Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

How I store my electronic files

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Computer monitor connected to laptop with one cord and wireless keyboard and mouseI first published this post in 2016 and it seemed to be helpful, so I thought I’d run it again. I’ve updated it a little to represent current practices, but very little has changed about my process in the last seven years!

I love organizing my family history research electronically. As I’ve mentioned here many times, I try not to print digital documents and instead store everything electronically where I can have easy access to it.

I don’t think I have been clear when I talk about storing my genealogy data electronically that I’m not talking about storing it as a family tree on Ancestry or Family Search. I’m talking about storing it on my hard drive.

To me, it would be folly to rely on an outside service to store my precious genealogy data. If the only copy of my information was at Ancestry, I would be required to renew my subscription to access my own data. Even storing all my information at a free site like Family Search feels risky to me. In addition to the fact that at Family Search there’s a single tree that anyone can change, it’s conceivable that they could change their terms of service to something unacceptable to me. Or start charging for access. Or simply vanish. Another place that some people store their genealogy documents is Evernote. I think that can be a great way to have easy, searchable access to information. But I wouldn’t store genealogy documents on Evernote that I don’t also have on my hard drive. They could go belly up. (It happened with Springpad.)

I enter all of my data into family-tree software that resides on my laptop’s hard drive. I use Reunion 13, a Mac program. It can sync with the iPhone and iPad using the ReunionTouch app. I like that storing my data on my computer, rather than an online service, is that the information is accessible even when I don’t have an internet connection (if I have my computer with me).

Of course, I back up my hard drive, both on an external hard drive via Time Machine and with an online backup service (Backblaze). Backing up is critical.

I’m not saying that my way is the right way or the best way. But I’ll share with you my process for storing info, in case you find it helpful or interesting. So far, it’s working well for me.

When I find a sourced piece of information pertinent to my research this is what I do:

  1. Add the information to the appropriate person(s) in Reunion (or add a person if need be).
  2. Cite the source in Reunion.
  3. Download the information (or scan it if I found it in paper form).
  4. Attach an image of the source document to the source citation in Reunion.
  5. File the digital document in that ancestor’s electronic folder on my hard drive, copying it if it applies to more than one ancestor.
  6. Scour the source for further information.
  7. Make a note in Evernote if it sparks potential further research.

So far this feels good to me and I haven’t second guessed it.

How do you store your family tree information?

If you’d like a deep dive on how I organize my genealogy research, check out my Orderly Roots Guide, How I Do It: A Professional Organizers Genealogy Workflow.

Kentucky Genealogical Society offering month-long seminar series next month

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In honor of its 50th anniversary, the Kentucky Genealogical Society is offering ten live webinars in August for only $30 for members and $100 for members. (Or you can become a member for $20 and save $50.) I’m particularly excited by this because my family lived in Kentucky. But as you can see from the list of seminar topics below, Kentucky touches so much, so there may be something here for you even you don’t hail from that state.

The theme is “Kentucky: Daughter of the East and Mother of the West.” Here are the scheduled presentations:

  • Pennsylvania: Unveiling the Keystone State’s Hidden Treasures
  • North Carolina: Tracing Roots in the Old North State
  • Virginia (Germanna): Unearthing Forgotten Stories of Early Settlers to Kentucky
  • Immigration to Kentucky: Piecing Together Ancestral Journeys
  • Unraveling African Americans in Kentucky Records: Seeking the Last Slave Holder
  • California: Tracing the Westward Path of Pioneer Ancestors
  • Texas: Exploring the Lone Star State’s Impact on Kentucky Settlers
  • Illinois: Navigating the Prairie State for Clues on Your Ancestors
  • Michigan: Tracing the Footsteps of Ancestors in the Great Lakes State
  • Wisconsin: Unveiling the Secrets of Your Ancestors in the Badger State

The webinars kick off on August 1 and finish up on August 30. The live events begin at 7 pm EDT and recordings are available to registrants for 30 days after the seminar ends. For more information, including speaker names and seminar dates, go to the seminar registration page.

My New Thing: Peace of Mind Budgeting

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I have not been doing a lot of blogging or  genealogy research in recent months, because I’ve started a new adventure. In March, I completed a training program to become a YNAB Certified Budgeting Coach. YNAB (aka You Need A Budget) is a budgeting method and app that helps people get control of their spending (and saving). I started using it in 2018 and it changed my life. Ever since, I’ve been promoting it to everyone I know and I jumped at the chance to take training so that I could add budget coaching to the service offerings of my organizing business, Peace of Mind Organizing®.

The relationship of budget coaching to genealogy is only tangential (it’s a great idea to budget for your genealogy expenses), but I mention it here because I wanted my readers to know what was going on with me.

