Two Genealogy Magazines: Family Tree and Family Chronicle

A while back I told you that I had picked up two genealogy magazines from Border’s bookstore. Here are my thoughts on both:

Family Chronicle
The articles in Family Chronicle seemed a bit more focused on how history could have influenced your ancestors, such as articles on our ancestor’s migration patterns and a description of poorhouses. But it also included matter-of-fact information on DNA testing and finding your way through the revamped Ellis Island database.

One-time purchase: $6.95
Yearly subscription (6 issues): $27

You can try out Family Chronicle with a free issue. You don’t have to pay the invoice unless you want to subscribe, so there’s no risk to try it. Also, the publishers of Family Chronicle have a new magazine, Internet Genealogy magazine. If you want to keep up on the new databases that are coming online, check into this at http://www.internet-genealogy.com/. You can also download a preview issue of Internet Genealogy.

Family Tree
Family Tree had a more modern layout, at least on the cover page and table of contents. You’ll see what I mean if you view both covers online. I didn’t see any historical articles in this issue, but some appealing articles were on watching out for junky genealogy databases and the latest on upgrades to Family Tree Maker and Legacy Family Tree software.

One-time purchase: $5.99
Yearly subscription (6 issues): $24

If you subscribe to Family Tree from their Web site, you’ll get a bonus gift: Family Tree Magazine's 2006 Genealogy Guidebook. Plus, this site has a “101 Best Undiscovered Web Sites” – links to great genealogy sites you’ve probably never explored.

Each magazine has its own “personality,” so if you can afford it, get both. I wish I had an unlimited budget for all of these magazines! That’s a subject for another day … budgeting for genealogy.

~Mary Kaye