse, she then married a chap who took her kids on. She had 3 more with him, he was killed in WW1, she had another child out of wedlock and them married the father of this last child 2 years later. the child has the mothers name in one census and the fathers in the next. This is all very clear in my notebooks but I have no idea how to add it to reunion. There is a young person in the current generation who has changed sex, and several people who have been married more than once. Also I dont know how to do things like add citations (I assume these are sources?) I click on add citations, and then become baffled. So, is there a very simple step by step getting started guide I can work my way though? Thank you.

[Deb]

I tried using Reunion 2 years ago, and found it too hard to understand. I am back again having found a lot more information out (all listed long hand in notebooks) and would like to try again. Is there a very simple getting started guide?

Yes. The manual installed with the software includes a Tutorial designed to assist new users in getting up and running and in entering information about their family. To access the Tutorial, open the Sample Family file installed with Reunion 12. Then, choose Help -> Tutorial.

I find I do not understand the terminology when looking at explanations on this forum...like what is a family card?

The "family card" is what appears when you open a family file. It shows three generations: the husband/wife in the center, their children below them, and their parents above them.

I also have some complicated information, a woman married twice, had 6 children, 2 before her first marriage, a stint in the workhouse, she then married a chap who took her kids on. She had 3 more with him, he was killed in WW1, she had another child out of wedlock and them married the father of this last child 2 years later.

This is best done by entering the information in the order that it happened...
1. Add the woman and the father of her first two children. (This is explained in the tutorial.)
2. Add a new spouse to the woman. (I.e., click on the plus above the woman's name and select "Add New Spouse" from the menu that appears and add her first husband's name and information.)
3. Add their three children.
4. To show the two children who were born before her first marriage as being adopted by her first husband, click on the "+ Children" button under them and select "Add Male (or Female) Child from the Sidebar." Then, drag the appropriate child directly from the Sidebar and drop him/her into the Children area of the family view. Then, click Add when prompted. Finally, click the button to "Duplicate" the child button. (Duplicating the child button will result in the child button being shown on the family view of the child's natural parents and the family view of the child's adoptive parents.)
(Repeat this for each child adopted child.)
5. Finally, add a child status of Adopted to each child. This is done on the family view of the adoptive parents by Control-clicking (right-clicking) on the child's name button and selecting Child Status -> Adopted from the menu that appears.
6. Add a new spouse to the woman and enter the information for her 2nd husband and the children they had. (When adding their child, you may get a message about the child being born before they were married. However, you can ignore that message since it was actually the case.)

Note: every time you add a new spouse/partner to the woman, you will be creating a new family view to display the information pertinent to that particular couple. To navigate between the three family views showing the woman and each spouse/partner, Control-click (right-click) on her name on the family view and select Spouses & Children. Then, select the appropriate spouse.

the child has the mothers name in one census and the fathers in the next.

You may want to pick one name and make a note of the other name in the Notes field or enter one surname in brackets in the Last Name field for that child as well as making a note of the situation in the Notes field.

There is a young person in the current generation who has changed sex...

I recommend selecting one sex and making a note of the situation in the Miscellaneous Notes field.

Perhaps other users can chime in on how they handle sex changes and/or name changes in Reunion. (There is no mandatory way of handling either.)

Also I dont know how to do things like add citations (I assume these are sources?)

You would begin by adding a new Source. Then, link (or cite) that source to a particular name, event, fact, note, or marriage field in Reunion. Information about how to create a new source and how to add it as a citation can be found in the manual by choosing Help -> Contents and searching for "add new source" and "citing source," respectively.

I hope you find this information helpful in getting started in using Reunion

[K Oliver]

Deb...thank you so much....I have now found the manual. There is a lot of reading there, I knew there was a help button but not an actual manual. This is brilliant, I shall work through it. One more question, an unknown father would be added as 'Unknown'?

[Deb]

...One more question, an unknown father would be added as 'Unknown'?

Yes. That's fine

[Carolyn Maydole Hoard]

Here is how I treat a gender change: The person goes in the preferred place on the family file - male or female. Then in the first name section I first put the original name, then "/", then the current name.

[fjvanbodegom]

It looks that you are using a / forward slash.
In my opinion NEVER EVER use a forward slash in names fields.
I am sure that you will get problems when exporting and importing gedcom
Click on the thumb and you will see the result after importing GEDCOM

After import.jpg

[jmo]

As Frans said, placing a / in a name field will cause invalid GEDCOMs to be generated. The GEDCOM identifiles a persons last name in the name text field by placing the / before and after the last name.

[Carolyn Maydole Hoard]

Thank you. What would you suggest? Will a "-" work?

