Organize Your Family History

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Search Results for: 30 x 30 challenge

Go ahead, contact that courthouse!

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Not all genealogy documents are available on the internetLike many people, I rely primarily on documents I find by searching the internet. When do I library or cemetery research trip, I find information not available online, but when I’m in my office, I search online and if I don’t find what I’m looking for I typically move on.

I know it’s possible to contact courthouses or state archives for documents but over the years I’ve done little of that. In the last couple of weeks, however, I hit the jackpot when I took that extra step.

I’ve been working on transcribing the Civil War pension file of George Washington Adams, my 2nd great grandfather. In it was a divorce decree for his 1920 divorce from his second wife, Della. (I’m descended from his first wife, Henrietta.) That piqued my curiosity because it gave George custody of their “infant son” and the only son I knew about was 12 at the time of the divorce. I wondered if there was another son and also why the 75-year-old father was given custody over the 50-year-old mother. The decree referred to pleadings and depositions in the case and I wanted to get my hands on those. It was Christmas, so I couldn’t pick up the phone (and I don’t like picking up the phone), so I wrote a letter to the Circuit Court Clerk of McLean county, Kentucky.

To my delight, just a few days later, she got back to me telling me that the documents I sought were in the State Archives and giving me a little extra information to make easier for the archivist to find them. She also gave me a phone number for the Archives. So I called and talked to a lovely young man and gave him a credit card number. That very same day he emailed me photos of the entire file. I think it cost me $8. If I’d wanted, he would have mailed a certified copy but I didn’t want to wait that long. (And get this: He added another divorce petition that I didn’t even know about! Six years into their 14-year marriage, Della filed for divorce from George, but she must have dropped it.)

The 30-page divorce file he sent had numerous depositions and probably sparked as many questions as it answered, but it’s another treasure trove. Turns out there was only one son from this marriage, Horace, who was indeed 12 at the time of the divorce. I don’t know why he was called an infant in the decree. But George went into the Old Soldier’s Home just two years later, so now I need to find out what happened to teenage Horace!

Neither the pension file nor this divorce file are available online, though I did order the pension file online. Both are outstanding sources of information about this ancestor. I’m processing the divorce file like I’m processing the pension file, by transcribing the documents and properly sourcing every fact I glean from them.

I encourage you to look beyond those documents available online, even if you’re not in a position to travel. There’s a whole world of documents that haven’t yet been digitized!

How They Do It: Thomas MacEntee

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This year I’m adding a new monthly feature, “How They Do It,” in which I interview genealogy luminaries about how they organize their own genealogy research. There are so many people I admire in the genealogy world. I sent out a few inquiries to some of my favorites and was so happy to receive a positive response!

I’m kicking it off with none other than Thomas MacEntee, founder of GeneaBloggers , as as well as The Genealogy Do Over, among other notable contributions to the genealogy world. Thomas is a prominent speaker in the genealogy field and I know from having heard him speak on several occasions that he is very, very organized with his genealogy research.

Enjoy his pearls of wisdom. Check back on the first Tuesday of each month for a new How They Do It interview!

How They Do It: Thomas MacEntee

How They Do It: Thomas MacEntee

How long have you been doing genealogy?

I have been doing genealogy research since 1977, so close to 40 years

What’s your favorite part of doing genealogy?

My favorite part of genealogy is the problem solving/CSI aspect. Trying to figure out how everything fits together on records and family stories.

Do you consider your genealogy research well organized?

I consider my genealogy research very well organized, especially when it comes to the digital assets.

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

I have various software programs that I use to organize my genealogy research. First I use my operating system Windows Explorer to rename and organize files and folders. Second I use Excel and a research log to track all of my information that I find online and in person at archives and repositories. Third I also take advantage of the metadata feature on specific files via Windows Explorer. And I have one overriding rule with my genealogy research: nothing goes into my genealogy database software until it is proven.

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

For research log, I have created my own template in Excel which includes helper tabs for citing sources in evaluating evidence. It is available for free at www.genealogyresearchlog.com.

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

I have two Ancestry trees, both of which are public. One is my original tree, created when I was a name collector and has over 8000 entries. I have placed the word “unsourced” in front of the name of this tree. I also have a more current tree that has fewer than 100 people but all of the information is sourced and proven.

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

My biggest challenge in organizing my genealogy research right now are the physical items. Many of them are just thrown into a holding box and I keep telling myself I will organize them when I have time. I really need to carve out some time during the winter to get these items organized properly

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

My first piece of advice for new genealogists is to track everything. This even means negative results. Second treat every document and every record and every bit of information as if you’ll only be able to touch it one time in your life. This means extract as much information as possible from the document or record and cite your sources right away.

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

Organizing genealogy research requires a plan; just like a to do list in genealogy is needed before you start your research. So I have a separate to do list for the organizational aspect of genealogy as opposed to the research aspect. These to-do items go on my project list and are tracked like any other task during my normal workday.