I just debuted my website Peace of Mind Budgeting last. Please check it out if you’re interesting in learning my budgeting coaching services and reading my budgeting blog. Or you can go straight to the YNAB website to learn about it and sign up for a free trial. (That’s a referral link…if you click it and ending up subscribing to YNAB–it’s $99 a year when paid annually–we each get an extra month added to our subscriptions.)

Why do I love YNAB so much? It has allowed me to:

  • Get out and stay out of credit card debt
  • Building healthy savings
  • Welcome my husband’s recent retirement without freaking out about money
  • Live without financial stress, because I am in control of my finances
  • Handle my elderly aunt’s and, before he passed away, my father’s finances with ease

Just in case you’re interested in my budget coaching services, I wanted to let you know that I’m offering a discount while I get my feet wet. The first six budgeting clients who sign up for one of my packages will receive a substantial discount. I created a special coupon code for OYFH readers: OYFH. Use that code when you book a package to take advantage of it. If you get the message “Sorry, this coupon code is not valid” you’ll know that all those spots have been sold.

I started Organize Your Family History ten years ago this month (can you believe it?). And it’s not going anywhere. But since I’ll be spending so much time with Peace of Mind Budgeting, my blogging schedule here will be reduced to once a week. And I’ll be re-running some good posts from the past, along with creating new content.

Thanks for letting me share my news!

How They Do It: J. Mark Lowe

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I’m so happy to publish another interview in my popular How They Do It series! This time, it’s with J. Mark Lowe, FUGA, a professional genealogist, author, and lecturer who specializes in original records and manuscripts throughout the southern U.S. A course coordinator for southern research for multiple genealogy institutes, Mark is a past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and past president of the southern Kentucky Genealogical Society. I had the pleasure of working with him when we both presented at the Henderson County (Kentucky) Public Library seminar last year. I can tell you first hand that he is an organized individual. And he’s a delight to work with!

How They Do It: J. Mark Lowe

How long have you been doing genealogy research?

I became interested in family and connections when I was seven years old after my Grandmother passed. (Dad’s Mom) My Dad had some of the answers, but he connected me with his Aunts (my Grandmother’s Sisters) who started filling in some spots. One of those Aunts was the Secretary for the local Congressman and her office was across the street from the County Courthouse. She arranged for my Dad to bring me to visit, along with clothing. When he dropped me off, she took me to the County Court Clerk’s office in the Courthouse. Mr. Oval Motley, the Clerk, introduced me to original records, and encouraged me to create transcriptions from the originals. (Plain Paper copies were not yet available.)

That opened the door to a continuous flow of curiosity.

What’s your favorite thing about being a genealogist?

Learning the stories of my ancestors and the often untold/unheard stories of others.

What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to organizing your genealogy?

Widely diverse records with a mixture of Archival documents, copies, and digital records. Making them all accessible for different reasons.

What is your favorite technology tool for genealogy?

My cell phone, using the Ancestry app and Newspapers.com. I can answer my own question or a query on the fly about family or history.

If you were starting out new as a genealogist what would you do differently?

Focus on each person’s story more – I would not rush to collect the tree. This is especially when you have opportunity and time to learn about “near” living relatives before they or witnesses are gone.

How do you keep track of clues or ideas for further research?

I use 4×6 index cards, Google Keep & Google Tasks, and ToDos in my genealogical software.

How do you go about sharing your personal research with cousins or other interested parties?

I maintain a private tree on Ancestry that I share with folks who have an interest. I also maintain a Family website primarily for cousins.

What’s the most important thing you do to prepare for a research trip?

I take some time to mull & ponder the project, define the purpose of the trips, and determine the tasks to be completed with a timetable.

What’s your biggest piece of advice to genealogists in terms of organizing their research?

Locations are more important to research that just the single families. You are likely to have multiple family members in each location. Being able to look at the location independent of each family will save you time, money, and headaches.

Do you have a dedicated space in your home for doing genealogy research? What’s it like?

Everywhere! I have a library/office, but often do research on my front porch, in my living room chair or occasionally while lying in bed. Good wifi!

Do you have anything to add?

The best researchers are persistent. They don’s stop when the record they seek is not where they look. They back up, rethink the options, learn about the record creation, and go find the record.

So many wonderful nuggets in Mark’s concise responses! I think his advice to organize information around location as well as family is really interesting. It’s something I don’t do currently but will explore. I also love Mark’s wise words on taking the time to learn from your close relatives while they are still living and able to share family history information. Thank you so much, Mark, for sharing your wisdom and expertise! If you’d like to learn more about Mark, check out Kentucky Tennessee Research Associates. You can also find him on YouTube channel and Twitter.