| Q: |
Naming Convention followed in this database. |
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Naming Convention: Kerala Christian Names! They appear in all styles and forms, and it is
necessary that in our database we have a consistent naming convention. A common practice among the
kerala christians is to have the given name as first name and father's name as last name.
Though everyone has their own family names, many don't use it with their names officially.
Here in this database, the first and last names are put together as a person's name and the family name
is attached to the name as surname. Hence in an individual page, you will see the name as
FirstName + LastName + FamilyName. If there are any initials, they are also in the expanded form.
The officially used names, with initials, are provided (whenever available), in the field called
"Officially Known As". There are also fields for alternate names and nicknames.
Naming Convention for Females: Married Female Kerala Christians usually use
husband's name as last name. In this database, we use the maiden (before marriage) names
for females. So their names would appear as: First Name + Maiden LastName + Maiden FamilyName.
The field called "Officially Known As" records the female member's presently used name
and the field "Married Family Details" records other details of her family after marriage.
Such a naming convention will provide easy identification of individuals. It also helps us
to easily index and search the database. Eg: See the index of Family Names
in this database.
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| Q: |
How do I find who I am looking for? |
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There are a number of ways, but the 'Search' function provides the most straight forward method.
The Search box on the on the left menu provides you with a simple search for Names, Family Names
and Married Family Names. You can even search using partial names/family names instead of giving full names
(eg: searching "Georg" instead of "Georgy" will return all names with George, Goergy, etc.)
The Advanced Search page allows you to enter various information
about the individual you're looking for and presents you with a list of possible matches from the database.
There are some other Name types in "Other Search Criteria" on the Advanced Search page: for example the person you
are looking for may have changed their name or have been known by an alternative name.
You might also want to try looking at the FamilyNames List if you don't
have a clear picture of who you're looking for. You'll find this in the left menu.
If you think the person is likely to be there but you can't find them, then please contact us for help.
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| Q: |
How do I find an individual's ancestors? |
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Once you locate an individual and have displayed the person's "Individual Page", the easiest method is to press the Ancestors tab.
This will show you a graphical display of both the paternal and maternal ancestors.
Once you have the ancestor chart displayed, you can click on the arrows located at the far right ancestor if you need to see
additional ancestors. There are a number of formats for you to choose from
(Standard, Compact, Box, Text, Ahnentafel, Media and PDF) to display ancestors.
Try clicking on the various options and see which one works best for you.
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| Q: |
What if I want to see an individual's descendants? |
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The tab marked Descendants can be used to display the descendants of an individual.
There are four different formats in which descendants can be displayed.
You can switch between these to display the information the way that works best for you. Clicking the "Standard" format will display a
graphical format as shown below.
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| Q: |
Is there a way to tell if two individuals are related? |
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Yes, the Relationship tab will show a graphic display of all the people between two relatives.
To use this function, go to the individual page of the first individual and then press the Relationship tab.
Then use the find button to locate the second person to be displayed.
Once you have the two people selected click the calculate button to display their relationship.
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| Q: |
Is there way to search people by Places? |
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Yes, there is a Place index too! You can see that on the navigation bar or click on this
Place Index. The place naming convention used in
this database helps us to locate a person/family in any of the districts in Kerala very fast.
Check the Place Index for live results! Following is the convention followed in
entering the place names:
If in Kerala, entered as: P.O., District (or Placename, P.O., District)
Outside kerala: P.O., District, State.
Outside India: P.O., District, State, Country.
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| Q: |
What is the Timeline function? |
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A timeline is displayed for an individual when the Timeline tab is clicked.
The time line shows important events in history that occurred during the life of an individual or a group of individuals.
It gives you a unique perspective to see what was going on in the world during the lives of our ancestors.
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| Q: |
If I see a mistake in the information presented can I correct it? |
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The suggestion tab allows you to send corrections, updates, comments or any other information to the database administrator.
Information on which individual you are referencing is automatically attached to the message
when you make a suggestion using the Suggestion tab.
The database administrator will evaluate your suggestion and add it to the database in the next web update cycle if appropriate. Alternately, you can register yourself as a user and correct it yourself!
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| Q: |
Is there a way to print the display without all the headers and icons? |
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Yes, just click on the Print link locate above the control tabs.
A format that is simplified for printing is presented and you can use the print function of your browser to print the page.
NOTE: On the Individual, Ancestors and Descendants pages you have the option to create a report in 'PDF' format
for the information you are viewing. To make use of this option you will need to have installed Adobe Reader in order to
view the report. If you don't already have it, you can download the (free) Adobe Reader software by clicking
this link.
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| Q: |
What are three drop-down boxes for on the upper right of the page? |
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These provide menus that let you access various information contained in the database.
You can hover your mouse pointer over each to see the options available. Click on the one you want.
Note that some options are only available to registered users.
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| Q: |
What are the benefits of Registering as a User? |
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If you are a direct descendant or relative of people listed on this website,
please take a moment to register by clicking on "Register for a User Account" on the home page.
You will be asked to provide evidence of your relationship. When accepted, you will be able to
add/edit details and expand your family tree by your own.
Registering as a User also provides you with extra functionalities for displaying your own
family tree and relationships.
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| Q: |
What information can I add as a Registered User? |
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On the family tree, you can provide all kind of missing information.
Names, birth dates, anniversaries, information on relatives etc.
You can give information on families on your dad's side and
mom's side, your first and 2nd cousins (or even 3rd+) and keep it
connected. You can provide interesting histories, old diaries, photos, etc.
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| Q: |
What if I forget my username and/or password? |
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If you can't remember your username then, via the 'Log In' page, enter the email address you supplied
when you registered and we will I will send you your username.
However, for security purposes we do not have access to your password.
So, if you forget it, you can ask the system, again via the 'Log In' page, to issue you with a temporary one.
Just enter the email address you supplied when you registered and your username.
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| Q: |
How do I use the Google Map displayed on the Individual Page? |
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- Click on the Google Earth icon to view using the Google Earth desktop application
once you have downloaded and installed the application on your desktop.
- Use the + (plus) to zoom in on the map and the - (minus) to zoom out, or you can use the slider to control the zoom.
If the Google Map server returns a message that no map is available at that zoom level,
then you must zoom out in order to get the map to display.
- You can also click the Hybrid button to view the map as a satellite picture with names.
- Click the pin number on the map to get the description, date, and location of the event.
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FAQ / Help