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

If I were starting out as a new genealogist I think the first thing is I would try to find a mentor–someone who could show me the ropes. I think in today’s Internet age, however, it is so easy to find credible resources such as those at the Board for Certification for Genealogists and the National Genealogical Society that can substitute as a mentor for newcomers. Also, I wish someone had told me there was no easy button in genealogy!

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

I keep both paper and electronic/digital files but my files are predominantly digital. If I have a photocopy I will often scan it and add it to my digital library and dispose of the photocopy. The only paper copies I keep our original items such as letters, diaries, and photographs, as well as vital records that I ordered from various agencies.

Are you folder or binder person for your paper files?

I am a folder person, although I am migrating more towards being a binder person, using archivally sound materials such as binders and sheet protectors.

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

I use Evernote, having been a One Note user in the early 2000’s. I use Evernote mostly to clip items from the web and to save them for research. I find managing a research log on Evernote to be very difficult.

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

I have an office in the back of my condominium in Chicago where I’ve worked for the past 10 years running my genealogy business as well as doing genealogy research. It is a small space, roughly 10′ x 10′ with small bookshelves and various bankers boxes strewn about

Do you have anything to add?

I’m a firm believer that anyone can build good organizational skills and that organizing is a discipline that can be learned. 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.

I agree wholeheartedly with Thomas’s contention that anyone can become organized. I think he’s spot on about the value of organizing things right away to avoid a backlog and maximize the time we have to spend with our ancestors. Thank you, Tom!

My genealogy research plan for 2017

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I’ve been giving some thoughts to the goals I want to set for my genealogy research for next year. I’m a big goal setter and I’ve written posts about my genealogy goals for 2013, 2014, and 2015. (I guess that I didn’t set any for 2016. I blame my puppy, Bix, who completely disrupted the 2015/2016 transition.)

I reviewed those posts this week and was struck by the fact that while I’m pretty good about setting genealogy goals, I’m pretty bad at achieving them.

So this year, I decided to keep it painfully simple. I’m setting only three four goals. And I’m narrowing my focus, in a big way.

I know that I do better with fewer options because I’m easily overwhelmed by choices. In 2014 I addressed that by coming up with a plan to focus on one family line per quarter.

In 2017, I’ve decided to take this a step further and focus on a single family line the whole year. 2017 is  going be the year of the Adams family. This feels big to me–simultaneously exciting and weirdly scary. But I feel if I keep my focus on the Adams family (starting by finishing the transcribing and abstracting George Washington Adams’ giant pension file), I will stay more focused and dig deeper. I’m a little concerned it might get boring, but I don’t think so.

You can bet that I’ll let you guys know how it goes.

The three four goals I’ve set (in concert with limiting my focus) are:

  1. Research at least five days a week
  2. Take at least one research trip
  3. Attend at least two genealogy conferences, to avoid tunnel vision and keep me sharp. (One of those will be RootsTech, since I’m speaking there. I haven’t yet determined the other(s).)
  4. Create a habit of logging each research session. (I added this goal after my ruminations on December 27 that led to this post.)

How about you? Do you set goals for your genealogy research? If so, do you care to share them?

We’re creating history for our descendants

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thanksgiving-tableThis Thanksgiving week, I’ve been thinking about how the ordinary lives of my ancestors are endlessly fascinating to me. As I slowly plow through my great great grandfather’s Civil War pension file, I get very excited when I come to a form he filled out 125 years ago that has a little extra information in it (like the names and birth dates of his children). Any peek into what his life was like is a special treat.

It got me thinking about how mundane aspects of our lives today might be really interesting 100 years from now to the people below us on the family tree.

Of course, we fill out fewer paper forms now. And genealogy will probably look very different in the twenty-second century. But I think photos and records will always be valuable.

This year, as we celebrate Thanksgiving (or really just go about our lives), we have the opportunity to create history for our descendants. We can be mindful of our legacy as we’re taking pictures. We can take care to label them (or add metadata to digital photos) so future generations know who the people in the photos are. We can do oral history interviews and carefully preserve them with labels for future generations.

If you have older relatives around your Thanksgiving table, I urge you to ask questions and preserve those conversations for generations to come (as well as for your own genealogy research). I sure wish I had. Wouldn’t it be great to put your hands on a recorded interview with one of your ancestors? You could be the person making that possible for your descendants.

Thanks to smartphone technology, it’s so easy for us to record conversations and take videos. Let’s do that while we can and mindfully tag and back up those recordings. (And hope that the medium will still be readable decades from now.)

As much as I urge my organizing clients to part with paper or other items that don’t serve any purpose any longer, I do sometimes encourage them to hang on to documents or photographs that might be of interest to their descendants. I encourage you to be mindful of that and store those items that so that they might be passed on to family-history-minded descendants when you pass.

Remember: Every day we have the opportunity to create history.

Photo by Robert and Pat Rogers via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.