Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Processing newspaper articles (screencast)

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Last week I blogged about how I’ve been finding newspaper articles about my father’s family in Olympia, Washington, in the first part of the 20th century. Despite being the state capital, Olympia’s newspaper has a decidedly small-town feel. I was able to find a couple of dozen (if not more) articles about my family, each of which gives me a little nugget of information and a little more of a sense of how they lived.

This morning, I created a twelve-minute screencast of how I process these articles. If you haven’t set up a process yourself, you might find it helpful.

As I said in the screencast, this is one of probably many ways to do it and it’s not necessarily the best way, but it works for me.

To summarize the steps, here’s what I do:

  • Click on the article in Genealogy Bank
  • Click the PDF button to get a pdf of the full page
  • Open the page in Preview
  • Zoom in on the article itself
  • Use Grab to take a screenshot of just the article, in an easily readable size
  • Name the full-page pdf, using my file-naming protocol, and file it in the Surnames folder
  • Copy the name and paste into the filename of the zoomed-in snip, adding the word “snip” to the first part of the file name
  • Add one fact from the article in Reunion, creating a source record for the article
  • Paste the source information from the Reunion source record into the Comments section of the two image files in Finder
  • Move the full-page and the snip file from the Surnames folder to the appropriate subfolder for the person mentioned in the article
  • Drag the image files into the Multimedia area of the source record in Reunion
  • Glean the rest of the information, attaching the newly created source to each fact

Watching the screencast will probably make that more understandable.

I hope you find it helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions!

30 x 30 challenge: Mid-month check in

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We’re 18 days into the August 2017 30 x 30 challenge, in which participants are trying to do 30 minutes of research (or organizing or anything else genealogy related) for 30 days. How are things going?

I’m delighted to report that I’ve not missed a day of research. This feels especially good because this past week I had a huge team organizing project–a whole-house transformation that took my team and me four full-day sessions to complete. I had to leave the house at 7:15 am most days and didn’t get home until after 6. But I got up a little earlier than I otherwise would to get my research in. On a couple of days I did just ten minutes of research to get the ball rolling and finished the other 20 minutes in the evening.

Here’s what I’ve noticed: Since I’ve been too busy to do research for more than 30 minutes at a time much of this month, I find that I’m staying a lot more focused. I don’t have to worry about falling down the rabbit hole of chasing shiny objects, because I just don’t have time. Instead, when I come across something new, I take a note of it in my research log so I can check it later. Every morning, the first thing I do when I start my research is check the log, so I’ve been able to stay focused.

How about you? Nine readers jumped on the bandwagon in the comments when I posted the challenge on August 1. How’s it going? Have you been able to keep it up? If you missed a day, did you go right back? I’d love to hear about your successes and about any challenges I might be able to help with!

Those Eureka! moments

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I just had one of those moments where I raised both arms in the air and whooped. I think I startled my standard poodle, Bix.

I’ve been trying for the five research sessions to ascertain whether a couple I had found was my couple. I had downloaded seven documents for a George Washington Adams born in 1882 (this is the son of the George Washington Adams whose Civil War pension file I transcribed this year). He had a wife, Elizabeth Major Adams, who passed away from influenza in 1929, leaving behind seven children. Before processing these documents, I wanted to be certain that this G.W. Adams was my G.W. Adams.

A year ago, I would have accepted that he was the right person, perhaps overlooking the fact I didn’t have any definitive proof. The Genealogical Proof Standard requires reasonably exhaustive research and kept bearing that in mind as I kept researching until I found a definitive connection.

I’m keeping a research log in Evernote, so I can see everything I’ve done on this search and at the end of each session, I’ve jotted down next steps. I’ve had to keep my sessions short, so these next steps have been really helpful–and there have always been plenty of them.

