07/21/97 TRACING YOUR ROOTS VIA PC

TRACING YOUR ROOTS VIA PC
Broderbund's software helps you create a family tree and search for data
Millions of people are still asking that all-too-familiar question: ''Why do I need a home computer?'' While kids take naturally to computers, for many adults they remain little more than glorified--and expensive--typewriters. But if you're fascinated with history and have a yen to better understand your family's past, there may now be a compelling reason to take the PC plunge.
Family Tree Maker 4.0 from Broderbund Software Inc. (510 794-6850) takes advantage of three things computers are truly good at: formatting and printing complex documents such as family trees, organizing tangled information into a coherent database such as a family history, and searching public data sources. And while it has competitors, most notably Corel's $79 Family Tree Suite, the Broderbund product seems the most comprehensive.
KINSHIP REPORT. The $60 basic version of Family Tree Maker is a sort of specialized information manager and word processor. (So far, it's available only for Windows--Macintosh users will have to settle for an older version.) You start a new tree with a ''family page'' on which you enter information about yourself, your spouse (or spouses), and any children. The page is part of an on-screen notebook, and as you add data, new pages are created for your parents and your spouse's parents.
You can enter as much or as little information about each individual as you want. You can go from the basics, such as dates and places of birth and death, to details of military records or medical histories. Any information you lack can simply be left blank.
Once the data are entered, you can use them to print a variety of reports. Starting with any individual, you can build family trees of either descendants or ancestors. And since Family Tree Maker understands relationships, it can generate a kinship report that tells how each person in your family is related to any given individual. It also lets you combine these reports with scanned pictures or documents into a printed family album. Think of the holiday gift possibilities!
Of course, unless you come from a family that keeps scrupulous records, you're probably going to run out of information on your ancestors within a couple of generations. That's where the program's research capabilities come in. Vast computerized databases of genealogical information exist, and Broderbund gives you an easy way to tap them.
READY-MADE LIMB. The $110 deluxe edition of Family Tree Maker includes seven CD-ROMs of data, including two that contain 50 years' worth of Social Security death records. The other five hold thousands of family histories that have been submitted to Broderbund by users of Family Tree Maker. If you discover relatives while searching this database, you may be able to add a ready-made limb to your family tree. The software makes it easy to import data from these databases into your own records.
Broderbund also offers a variety of other information sources, including census records for 1790 to 1920; state vital-statistics files, such as births and marriages; and military and immigration records. In most cases, you can order either the additional CD for around $30 or pay Broderbund's partner, Genealogy Research Associates, $8 per search. Either can be done from Broderbund's Web site, www.familytreemaker.com.
I haven't had much luck yet in tracking down my scattered (and mostly European) ancestors, nor have I yet found a family tree in the database that intersects mine. But the process is fascinating, and I'm going to keep trying.
BY STEPHEN H. WILDSTROM