I have to admit I’m a little loosey goosey when it comes to organizing my hard drive. I use a Mac, which has marvelous search capabilities, so when I find a file, I typically do a quick search, rather than drilling down through file structures, like I used to do on Windows machines.
But when it comes to my genealogical research, I’ve decided it’s time to reform myself. It started when I started trying to get my head around the notion of saving images of documents (like census documents), rather than printing them and putting them in my paper file. I think for the moment, I’ll probably do both, until I can let go of the thrill I get by holding the papers in my hand. (I blogged about this recently, in a post called To Print or Not to Print?)
I also want to be able to help clients organize their genealogy, both paper and electronic, and I realized I really should practice what I preach. But when it came time to figure out a file structure I started feeling that familiar overwhelm creeping in. Then I noticed a little perfectionism too. What if I set up a less-than-optimal system?
I figure any system is better than no system. But the point became moot because this weekend I came across the marvelous website Genealogy Tools and its accompanying YouTube Channel. I watched a five-part video screencast series from Genealogy Tools guru Ben Sayer on creating a genealogy folder system for the Mac, in which he shared exactly how he does it. (He has Place folders and Surname folders.) In the video he detailed his file naming protocol, which is nice and simple. In my book, simple is good.
That liberated me! His system looks great, so I’m going to adopt it for myself. I haven’t taken the time to revamp my current file names, but today I had the chance to jump right in. I’m away from my paper files and I found an ancestor on the 1850 U.S. census. I made a folder for her and saved the census image in that folder. Time will tell whether I feel the compunction to print it out and put it in her file folder.
In the coming weeks, I intend to clean up my Genealogy folder on my hard drive and get into the practice of saving documents in an organized manner.
My electronic file system has evolved a great deal since 2013 when I wrote this post. In 2021 I published an Orderly Roots Guide called How I Do It: A Professional Organizer’s Genealogy Workflow that provides detailed information on how I organize my own genealogy research, which is now 100 percent digital. It is 37 pages and is available for $19.99.
Janine
Thanks for the article – I have passed it on to a good friend who also switched to the Mac.
Excellent, Jerry. Thanks!
I have been using a variation of Ben’s system (I tweaked it a bit to suit me) for a few years now and it has worked well. I highly recommend it.
That’s really good to hear, Susan! And thanks for the reminder that tweaking organizing systems to suit our individual needs is always a good idea. I appreciate your comment!
I am so glad to find your blog. My records are a hodgepodge of papers in notebooks and scattered information on my computer. I need all the help I can get. Welcome to Geneabloggers
Thanks, Martha! I hope you find my blog helpful. I think the research is easier if the information is organized. At least it is for me!
I’ve used Macs for many years and while it’s wonderful that finding a file on a Mac is easy, that very thing makes me prone to e-laziness. 😉 I desperately need to get my files in order and your blog entry and the video series you link to have given me inspiration.
Who knows? Maybe once it’s all organized I’ll find the golden nugget to help me break down an almost 15 year old brick wall.
Thank you!
Denise, I love the term e-laziness and I agree that a Mac makes it easy to be lazy, thanks to its search function. What I find great about organizing my hard drive this way is that I can see what I found/saved already on a person. Since I’m in the process of making sure everything I found and printed is actually saved on my hard drive, that’s very helpful.
I’m glad you found the blog post inspirational! And maybe your organized hard drive will give you insights to break down that brick wall! Best of luck.
I know it’s been a few years since you wrote about Ben’s Mac organizational system but wanted to add some things that might be helpful to your readers. First of all, Ben’s system is adaptable (somewhat) to Windows systems. I do use a Mac but have heard of some Windows users who have adapted the system. Secondly, recently, I’ve begun coloring my surname folders using Mary Hill’s color-coding system. I use an app from the Mac App Store called FolderMarker. It costs $4.99 (Disclaimer: I have no connection with this app other than as a satisfied customer.) Doing this means you may wish to make more than one surname folder of common surnames ( such as “Smith”) that may be found in more than one line. Or, you may color the individual folders within the surname folder. I’m still trying to decide on that. Hope you and your readers find this information interesting.
Also watched the Ben Sayer video series and started using it. So far, I’m very satisfied with the organization. My question is what naming convention do you use for women who have been married more than once? My roadblock to organizing my digital files.
Derral, my (perhaps imperfect) system is to file the woman under the married name that I’m related to. As far as the filename goes, I use the (pertinent) married name with the birth name in parentheses, as in “Adams (Whitaker), Della, 1870-1943”, filed in the Adams folder.
Janine, at the outset, let me say I’m a beginner, continuing in my Grandmother’s love of documenting (from the 1960’s!) the family genealogy..she is gone now. I’ve a year or so of discovery, barely organized, and with a plethora of documentation! Like many, using Ancestry, FamilySearch, etc. But wishing to have a digital registry not forever dependant on those services, and one that can be shared with my kids. At age 73, Got a lot to do! I found the Ben Sayer filing system and love it but don’t quite understand the surname process with husband-wife filing method using aliases. His blog is now defunct so trying to find help. We have many relatives married more than once, and how to use the alias (a great revelation!) to store one copy and pin to others. Is there any available documentation of his nine excellent videos? Do you use this process? Could I ask more pertinent questions? I’ve started, but don’t want to have to undo/redo what I’ve started! Do your publications address this? I am going to dive into some of your blog which appears to have some great info. Thanks!
