     
                ݳ National Genealogical Society 
                           ݳ Computer Interest Group       
                               4527 Seventeenth Street North 
                            Arlington, VA  22207-2399     
                          
                           ݳ Voice: 703-525-0050   OPUS   
                ݳ BBS:   703-528-2612  109/650 
     
      Sysop: Don Wilson        24 hours a day        300/1200/2400 Baud 
     

                       ͻ
                               Help Guide No. 6        
                       Ķ
                        AHNENTAFELS, "TINY TAFELS" AND 
                          THE "TAFEL MATCHING SYSTEM   
                       Ķ
                         Prepared by Richard A. Pence  
                       ͼ

Ŀ
 AHNENTAFELS 


The name "ahnentafel" is of German origin: Ahnen (ancestor) tafel (table). We 
are most familiar with seeing charts of our ancestors, often with you at the 
left and your ancestors branching out to the right. On these charts your 
ancestors are numbered. For example, you are usually number 1, your father is 
2, your mother 3, your father's father is 4, you father's mother is 5, your 
mother's father is 6, you mother's mother is 7, and so on as far as you can go. 

The ahnentafel takes that same information and instead of showing it in a 
chart, it simply lists the ancestors in numerical order - a "table of 
ancestors." The chart described above would look like this in an ahnentafel: 

  1. You
  2. Your father
  3. Your mother
  4. Your father's father
  5. Your father's mother
  6. Your mother's father
  7. Your mother's mother
     etc.

Ahnentafels are a more practical way of exhanging information than are charts. 
And they take up much less space than do charts because it is possible to skip 
those numbers for which you have no information.

The following is my ahnentafel through my grandparents (prepared using Roots II 
software):

      1 Richard Allen Pence, b. 17 Oct 1932 in Aberdeen, Brown Co, SD, m. 25 
________Jul_1964_in________Jackson,_Hinds_Co,_MS_______________________________ 
      2 Robert Monroe Pence, b. 22 Dec 1909 in Frederick, Brown Co, SD, d. 22 
        Oct 1970 in Frederick, SD, m. 17 Jun 1930 in Leola, McPherson Co, SD
______3_Clarice_Ethelyn_Stanley,_b._3_Aug_1910_in_Hecla,_Brown_Co,_SD__________
      4 Allen Monroe Pence, b. 10 Mar 1861 in Warren Co, IN, d. 22 Apr 1933 in
        Frederick, Brown Co, SD, m. 1 Apr 1888 in Warren Co, IN
      5 Rosetta May Gady, b. 25 May 1869 in Warren Co, IN, d. 18 Jun 1945 in
        Frederick, Brown Co, SD
      6 Leland Gustavus Stanley, b. 24 Oct 1884 in Brown Co, SD, d. unknown, m. 
        27 Oct 1909 in Clark Co, SD
      7 Oleanna Iverson, b. 27 Oct 1886 in Jackson, MN, d. 11 Mar 1962 in
________Frederick,_Brown_Co,_SD________________________________________________

Ŀ
 TINY TAFELS 


"Tiny Tafels" are abbreviated ahnentafels which allow for easy matching of 
surname interests among genealogists. The idea for Tiny Tafels was first put 
forward by Paul Andereck, editor of Genealogical Computing, in Vol. 5, No. 4 of 
his publication. The objective of a "Tiny Tafel" is to provide a compact way of 
describing a family database so that the information can be scanned visually or 
by computer. 

A Tiny Tafel (TT) can be easily prepared with a word processor (make sure you 
save it as an ASCII file). The only required items are your name (on the top 
line) and the data of interest. The data consists of a soundex code, year of 
birth of the earliest ancestor in a line, year of birth of the latest 
descendant in the line and family surname. A "Z" line after the name line and 
before the data tells how many lines of data will follow, and a "W" line at the 
end tells when the TT was prepared. So a TT submission could consist of as few 
as four lines, as in the example below. 

