Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Themes from 2017’s How They Do It series

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I spent an enjoyable hour or so going through all 12 of this year’s How They Do It interviews to see whether there were common themes that emerged among all the interviews. I wasn’t surprised to learn that there were!

Here are the 2017 participants (in chronological order), with links to their interviews:

There were a lot of commonalities among these successful genealogists. Most of them, for example, keep their data digitally, rather than on paper. Staying on top of paper was a bigger struggle than organizing digital files. Almost all wish they had crafted a source citation for all information when they first started out. (Don’t we all?) The thrill of the hunt, the problem solving, the discoveries and/or the connections were the favorite aspects of genealogy research with everyone.

The piece of advice that virtually everyone offered is no surprise. Cite your sources. Other themes that emerged include Keep a research log (and note unsuccessful searches as well as successful ones). Organize as you go — don’t let a backlog build up. Use an organizing system that works for you. And in order to avoid being overwhelmed, several of the interviewees suggested you focus on one line or one family at a time.

There was so much wisdom in these interviews that I don’t have space to quote them all. But here are some of my favorite quotes from the interviews:

My philosophy on organizing things right away is this: the more you put it off or delay it the more difficult it will be. That time spent reorganizing could be better spent researching for ancestors. Lack of organization basically squanders your precious time. (Thomas MacEntee)

I’ve learned that “getting organized” can become an all-consuming goal if we get stuck in the mindset of finding the “perfect” system or solution. I do better when I remind myself that progress is better than perfection; fix what isn’t working and move forward. (Denise Levenick)

The Internet is a bittersweet trap. You will never solve your tough genealogical problems by using only online sources. There is so much more out there that will never see the light of digitization. (Michael Lacopo)

I would encourage people not to make their systems too complicated. If another researcher or a family member ever has to go through your papers later and it isn’t clear how things are organized, that’s when research ends up getting tossed. Simple is good. (Amy Johnson Crow)

When we freely and openly share, family history becomes this truly collaborative environment that helps us make discoveries quicker and helps us be more accurate. (Crista Cowan)

In 2017, I basically asked the same questions of all interviewees. I’m thinking I should change up the questions for 2018. Help me out. What would you like to hear from the experts? And do you have folks you’d like me to interview for the series in 2018? Please share!

Do you have unread resources on your hard drive?

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Earlier today, I was entering my PayPal transactions into my financial software and I saw that I had purchased a document from Sassy Jane Genealogy last month that I had not read and don’t even remember purchasing. So I looked in my Mac’s Finder to see what I’d downloaded from that website and saw that it was a pdf called Ten Skills Every Genealogist Needs. That sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to read it.

I knew there were doubtless other forgotten documents on my hard drive, so I created a notebook in Evernote called Downloaded items to read/watch NOW and put it in my genealogy stack. Then I went on a hunt for other unread or underutilized resources hanging around on my computer. I bought them with the best of intentions and then moved on to the next shiny object.

I found digital copies of Family Tree Magazine. At least one webinar I haven’t watched. A research guide to Kentucky research. Another Sassy Jane Genealogy guide. And I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface!

In these next couple of low-key weeks, I’m going to try to actually read or watch these valuable resources. And I vow to do a better job of keeping track of what I buy/download. Evernote should be my friend with this.

How about you? Do you have any learning resources you’ve downloaded but forgotten about? Happy hunting!

 

Broaden those search terms

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For about a year, I’d been trying to find my great grandfather’s half-brother, Wayne Horace Adams (1907-1976), on the 1920 census. His parents had divorced and I could not find Horace or his father, my 2nd great grandfather George Washington Adams, on that census. I knew that 74-year-old George had received custody of 12-year-old Horace in the 1919 divorce. And I knew that George would enter the Home for Disabled Soldiers in 1922. My curiosity about what happened to this teenager was strong.

I searched for him hither and yon, using everything I knew about him in my search terms. I thought I had searched for him with all his half siblings but in September I found him living in Oklahoma with his half brother John Quincy Adams, whom I apparently had missed checking on. That was an exciting find! (Because I was in a library when I found it, my cheers had to be silent, but that didn’t make them less exuberant.)