Hi, Mark. You are welcome to ask me specific questions as you implement your hard-drive organization. The one thing that didn’t work for me with Ben Sayer’s method is the aliases. So I just copy the documents and file them in both folders. I have written a few blog posts about my digital organizing system and it’s also spelled out in The Paperless Genealogy Guide. If you search on the tag Electronic Files (https://organizeyourfamilyhistory.com/tag/electronic-files/), you’ll see some posts that address digital organizing. You’re welcome to email me through the contact form as well.
Janine and Mark, I have used Ben Sayer’s method for years on my Mac. I did start out using the aliases; however, over the years, as I updated my OS, the links started breaking. Since we now have much larger hard drives, I now fix whenever I come across them so there are full copies in all pertinent folders! I am also incorporating Mary Hill’s color system for the folders. (See my entry above in 2018). Also, Ben’s videos are still on his website – go to GenealogyTools.com, click “Start Here” on the tool bar. Then scroll down until you see the list of 9 videos. Think they are also on YouTube.
Kaye, Janine: Thanks for the quick response!
Kaye, Are you saying that if I upgrade from Mojave to Catalina OS, the Alias links will be lost-totally? I can see that as a big problem, but why? Was it always so? Why wouldn’t Ben Sayer have indicated this in his videos (which I have viewed many times). I have family generations where there are 10, 12, 13 offspring with census data for huge households. The Alias system here is very powerful, no? I am not crazy about copying and saving multiple Census docs to these offspring!
Janine, What is your main objection to Aliases? My main confusion with Ben’s system is spouses. My wife’s mom, Nellie Gardner, married Leo Miller, so I set up a Miller Surname folder, Miller (Gardner), Miller and a Miller, Leo folder with B and D dates. I also set up a Gardner, Nellie Surname folder for her pre-marriage documents. Did Ben’s system suggest that ALL Nellie’s documents go in the Miller (Gardner) folder?
And if her husband, Leo. passed or they divorced, and she remarries, would I set up a new Surname folder, (Gardner-Miller, or just Gardner), Nellie for that phase of her life? When she passes away, where do her docs (death, Find A Grave, Will, etc) go? To her first betrothed, her second, or with Aliases, to both? Or to her Maiden Name Surname folder. Maybe I just need to set my own rule?
I do like the idea of Aliases, but if the links break, not good. And, I would like at some point, to share the structure with relatives/my kids/my grandkids, links intact.
Thanks for any input you may have! Just getting started and don’t want to have undo all!
Mark Curry
Note: Typo…..Nellie’s folder as wife of Leo: Miller (Gardner), Nellie B and D dates
Mark, I’m absolutely NOT saying that if you upgrade to Mojave from Catalina that Alias links will be lost. I think my Alias link issue was probably user error or misunderstanding. Early on, I tried to access an aliased document and couldn’t access it, so I abandoned doing aliases all together. That feels safer to me than relying on links. Personally, I have no problem with copying these documents. But if aliases are working for you, by all means use them. Basically, I was just telling you that I can’t offer you advice on alises because I don’t use then.
I implemented my electronic filing system, based on Ben Sayer’s screencasts, seven years ago and I tweaked it along the way, so I don’t know what in my system adheres to Ben’s advice and what is my tweaking. But I can tell you that I have one folder per person. I don’t have multiple folders based on their marital status. If I find a census, I name it for the head of household and copy the document into the folder for the spouse of the head of household and the folder for my direct line ancestor. Collateral relatives typically don’t get their own folders until after I have more documents, which would typically start with a marriage or death certificate. For women, a marriage or death certificate would give their married name and that’s usually how I would name the folder. When a woman has been married more than once, I name the folder after the marriage that’s pertinent to my direct line. If she’s a collateral relative and not so pertinent to my direct line she’ll get the folder name of the first husband I find, typically. If she married into my family, her folder will have the last name that husband.
BIG CAVEAT: I am not dedicated to doing this perfectly, or even perfectly consistently. I’m dedicated to doing it well enough that I can find my documents in the folder structure. I think you’re thinking about this a lot more than I did. My system has been working well for me–because it works the way I think–for all these years. I try to keep it as simple as possible.
I hope that’s helpful. My advice is to keep your system simple and easy to remember. And know that it’s okay if it’s not perfect. And it’s okay if you do have a change the name of a folder now and then. (Though I honestly don’t remember ever having to do that.)
Thanks, Janine for the response! Agree with your Big Caveat! I guess I’m over thinking! Having tried the Aliases, I like them, and will continue..biggest concern was losing links. And, appreciate your views on spouses in finle naming and saving. I ordered and received your Paperless Genealogy Guide..so off and running!
Glad to help, Mark! Feel free to ask more questions. I’ll see them more quickly if you email them via the contact form but I’ll see a comment here eventually.