Traces of the Past

Name: Traces of the Past
Developer: Truscape Solutions, Inc
Type: Genealogy Database Front-end
Last Updated: Version 1.0 (4 May 2010)

Developer’s Description:
Find traces of your ancestors by exploring hundreds of millions of freely available historical records from countries all over the world.

For many people, records of their ancestors connect them to their past. An effort is underway by several archives to digitize these records and to make them available to the public over the internet. With Traces, you can now access these records right on your iPhone and iPod touch.

With Traces, you can search for historical records of your ancestors by name, event, place, date range, and family members. Browse through exact, close, and partial matches and then examine the details of the records you find. Many records allow you to view a photo of the original document right on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Mobile Genealogy’s Description:
Slightly similar to Ancestry.com Tree-to-Go or MobileTree where you can access online genealogy databases, although unlike Tree-to-Go it’s not limited to Ancestry.com, and unlike MobileTree, it’s not confined to a membership-only website/database. Also, unlike either of those two, it doesn’t appear to have the full family tree functions, it appears to be a front-end for databases. It does allow you to save records to a personal folder so that you can do more research later on. This isn’t a negative strike against it – it’s better to have apps that do a few things and do them well, than apps that try to be all things to all people.

Platform: iPhone OS / iPad / iPod Touch
Software Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Hardware Requirements: iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad supporting iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Landscape/Portrait: Appears to utilize both
Languages Supported:
GEDCOM Support: No

Cost: $3.99
Link to App Store: Update: Appears to no longer be active

Ratings:
Apple iTunes Store:
* No ratings yet

History:
Current Version: Traces of the Past 1.0 (4 May 2010)
First released: 4 May 2010

Misc. Notes:
* Looks like native iPad support is coming
* Supports the following databases/collections (some may require payment/registration:
—- FamilySearch
—- Footnote.com
—- Findmypast.com
—- EllisIsland.org
—- Others
* FamilySearch Certified

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