One of the challenges is that on his World War I draft registration card, George, who at the time was married to Elizabeth (Betha), listed his birth date as September 19, 1883, rather than 1882 as his father had listed in a pension document. The World War II draft registration I found for George, married to Estle, listed his birth Sepember 19, 1881. Both documents show him with brown eyes and brown hair. (Brown eyes are uncommon in my family, I’ve noticed.)

I hadn’t focused on Estle until today. My Eureka moment came when I found George and Estle on the 1940 census, living with children the same names and ages as those listed as survivors in the news article about Elizabeth’s death. That’s when I whooped and hollered. I also found Estle in the burial plot next to George and two spots away from Elizabeth.

I am so glad I pursued this until I felt I’d made a real connection. If I’d gone ahead with the assumption that George and Elizabeth were the right couple I might have had lingering doubts. And I know that would have driven me crazy. Also, there’s nothing like the thrill of those Eureka moments!

How They Do It: Melissa Barker

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New month, new entry in my How They Do It series. Today’s interview is with Melissa Barker, an archivist, genealogist and writer. Melissa, a Certified Archives Manager, is currently working as the Houston County, Tennessee, Archivist. She is also a professional genealogist and lectures, teaches and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives and records preservation.

Melissa writes a bi-weekly advice column entitled The Archive Lady that can be viewed at Abundant Genealogy. She writes a monthly column entitled The Archive Lady’s Corner in the In-Depth Genealogist Magazine. She also writes a bi-weekly column for her local newspaper The Stewart-Houston Times called From the Archives. You may have heard her as The Archive Lady on Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems Podcast. Frankly, I’m  impressed that she has any time left to research her ancestors!

How They Do It: Melissa Barker, The Archive Lady

How long have you been doing genealogy?

I have been doing mine and my husband’s genealogy research for 27 years. I was bitten by the genealogy bug in 1990 while attending a funeral of one of my husband’s family members. There was a family member at the visitation night that was going around and talking to everyone and writing in a spiral bound notebook. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was collecting genealogy information. She let me look at her notebook and also allowed me to take it home and copy it. I was hooked! I have been doing genealogy ever since that day!

What’s your favorite part of doing genealogy?

My favorite part of doing genealogy is getting know the ancestors that I research. I believe every person who walked this earth has a story to tell. That story may be a sad story, a happy story or a mixture of both. I want to document all of it! Our ancestors have a lot to tell us today and there is so much we could learn from them. Collecting names and dates is not enough for me; I want to know everything about them and their lives, even what they had for breakfast! I want my ancestors to be remembered and the only way to do that is to tell their story.

Do you consider your genealogy research well organized?

I actually do think my genealogy is well organized. Before I became an archivist, my genealogy was a mess! Once I went back to school and received my certification in archives management and learned how archivists organize their collections, I used what I learned to organize my own genealogy research. When I learned the processes that archivists use to organize the records in their archives, I knew that it would work with my own records.

What type of software do you use for organizing your genealogy research?

I use the free version of Legacy Family Tree. I have been using this software for many years. I really like how the information that I put in the software is listed in a timeline format. That really helps me to see the gaps in my research. I find this software to be very user friendly. I have tried other genealogy software to only come back to Legacy Family Tree.

Do you keep a research log? If so, what format?

Yes, I do keep a research log. My research log is in paper format. I actually came up with the format myself after looking at other logs and finding that they didn’t work for me. I put a blank research log in front of every ancestor’s file so that it is there when I open the file. As I do research online, contact an archive or anything I can record that information right on the log in the file as I am doing it. I find that it is very convenient and works well for me.

Do you have a tree on Ancestry? If so, is it public or private? Why?

I do have trees on Ancestry. I have chosen to have multiple trees, one for each of the major surnames that I am researching. My trees are all public and open to anyone and everyone to view and use the information that I put on the tree. I only put on my trees that information that I can confirm and source. I also upload documents and photographs and love it when people put them on their own trees. The reason I have public trees is because I want to share my ancestors with everyone but especially those that are researching the same ancestors. I don’t own my ancestors; they belong to whoever is related to them. I love sharing and if I can share a document or photograph that helps someone else with their research, that makes me feel good!

