Africa Oral Genealogies & Family Histories Project
NOTE: Contractors should only use the Legacy deluxe edition software provided to
them by FamilySearch International.
Creating a Legacy File
1. On your desktop, create a folder for each interview (If you are using mobile app version 1.3.2 or greater,
this folder is created for you). Name the folder the same as the zipped Interview file. Example:
GH99_999_20180502_1358 (Contractor ID_year/month/day_time (hour and minute).
2. Create a COPY of the Legacy MasterFile:
a. Right click on the Legacy MasterFile icon on your desktop and click [Copy].
b. In the Interview folder you have created, right click and then click [Paste].
c. On the Legacy file in the folder, right click and then click [Rename]. Name the new Legacy file
the same as the zipped Interview file and Interview folder.
3. Begin entering the information by clicking on [Click to add Person]. IMPORTANT: Always begin with
the First Ancestor. Continue entering family members by their place in the family – spouse (husband or
wife), child (son or daughter), or parent. (Click on a name to bring them to the main position.)
4. NAMES:
a. Include the full name of every person listed. Names from the 1800’s might have only one name,
but more recently most individuals will have at least 2 names.
b. Do NOT add any special characters (such as =<>&) to any name.
5. DATES:
a. Record all dates in the following order: Day Month (3-letter) Year (4-digit). (Example: 24 Sep
1895)
b. If exact dates are known, or if the month and year are known, enter them.
c. If exact dates, month, or year are not known, estimate dates (year only) in the following format:
est 4-digit year. Example: est 1895
d. When estimating, children should be listed in their correct birth order.
e. Every name entered must have a birth date. Exact or estimated.
f. Every name of a deceased person born after 1900 must have a death date. Exact or estimated.
g. To estimate dates, use the following method:
i. Husband’s birth: 20 years old when married.
ii. Wife’s birth: 18 years old when married.
iii. 1st Child birth: 1 year after marriage date.
iv. All following children: 2 years after previous child.
v. Death: 65 years after year of birth.
vi. Only enter a burial date if an exact burial date is given by the interviewee.
h. If you only have one date for a given family, you can estimate all the remaining birth, death, and
marriage dates.
i. Estimating Dates Example (below): (These are corrected dates from Contractor Training
Video)
In a family of 3 children, you know that the birth date of the second child is est 1943.
• The first child was born est 1941. (2 years before the second child.)
• The parents were married est 1940. (1 year before the first child was born.)
• The father was born est 1920. (20 years before he was married.)
• The mother was born est 1922. (18 years before she was married.)
• The third child was born est 1945. (2 years after the second child was born.)
• The father died est 1985. (65 years after he was born.)
• The mother died est 1987. (65 years after she was born.)
6. LOCATIONS: Format: All locations must include 4 location levels. (Village, District, Region, and
Country)
a. When entering a location, start typing the district (or one level larger than village). A possible
district, region, and country option will appear. Keep typing until the correct one appears.
b. Select the correct location. (You can hit “Tab” on your keyboard or click at the end of the
location field.)
c. Click in front of the location field and type the village in front of the district. It is important to
type a comma and space after the name of the village.
d. Once a village location has been saved, it is added to the locations list. You can just start typing
the village and the entire location will show up.
7. All Legacy files must include the name of the interviewee. The Interviewee’s information in Legacy must
exactly match the Interviewee information in the interview’s zip file.*
8. All Legacy files must include the name of the 1st Ancestor. The 1st Ancestor’s information in Legacy must
exactly match the 1st Ancestor information in the interview’s zip file.*
9. All husbands, fathers, and sons must be marked as male. All wives, mothers, and daughters must be
marked as female.
10. Birthdates for children must be within child bearing years of mothers. (10 to 55 years of age.)
*The names of the interviewee and the 1st ancestor must be spelled exactly the same.
1. Open the [Link] (If you are using version 1.3.2, the file is now called [Link]) file found in
the interview folder using NotePad or any word processing software.
2. Search for a name in Legacy:
a. On the “My Toolbar” tab, click on Name List.
b. In the “Name List” box, type the given and/or last name of the person.
c. The person will be highlighted in the list. The person’s information box will appear.
Printing a Legacy File for the Informant
1. Identify the name and RIN of the First Ancestor, then open the Legacy file and click on the First
Ancestor.
2. Click [Reports]
3. Click [Descendant Book]
4. On the <Options> tab, turn on/off all checkboxes shown below.
5. Select the <Page Layout> tab and turn on/off all checkboxes shown below.
6. Select [Report Options] and turn on/off all checkboxes as shown below.
7. Click [Close]
8. Click [Print]
NOTE: We prefer that contractors print the Legacy file using the Descendancy Booklet format as illustrated
above, but if the informants prefer to receive the booklet in the Marriage List format illustrated below, that is
also acceptable.
1. Click on the “My Toolbar” tab. Click on [Marriage List]. Click on <Options>. Click [Print].
2. Include all of the fields except “Christening date and place.” You can Preview or Print from that
window.
3. The report should look like this:
NOTE: When printing Legacy booklets for delivery to informants contractors are required to print
one sheet per page.
