Organizing Your Information

 Hello Again!

I certainly never intended for so much time to pass between this post and the last one, way back in October 2021. But sometimes Life jumps up and throws you a curveball, sometimes several, rapid fire - and you have to defend against those, setting a lot of things aside. Our family was surprised by a very serious medical diagnosis for one member of the household. The Big C (no, not COVID. The other Big C. Thankfully, we are, so far, keeping clear of COVID).

That diagnosis required immediate attention. Anyone who's ever dealt with cancer personally or assisted a friend or family member knows the way it consumes your time and thoughts. BUT - I am happy to report that things are much better now. The tumor was contained to a very small area. It was removed surgically and now there will be several years of periodic scans and checkups to be sure nothing comes back. We were very lucky.

So - Let's talk genealogy.

I wanted to go over some ways you can organize your research and get into some of the pros and cons of using computer programs for that purpose.

Notebooks and file folders are still great ways to separate, organize and store your research notes and documents. A filing cabinet or roomy bookshelf is perfect for setting up your paperwork. Here is a notebook I've kept for things pertaining to my Dad's immediate family. I have a simple white notebook and I put a picture of my Dad, Sidney, and his father, my grandfather, Morgan in the front sleeve of the notebook.

 

Inside are some of the documents I have for my Dad. I can't show everything, but here are just a few basic vital information records - his hospital birth certificate, marriage certificate and a page from his funeral program. 

Of course, there is a lot more - tons of photographs, military records, school records, work records. Many of you would have the same kind of wonderful cache of documents and information for your parents. Others may only have a few pictures and very little paperwork. But it is still extremely important to organize what you have so when you need it, you can put your hands on it quickly and also, you can keep it as safe as possible

From my Dad's info, I moved into a section about my Grandparents. The same type of info is there for them - birth, marriage, death - but I also have things like my Grandfather's 1927 high school graduation class picture,

And a letter my Grandmother wrote to my Grandfather shortly after they were married in 1929,

These are just a couple of the wonderful keepsake documents and photos I have for my Grandparents.

It's easy to keep some of the information organized in the book like this. I have similar books for other family branches and the system works well for me. I have two filing cabinets that I organize other documents and photos that the notebook isn't a good option for - extra large certificates and pages, fragile photographs and things like that. Anyone can create a filing/storage system for their research that suits them best. My notebooks also contain family group sheets for each generation with those basic vital facts about the main couple of that generation and their children when that info was available.

Sometimes I think keeping the records this way is best. It's simple, easy and it lets me safely preserve those hard copy documents and photos.

Another popular way of saving data is the use of genealogy computer programs. This is not referring to online genealogy websites. Those will be the topic of the next blog post.

These days, many companies produce software you can load on your laptop or PC for the purpose of recording your genealogical facts. You can save scanned images of pictures and documents to the files you create. There are also genealogy apps available for those so inclined to use those instead. I've not used them, so can't really offer any information about how they well they do or don't work.

Any mention I make of computer programs does not constitute an endorsement of the products. I encourage everyone to do your own product research and find what works best for you. I've really only used one genealogy program and that one is Family Tree Maker. It's one of the oldest, if not the oldest software programs dedicated to organizing genealogical research. I started out with that one and just never saw the need to change. Here's a sample page I made using my Family Tree Maker.

Most programs and apps have an option to share your work online or keep it offline and private. I strongly suggest keeping it private. The benefit of that is you'll be able to keep your research accurate and orderly. You need to save your work as you go and use only the records you know for sure are correct. You won't be constantly prompted to save online records that may or may not have something to do with your research. 

Using the internet for genealogical research is a double edged sword. More records than ever are available online. The sources for those that aren't readily available are there to tell you where to look for what you need. But there are also many inaccurate, misleading and false leads that can quickly overwhelm your research and leave you with a virtual stack of useless data.

Find the way of organizing your material that works best for you. Study the different methods of saving data or create your own unique way of doing it. There are as many ways of keeping records as there are people who do it.

The topic for my next blog post be "Rewards and Risks of Online Genealogical Research".

Until then, Love, Live and Laugh Each Day to the Fullest!

 Stacy, Farmgirl Sister #7112