New! Simple Citations Templates are now Available for Family Historian 7!

Templates for Family Historian 7 have just been released! The templates are available on the Family Historian User Group Knowledge Base.

Click here to be obtain the Simple Citations Templates for Family Historian 7!

While the content of the templates is essentially the same as those for RootsMagic, those being released will make entering data even easier with the features now supported only by Family Historian 7. These include the fact that "places" and "repository" data fields are now fully integrated with the same data entered elsewhere in FH - this not only makes data entry a lot faster, but also makes data much more consistent across the program.

Additional information on the Family Historian 7 templates may be found here. A brief overview on how to use the new features found only in the Family Historian 7 templates may be viewed here.

 

Simple Citations

Citing genealogical sources for your family history shouldn't require a degree in rocket science or entail spending every waking moment trying to determine exactly how to document your materials. I created "Simple Citations" for my own use because all of the existing approaches require too much work, are fraught with ambiguities, and are far too confusing. It was also originally created (back in December 2010) to be used with RootsMagic (RM), a program that, in my opinion, had the most well-designed user interface, was relatively (no pun intended) easy to use, and most important of all, permitted sources to be consistently cited with the least amount of effort. During 2021, another software application, Family Historian (FH), not only added templates, allowed data created with the RM Simple Citations templates to be imported, but also added new features that makes data entry even easier. As a result, after using Simple Citations with RM for more than a decade, I created new templates (based on the original ones developed for RM) to take advantage of FH. It needs to be noted that the approach advocated by Simple Citations can still, however, be used in other programs but with the realization that they probably won't have a customizable template system for entering data consistently. Over the years, I've used many of the other programs out there and most are too complicated and confusing to use. This site was created to help others understand how the Simple Citations system works.

In order to make this site as easy to use as possible, it has been divided into several sections:

• Overview: Provides basic information about Simple Citations.
• Templates: Although this page may be a bit technical, it explains how the templates were developed.
• Examples: Simple Citations is very easy to use, I have, however, provided some examples for those who are visual learners.
• Downloads: Links are provided to download the currently existing templates (for Family Historian 7 and RootsMagic).
• FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
• Links: Just a few links to other sites that may be of interest.
• About: Provides a bit of background on the development of Simple Citations.

 

1950 U.S. Census Celebration!

Where has the time gone?! It seems as if the 1940 U.S. was just released and yet the 1950 Census is now here! In honor of the release of the 1950 U.S. Census, this site has been updated and a blank form is being provided that may be used for transcribing your ancestor's information. The blank 1950 Census form may be found by clicking here.

1940 U.S. Census Celebration!

In honor of the release of the 1940 U.S. Census, this site has been updated and a blank form is being provided that may be used for transcribing your ancestor's information. The blank 1940 Census form may be found by clicking here.

While you're visiting, be sure to visit the rest of this site and find out how easy it is to cite your sources. Enjoy!