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

Time. I work as a full time county archivist and I am also The Archive Lady, speaking, teaching, lecturing and writing about researching in archives and records preservation. I try to carve out time during the week to do a little bit of my own genealogy research and I try to be very diligent to organize as I go so that it doesn’t pile up. That doesn’t always work out perfectly but I do know that staying organized helps us to be more successful with our research efforts.

What’s your biggest piece of advice to beginning genealogists in terms of keeping track of their research?

My biggest piece of advice for beginning genealogists is to keep a research log and organize as you go. Keeping a research log will keep you from doing duplicate research and wasting valuable research time. Before I started using a research log I found that I was looking at the same websites over and over. I also requested some of the same records from archives that I already had or had already requested and found they didn’t have them. Taking the time to record each and every research step in your research log is so very important.

What do you think is the most important thing for people to do to stay organized when it comes to family history research?

Organize as you go! Organizing your research as you go will help you to know your records and the information that you already have so that you can plan research for the information that you don’t have and would like to obtain. It takes time to stop researching and organize but it really is part of doing good genealogy research.

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

If I were a new genealogist just starting out, I would use archives much more. Archives have tons of records that are not online and are not even microfilmed. Archives are full of shelves of records just waiting for the genealogist to discover them. Archives have unique records that can help tell our ancestor’s story more completely.

Do you keep paper or electronic files (or both)?

I keep both paper and electronic files. I actually prefer paper files but maybe that’s because I love working with original records as an archivist. I do have computer files so that I can share with other genealogists and so that I can access my records when I am not at home. Plus, it’s kind of hard to carry around my filing cabinets! For me, holding paper records, even if they are just copies of the originals, makes me feel closer to my ancestors.

Are you folder or binder person for your paper files?

I was a binder person for many years and now I am a folder person. I have a file folder for each and every ancestor that I research and keep those file folders in filing cabinets. I found that when I was doing research on an ancestor I didn’t want to search through a binder to locate that ancestor’s individual records. Using file folders for each ancestor I can put that particular person’s record in one file folder. So, when I open the file folder I am seeing only that ancestor’s records. I keep the records in each file folder in chronological order.

Do you use Evernote, One Note or any other electronic organizing system for your genealogy? If so, how do you use it?

I actually don’t use an electronic organizing system. I have tried to use Evernote and found that it just didn’t work very well with how I work. I use paper and pencil, the old fashioned way! I feel like I organize better writing things down in my own hand. I believe something happens between your brain and your hand as you are writing that the information you are recording sticks in your brain better. At least it works for me!

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

Yes, I have a home office. I have always had a corner in the home where I had a desk and computer where I worked on my genealogy. But five years ago, after my daughter got married, I took over her bedroom as my office. Now, I have a lot of room for genealogy records and a very nice space to work on my genealogy. I also enjoy writing my blog, articles, doing webinars and preparing lectures as The Archive Lady in my home office.

Do you have anything to add?

I love talking to genealogists and helping them with their research. Working as an archivist, I am so very fortunate to have genealogists walk through my archives door every day. I see them with their family group sheets, binders of records and many times they are not prepared when they show up at my archives. Before visiting an archive, library, courthouse or any repository, sit down and make a to-do list. Plan your visit and have goals you want to achieve when you get there. Organization is so important in this process. If you show up at an archive prepared and organized, the archivist will be able to help you much more find information on your ancestors.

Somehow it doesn’t surprise me that The Archive Lady loves paper! I wholeheartedly agree with Melissa’s advice to organize as you go. If you can keep from creating a backlog of documents that need to be organized your research life becomes less overwhelming and more productive. Thank you so much, Melissa, for participating! FYI, Melissa’s professional genealogy expertise is in Tennessee records and she takes research clients. If you’d like her help, you can reach her at melissabarker20@hotmail.com.