Once I found Horace on the 1920 census I wondered why he hadn’t come up in my searches on his name. I found the culprit: The enumerator had made a correction making Horace’s  age, which was 12, look like 42. (That’s a close up at the top of this post.) It was indexed as 42 and so he didn’t come up in my searches.

I realized that if I had left out his year of birth in my searches, I would have found him more easily. Lesson learned!

How They Do It: Drew Smith

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This final How They Do It interview of 2017 is with Drew Smith, genealogist, writer, speaker and podcaster. Drew literally wrote the book about genealogy organizing. He is the author of Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher (Family Tree Books, 2016). You may also know him from the Genealogy Guys podcast, which he presents every other week with cohost George G. Morgan. (Alternate weeks he hosts the Genealogy Connection podcast.) Drew is also a frequent speaker and has a genealogy resume as long as my arm. (You can read his full bio at the Aha! Seminars website.)

I was so pleased he agreed to do this interview. I love how much he and I are on the same page when it comes to organizing family history research!

How They Do It: Drew Smith

How long have you been doing genealogy?

Since 1992

What’s your favorite part of doing genealogy?

Solving puzzles by putting together pieces of evidence.

Do you consider your genealogy research well organized?

I have been more organized recently, but when I started I didn’t know the best way to organize, so I have a lot of papers and files that I still need to go through that I have collected over the years.

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

I have RootsMagic to keep track of my genealogical conclusions, Dropbox for my files, and Evernote for my random notes and ideas.

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

I have not been regularly maintaining a research log, although I do recommend to everyone that they keep one. I do keep some of that material in Evernote, and I have also begun to use Evidentia to track my research methods.

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

I have gone back and forth on having a public vs. private tree numerous times, and now I have a public tree that has a major disclaimer on it that asks people not to treat everything in it as well researched. I feel that the benefits of having a public tree outweigh the negatives, as I may be discovered by a distant cousin this way.

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

It can be so much fun in discovering something new that it can be easy to forget all of the processes for recording what the information is, where it was found, etc.

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

Try not to go off in too many different directions at the same time.  Focus on one line at a time, and one person.

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

The most important thing is to have a simple, well thought out system for keeping files in both digital and paper form.

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

I would make certain to make electronic copies of all papers, as digital files are easier to find than paper files.

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

I have both, although I feel that paper files are only important if they are one-of-a-kind documents, such as original copies of vital records. Otherwise, everything else can exist as electronic files, and be printed if needed.

Are you folder or binder person for your paper files?

I’m a folder person because I find it easier to move folders back and forth between the file drawer and my desk. And all my bookshelves are taken up by books!

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

I’m a regular user of Evernote. I use it not only for genealogy but also for work-related projects and for items for home and personal care. I use it for grabbing useful genealogy blog postings, for keeping track of genealogy subscriptions and renewal dates, and for any ideas that might pop into my head on who to research next or what idea to pursue.

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

I have my own home office where I do all my research. A desk for my 27″ iMac and an additional monitor of equal size. A side credenza that has two file drawers and space on top for my current projects. A small whiteboard on the wall where I write the things I want to be focused on. Between the credenza’s two file drawers are a trash can and a brand-new shredder. On the other side of the home office is a bookcase with my most used books, and another desk that houses a wireless printer. And next to my primary computer desk is a former printer stand that has a UPS and cable modem/router below it, and a flat space on top for my office assistant, Oxford the cat, to sleep while I work.

Do you have anything to add?

Genealogists should start to organize their research by starting simple and starting small, and building up from there. Otherwise, it’s too easy to become overwhelmed.

I love that Drew makes space for his cat, Oxford, in his workspace. It probably pleases me too much that even Drew Smith has trouble using a research log consistently. Thanks, Drew, for sharing your answers this month!

This has been a fun year of questions and answers in the How They Do It series. I plan to create a post this month about the themes that have emerged. Watch for new interviews in 2018!