Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

My (very informal) research log

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A few commenters have asked me for samples of my research log. I hesitate to supply it because mine is so informal and not necessarily a good example for others to follow. But in the spirit of helping others, I offer it up.

I keep my log in Evernote. I have a notebook there called “2017 Research Log” and each time I do some research I try to create a log entry. I create a new note in the aforenamed notebook and head it with the date. Then I just type notes that I think might be useful in the future. I try to include what I was looking for, what I found and what next steps would be.

Here’s why it works for me:

  • First and foremost, it is easy for me to keep up. I just jot some notes to my future self and don’t get hung up on filling out a complicated spreadsheet or making sure I have every bit of information. For me, making it easy enough so I’ll actually do it trumps making it more complete.
  • It’s searchable, so I can easily search by person or surname. I could tag it by locality, family line or other category, though so far I haven’t done that.
  • Did I mention it’s easy?

Here’s a screenshot of a recent entry that’s fairly representative.

My genealogy research logI used to use a template in Evernote, one that I created when I was partnering with the dear departed Springpad. (I put that template at the top of this post; click on the image to make it bigger.) But I find I do better writing free form–I think it brings more information out of me.

Earlier this year I was experimenting with using the Log function in Reunion, also writing free-form notes, but I’ve discovered I prefer Evernote. I use Evernote on a daily basis for various aspects of my life and business, so I’m very comfortable with it.

I should mention that one downside to using Evernote as a research log is that it’s not sortable. It is searchable and taggable, but I can’t sort it like I could a spreadsheet. So far that hasn’t been an impediment to me.

I don’t think there’s any one right way to do a research log, but I’m pretty sure there are better ways than mine. But it’s working well for me at the moment.

If you are a spreadsheet person and aren’t intimidated by the opportunity to enter a lot of data, by all means check out Thomas MacEntee’s amazing research log spreadsheet.

Also, if you haven’t already feel free to join my Genealogy Research Loggers Facebook group for more conversations about research logs (as well as some samples from others).

For detailed information on how I organize my own genealogy research (including my research log), check out my Orderly Roots Guide, How I Do It: A Professional Organizer’s Genealogy Workflow, available for $19.99.

30 x 30 wrap up

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My March 30 x 30 challenge ended yesterday. I challenged myself to do 30 minutes of genealogy research every day for 30 days (in this case, March 1 to 30). Some of you said you’d join me.

For me, this was a successful challenge! As in my November 2016 30 x 30 challenge, I spent a lot of time transcribing. I will say that having a project like that makes the challenge easier because it was always there for me to turn to. But it wasn’t completely about the transcribing. Here’s what I accomplished:

  • I did at least 30 minutes of research for probably 28 days (a couple of days I forgot!).
  • I transcribed 24 documents in the Civil War pension file of my 2nd great grandfather, George Washington Adams (1845-1938).
  • I abstracted six documents in that pension file.
  • I made a few breakthroughs in researching that 2nd great grandfather’s second family.
  • I managed to stay focused on the Adams family, my goal for 2017.
  • I remembered to log each of my sessions! (Full disclosure: For the transcriptions, I counted checking off a document on my checklist logging.) I feel like I’m slowly building up the research log habit.

I can tell you in all sincerity that if it weren’t for this challenge, a fraction of those things would have been accomplished. Some days I just didn’t feel like thinking about my research, but because of the challenge, I pulled out that pension file and started transcribing. It has 138 documents and I’ve transcribed 89 if them (almost two-thirds!) and abstracted 31. I still have a ways to go, but thanks to this challenge, the light is starting to shine at the end of the tunnel.

How about you? If you participated in the challenge (or a variation of it), how did it go?

AncestryDNA announces Genetic Communities

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When I was at RootsTech, an executive from Ancestry showed a tantalizing video during an opening session about the “genetic communities” that Ancestry DNA customers would see in their profile.  It’s a big step beyond the ethnicity estimates they previously offered.

Yesterday, Ancestry announced that the genetic communities are starting to be rolled out. They also provided a help page with more information on genetic communities. Here’s the accompanying video:

You can bet that I rushed over to my Ancestry DNA results to see if I’d been placed in any genetic communities. I was delighted to see that I had one genetic community listed in my profile (so far). It is the Settlers of Southern Appalachians community and reflects my father’s mother’s side of the family (the Rascos) who were Alabama settlers.

The whole thing is a bit mysterious to me (but that’s true of DNA in general) and I’m anxious to learn about this new feature and whether I might eventually be connected with more communities. So I signed up for a free webinar from Legacy Family Tree called Exploring AncestryDNA’s New Genetic Communities, presented by renowned genetic genealogist Blaine Bettinger. It’s tomorrow, March 30, at 1 pm Central time. I’m not available at that time but I was thrilled to read that the recording will be available free of charge for seven days.

I’ve been ignoring my DNA results for at least a year now, but I sense that might be ending, since yesterday I purchased the Getting Started with DNA and Genealogy Boot Camp from Hack Genealogy. It’s $25.95 for three hours of recorded webinars and 10 pages of handouts, available for a year. I used the coupon code GETDNA to get $6 off that price. (That code expires March 31.)

I don’t want to get too distracted from the single family line I’m exploring in 2017, but I am looking forward to learning more about how DNA can help me in my research. AncestryDNA’s Genetic Communities might be really helpful!

My digital workflow

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Digital workflow for genealogyWhen Brooks Duncan and I spoke at RootsTech last month about going digital with genealogy research, it became apparent to me from the questions that digital workflow is an individual thing. I’ve developed a work flow that works well for me, so I thought I’d share it here. I’m not suggesting I do things The Right Way (I don’t know if there is a right way, especially for hobbyists), but I wanted to show you what works for me. I know that I love seeing examples of how people handle their own workflow, so in the spirit of sharing, here’s mine.

When I find a digital document online–let’s say it’s a census document that I found at Ancestry–I take the following steps after ascertaining that it’s pertinent to my research:

  1. I click Save to download the document to my computer’s desktop.
  2. I rename the file immediately so that it reflects my simple file-naming protocol (year document type-ancestor name-location).
  3. I immediately file the document in my file structure (Genealogy/Surnames/[Ancestor’s surname]/[Ancestor’s name]
  4. I analyze the document and enter the first fact into my Reunion software.
  5. I create a source for that fact, using Reunion’s templates.
  6. I drag the image of the file into the Multimedia section of the Reunion source screen for that source. (That’s an example of the Reunion source screen at the top of this post.)
  7. I enter all other facts I find in the document into Reunion, using the same source number for each fact I find in that document.
  8. I click Preview in the Reunion source screen for that source and copy the citation and paste it into the metadata of the image file on my hard drive.

I added that last step after RootsTech, adapting a suggestion made by an audience member at our talk. I hadn’t thought about noting on the image what the source number and citation is. I think it’s a great idea and now I intend to go to back and do that for all my sources.

This eight-step work flow takes me from discovery through processing the document. It means that I don’t have stray documents on my hard drive with nonsensical file means. It also means I can easily a find a document when I want to. And it helps me see what documents are missing. Having the confidence that I can find a document I’ve saved allows me to feel good about not printing it, which cuts down on my paper clutter. (And, yes, I backup my hard drive daily, both to the cloud and to an external hard drive.) This workflow was about five years in the making, but I’m very satisfied with it!

For more in-depth information on how I organize my own genealogy, including a detailed look at my digital workflow, check out How I Do It: A Professional Organizer’s Genealogy Workflow, a 37-page downloadable available for $19.99.