Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

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.

Why keep a genealogy research log?

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Why keep a genealogy research log?I’ve been writing about research logs quite a bit these days, particularly about my intention in 2017 to ingrain a habit of logging my research every time I do research. I created the Facebook group Genealogy Research Loggers (feel free to join us) and I really have been trying to be good about using a research log.

Recently, I received a comment on a blog post I wrote about genealogy research logs way back in 2012. Commenter Morag apparently stumbled on that post earlier this month and left this comment:

I don’t understand the value of a research log. Do you have any good posts about that, by you or someone else?

I don’t think I’ve ever written any great posts on the why of a research log. To me the value of keeping track of your research is intuitive and it’s always gone without saying. But then I realized it was a question worth addressing. So I told Morag I’d write about my reasons and then ask the smart readers of this blog to comment with their own perspectives.

For me, I think it’s valuable to write down what I’ve researched at the end of each session for the following reasons:

  • It allows me to take stock of what I’ve done
  • It prompts me to write down next steps (which helps eliminate the paralyzing question of what to work on)
  • It helps me avoid repeating searches I’ve already done
  • It keeps track of things I would otherwise inevitably forget

This thought process begs the question of what a research log actually is. I’m gathering that the term means different things to different people. For me, a research log has always been simply a record of the research I’ve done, coupled with notes about potential future exploration. I don’t store my genealogy data or source citations in a research log. Those I keep in my family-tree software, Reunion. I keep my research log in Evernote, using a very simple template I created or sometimes just a free-form note. It’s informal and not shared with anyone. I have also been experimenting with using the Log feature in Reunion for a particular research problem, but I think I’ll go back to Evernote for everything.

I’ve learned through the Genealogy Research Loggers Facebook group that different people are comfortable with different formats, and I think that’s great.  I think the best research log format is one that is simple enough that you’ll actually use it and complex enough to provide you with the information you need.

But getting back to the original question, why do you think it’s important to keep a research log? Please share!

Kiss me, I’m Irish!

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DNA test. Now what?Last year on St. Patrick’s Day, I wrote a post about my DNA ethnicity results. It seems appropriate to run it again today. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I never felt much of a connection to March 17 until I had my DNA tested through Ancestry DNA. Then I discovered in that test that I’m 38% Irish. (That’s my pie chart in the picture.) I knew that Ireland was in my family tree, but I haven’t researched much that far back to realize that it was an important part of my heritage.

Growing up, Irish roots were never mentioned. All that came up was vague mention of England, though in reality our heritage wasn’t much discussed. That’s probably because there were  no immigrants recent enough for my parents or grandparents’ to have known them. We always just felt American.

When I had my DNA tested, it was in an effort to meet cousins and further my genealogical research. (Understanding those results is an ongoing project.) The ethnicity component of didn’t even enter my mind. But today, St. Patrick’s Day, it feels nice to have a kinship with my Irish forebears, though I’m still learning about who they were.

If you’re curious about your own DNA, Ancestry DNA is having a sale–10% off kits through March 19, 2017.

If you’ve had your DNA tested were you surprised by the ethnicity results?

It’s Organize Your Home Office Day!

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Thanks to an email from Thomas MacEntee, who is so organized he’s always on top of things like this, I learned that today has been named Organize Your Home Office Day.

In that email, Tom sent out a great list of resources for organizing your genealogy space. I am so grateful that Organize Your Family History is included on that list!

So, in honor of Organize Your Home Office Day, I challenge you today to look around your home office (genealogy or otherwise) and assess the following:

  • Are there stray papers that could be filed?
  • Do the items that are stored on your desk deserve to be there?
  • Do you have post-its or notes pinned to a bulletin board that have aged out?
  • How are you doing on office supplies? Are you about to run out of anything?
  • Do you have any shredding to do?
  • Can you put away items that belong in other rooms?

If you can say yes to any of those questions, I encourage you to pick three of them to address right now.

I’m convinced that most of these tidy-up type of projects take much less time than we expect them to. And they reap big benefits.

Two weeks ago, a TV reporter came to my home office to interview me for a story on paper clutter. (I’d post the link, except I haven’t found one yet.)

Looking at my office through his eyes, I saw all sorts of items that had made their way into the space that I’d barely even noticed. You can bet I put a little effort into tidying up my home office before he arrived. (I even bought some flowers!) That’s a picture of my desk that morning at the top of this post.

True confession: My desk looked great that day but as I look it this morning, two weeks later, it doesn’t look so great. As soon as I post this, I’m going to set a timer for 15 minutes and try to get it back into shape before the timer goes off. I think I’ll succeed. The place looked ship shape within ten minutes!

Even if you’re not reading this on March 14, I encourage you to do this assessment of your office and then take action for just a little while to address a few things on the list. Because really, every day can be Organize Your Home Office Day, can’t it?

Join the mailing list!

When you first join the list, I’ll send you a few emails to help you organize your family history. After that you’ll hear from me at the end of every month when I send an email with links to that month’s posts. And every now and then, I’ll let you know when I have something special to promote.