[John Hill]

I've never been in this situation. But I think that should it arise, I would put the most used name (probably the latest) in the first name field, put the other name(s) in the AKA field and append explanatory notes. Oh, and use the latest gender, not "unknown".
Others may opt for the reverse. AFAIK there's no established convention - though that may come.

[Kim]

Thank you. What would you suggest? Will a "-" work?

I've also not yet had this situation, but I'd probably put the 2nd name in square brackets, eg. John [Mary] and then explain in the notes. I do use square brackets when dealing with a woman whose birth name I do not know, eg. Mary [John Smith]. As far as I know, the brackets haven't caused any issues for me.

[CONLEY Research]

If you have someone who has changed their name because of a change in gender identity, I'd recommend just putting their new name in the name box. If you need to record their old name somewhere, use the "Alias" field.

People who have changed their gender identity usually refer to their old names as "deadnames" and most find it very offensive to be identified by that name. It's very different than with other people who have changed their names.

I know we are trying to record facts and identifying data about people and a deadname is one of those facts. But I feel we should also try to avoid being offensive, and, to the extent that we can, identify people in the way they wished to be known. For example, say I found an enslaved person in my history who was only in records with a racist nickname that was given by the slave holder. Later that person was freed and gave their name in records as "Susan." Would you put the racist nickname in the name box? Probably not. You'd want reports and charts to show that person as Susan, with a note somewhere that she's found in earlier records as "Racist Nickname."

[Jader]

Hello everyone. I, too, am a newby at this. I am using Ancestry as a search engine and have a lot of sources to use as citations, but I would like to attach documents from Ancestry (censuses, border crossing entries, arrival/landing documentation ). How & where do I attach these? - I expect I will convert them all - .pdf?

[Bob White]

.............There is a young person in the current generation who has changed sex, and...........

Another possibility is error by the census canvasser in one or the other of the two censuses. Just saying!

In the absence of any other verifying information, I'd use my judgement to pick one sex and then explain the situation in the Notes field.

[Michael Talibard]

Hello everyone. I, too, am a newby at this. I am using Ancestry as a search engine and have a lot of sources to use as citations, but I would like to attach documents from Ancestry (censuses, border crossing entries, arrival/landing documentation ). How & where do I attach these? - I expect I will convert them all - .pdf?

I seem to have a mix of jpg, pdf, png—mostly jpg: it doesn't really matter. Save them to wherever seems appropriate and drag/drop them into the multimedia slot as you are creating the source (or later).

[AE Palmer]

Please excuse the very late reply; my computer has been out of commission for months. I do hope that the following information resolves some of your issues.

Unfortunately, there is no simple getting started guide for Reunion. That said, the attached manual is very good at explaining basic and obscure questions on how to use the program.

Wow! So many questions. Let me begin by clarifying some basic facts about using Reunion:
At the bottom left corner of every screen page there is a question mark (?) and clicking on this icon brings up the appropriate fact sheet in the manual for that screen page. Use it frequently.
The FAMILY PAGE where you see a “nuclear family” –– a Father, Mother, Children (if any), and Parents of the primary persons (if known).
Each PERSON has his / her own screen page. This is where you enter information about each individual.
CITATIONS and SOURCES are NOT the same thing!
Any given source is a single entry that records where and when you found relevant information. (A book, census, birth certificate, baptismal, death, and burial record, etc.)
You create SOURCES in a separate list. Each source type has an automatic set of fields that you can populate as needed. You can also attach multi-media files to sources.
When entering data (names, dates, locations, facts, and notes) in a PERSON screen, you should also create a list of CITATIONS for any and all research material you have for every event, fact, or note attached to that person!
A CITATION is the link between your recorded data in the person sheet (and family sheets for that matter) and any given SOURCE.
When properly using Reunion to record your research, your final product becomes more accurate and robust as you find and create multiple citations for any given factoid. (I have some events and facts that have more than a dozen citations!)

Now for some help in sorting out the complicated relationships you mentioned:
the female you mentioned has had THREE different relationships. Although related to the same female, each must be recorded separately as linked “spouses” (legitimate or otherwise): an unknown father (the progenitor of her first two children).
a first marriage where her husband adopted her existing children and then sired three more children.
A third union resulting in an out-of-wedlock child and subsequent (second) marriage and adoption of that child by the father.

As for the person who has had a sex change, entering the event becomes problematic (regardless of the app you are using). My personal preference would be to record the person’s birth name and sex as part of the “name of record” and enter the second name in the AKA fact field with extensive note explanations attached.

I hope this information has been useful in getting a handle on using Reunion.