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This Family Archive CD contains images of the pages of all seven volumes of George Mackenzie's celebrated Colonial Families of the United States of America (see Item (see Item 3590), an encyclopedic collection of early American genealogies and family histories. More than thirteen years in preparation, Colonial Families treats only those families who trace their ancestry back to the Colonial Period (1607-1776). Ranging from three or four pages to ten or twenty pages or more, each family history article gives the British or European pedigree of the colonial ancestor, followed by a listing of his descendants--generation by generation--up to the time of writing, giving names, birth dates, dates of marriage and death, places of residence, occupation, and a variety of other matter. Also included in the articles are illustrations of coats of arms associated with the families.

The seven volumes combined cover about 1,000 families and name 140,000 family members! What you can learn about each individual varies, of course, but in addition to the information found in traditional genealogies, you may also be able to determine a family's migration pattern and view their coat of arms. For convenience, an electronic name index allows you to search this CD quickly and effortlessly.

System Requirements: You must have a CD-ROM drive, and in order to read the CD you must use either the Family Archive Viewer (version 4.0 or higher), which is available as a free download at http://www.genealogical.com/content/dlfav6.html, or Family Tree Maker for Windows, version 4.0 or higher (Family Tree Maker software can be ordered from www.FamilyTreeMaker.com).

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using the Family Archive Viewer:

1. Install the Family Archive Viewer CD or download it from http://www.genealogy.com/dlfav6.html.
2. Start the Viewer if it is not already running
3. Insert the CD you wish to view into the CD-ROM drive. If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.
4. The CD should open automatically, but users of later versions of the Family Archive Viewer must click the CD/magnifying glass icon in the top toolbar (above the template in some versions) to read the CD.
5. When the screen entitled “About this Family Archive” appears, click OK where prompted.

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using Family Tree Maker:

1. Start your Family Tree Maker and open a Family File. (If the program is already running, skip to Step 2.)
2. Insert the CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive. (If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.)
3. From the View menu, select Family Finder, or select the Family Finder icon from the toolbar.
4. For FTM 2005, FTM 2006, or Version 16 or later: From the View menu, select Data CD, then View CD.

To search the CD for names, select the Search Expert button in the top right of your screen, then select "Search this archive for someone NOT from your Family File." You can also search for names by using the Index.

Note: If a window opens that contains a list of files on the CD, simply close it.