N Richard A. Pence
A 3211 Adams Court
A Fairfax, VA 22030
Z 2 
P520 1740 1988*Pence/Shenandoah Co. VA/Champaign Co. OH/Warren Co. IN
S354 1630 1962*Stanley/Topsfield MA/Franklin Co. ME/Brown Co. SD
W 1 May 1988 

The asterisk is an expression of relative interest in the family, based on this 
coding: 

        [space] No interest (level 0)
        .       Low interest (level 1)
        :       Moderate interest (level 2)
        *       Highest interest (level 3)

Additional optional information, such as your phone number, the genealogy 
program you are using, your hardware, BBSs you frequent, etc., can be added in 
additional "header" lines with appropriate lead letters. The complete 
specifications for making a TT are contained in a file called TTSPEC.TXT in 
File Area No. 5 of the NGS/CIG BBS and are available on many other bulletin 
boards. 

The general minimum format for creating a TT is: 

N Your Name
Z 1
ssss bbbb cccc name
W 2 Feb 1987 
 
Where ssss is the soundex code of the name, bbbb is the birth date of the 
earliest person, and cccc is the birth date of the latest person. Birth dates 
are given in years. If you add more data lines, the Z line needs to be adjusted 
accordingly. The "Z number" is the total of the "ssss bbbb cccc name" lines in 
your Tiny Tafel. 

In addition to creating a TT by a word processor, TT generators are available 
for TRACER, PAF V2, and ROOTS II. A stand-alone program, called TTGENnn.ARC 
(where nn is the latest version number) is available on this (in File Area No. 
3) and most other genealogy bulletin boards; there is a CP/M version, too. Also 
available is TINYFAFL.PIC, a Tiny Tafel generator for Macintosh computers. If 
you plan to use a word processor to develop your TT and need help with soundex 
coding, the NGS/CIG BBS has files in File Area No. 3 called SOUNDEX.TXT (an 
explanation of soundex coding) and SOUNDEX.BAS (a program that generates a 
soundex code from a surname). Similar programs are available on other genealogy 
BBSs. 

Other, more elaborate examples of Tiny Tafels can be found in File Area No. 8 
of the NGS/CIG BBS. Tiny Tafels usually carry the extension .TT and can be read 
with the T)ype command or D)ownloaded for later examination using your word 
processor.

Ŀ
 THE TAFEL MATCHING SYSTEM 


The most exciting new development in the area of data communications is the 
successful testing and release of software which will automatically compare 
Tiny Tafels submitted to any number of bulletin board systems. 

Developed by Commsoft, publishers of Roots II and Roots III, the "Tafel 
Matching System" allows Tiny Tafels to be matched for surnames of interest. 

Commsoft is making the program available for use by electronic bulletin boards 
participating in the National Genealogy Conference. It has been undergoing 
"beta testing" on several BBSs and it is now being distributed to other 
bulletin boards. The NGS/CIG board has a copy and is working out details of 
installing it. Watch for an announcement of availability and additional details 
on its use. 

Approximately six boards are currently offering the Tafel Matching System to 
their users. The TMS is a database system which manages the collection and 
inspection of Tiny-Tafels. Each board maintains a local database which can be 
directly accessed by users of that board. The TMS can be used in "instant 
match" or "query" modes. In the instant match mode you can enter a surname or 
Soundex code on-line and get a list of all surnames in that database which have 
the same Soundex code. You can then ask to see the contact information for 
researchers who have submitted the TT containing surnames of interest to you. 

The TMS query mode is open to those who have submitted a TT to their local 
board. Using your TT as a basis, a query is prepared which will be processed 
off-line. (It is processed off-line to keep your telephone connection time as 
short as possible.) The query is checked against the local board's database 
that night, and also sent to the next board down the line. The next day a 
report will be waiting for you which contains the results of the match run 
against the local database. This report will also be passed with your TT along 
to another participating BBS, where a similar check will be made. Some time 
later, depending on the efficiency of the system, a larger report will be 
available. This larger report will contain the results of all matches from all 
boards in the TMS chain. 

Boards which currently have the TMS in operation will be testing the remote 
query processing aspects with other boards in their local area to iron out any 
kinks. The next step will be to link into the national system. 

More precise instructions for accessing the NGC Tafel Matching System and for 
submitting your family data are posted on participating BBSs. 

IMPORTANT: Please do not submit your TT to more than one participating bulletin 
board. If you do, then other users will receive duplicate reports from each of 
them.


MAY 1, 1988


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             