Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

I’m a guest on Generations Cafe!

By 3 Comments

Do you listen to Amy Johnson Crow’s excellent podcast Generations Cafe? If you have read my blog for awhile, you know I’m a big fan of Amy’s. (Here’s her How They Do It interview on this blog from 2017.) She started her podcast in September and I’ve really enjoyed listening to it. So when she asked me to be a guest, to talk about genealogy organizing, I jumped at the chance!

The episode was published on Wednesday and I am really happy with how it turned out. If you haven’t already (I know Amy has a HUGE audience, so you may already be aware of it), please check it out by clicking on this link or subscribing to Generations Cafe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Thank you, Amy, for the opportunity to talk with you and your listeners!

Generations Cafe: A new podcast from Amy Johnson Crow

By 4 Comments

New podcast from Amy Johnson CrowI’m an unabashed fan of genealogist, writer, and lecturer Amy Johnson Crow. I always jump at the chance to hear her speak at a conference. And I was thrilled when she interviewed me at RootsTech a few years ago. Most recently, I was able hear her speak for two days at the Missouri State Genealogical Society conference in August. In her talks, Amy always delivers solid, well-presented information.

At that conference, she confided in me that she was going to start a podcast. I was happy to hear that because I’m a big fan of podcasts and I know she has so much to share.

That new podcast, Generations Cafe, launched on September 20. Amy has published three episodes so far and they’re excellent. Her podcasts are short and focused. (The first three are between 10 and 15 minutes each.)

Since my own podcast is about getting over perfectionism, I was delighted that the first episode of her podcast was called Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Genealogy? (And I was tickled pink to hear her mention my name in that episode!)

If you don’t love podcasts (or haven’t tried them and are unsure), definitely check out the Generations Cafe posts on Amy’s website because for each episode she has written an accompanying blog post that provides, in written form, the information that is shared in the podcast.

I’m very excited to see what Amy will be exploring and her podcast will definitely be on my list of must-listens!

 

 

What the Pros Know: Research Secrets

By Leave a Comment

What the Pros Know: Research Secrets of the ProsI’m so excited to be hosting a second What the Pros Know workshop for Family Tree University. This one is called What the Pros Know: Research Secrets of the Pros. It will run June 11 to 17. (Back in January I hosted What the Pros Know: Genealogy Organizing Tips.)

In the workshop I interview four prominent genealogy experts, each on a different aspect of research. The experts have been asked to share secrets from their own genealogy research.

The audio interviews (which together are one hour) play behind a slide deck that you can see while listening. During the week of the workshop, participants will have access to an online discussion forum and for three hours the evening of June 14, I’ll be on hand live to answer questions on the forum.

Here are the experts for this go-around and their topics:

As I write this, I’ve completed three of the four interviews and they’ve been fun and, I think, really interesting. I’m pumped up to explore the resources I’ve learned about.

You can sign up for the workshop, which costs $59.99 here. I hope to see you on the discussion forums!

 

How They Do It: Amy Johnson Crow

By 8 Comments

Today’s entry in my How They Do It series is an interview with Amy Johnson Crow, professional genealogist and blogger at AmyJohnsonCrow.com. I really enjoy Amy’s blog, where she offers really great and practical advice, and I was privileged to do a video interview with her for her blog when we were both at RootsTech earlier this year. I hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as I did. I wholeheartedly agree with her assertion that Simple is good!

How They Do It: Amy Johnson CrowHow They Do It: Amy Johnson Crow

How long have you been doing genealogy?

I’ve been interested ever since I was little. My grandma was the unofficial family historian in the family and she told me a lot of stories. I did my first “real” research in 1990 and became certified in 1995.

What’s your favorite part of doing genealogy?

The hunt. I love taking a research problem, figuring out how to approach it, finding resources, and putting it all together.

Do you consider your genealogy research well organized?

Fairly. I try to always go into it with some sort of objective. “Who are Matilda’s parents?” “Where was John in 1850?” “Why is there a gap in the ages of these children?” It helps me not go down the research rabbit hole as often (but it still happens!)

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

I’m kind of between genealogy software programs right now. For organizing my research and my notes, I use Excel for timelines (I would be lost without timelines) and Word for my notes.

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

My notes are all in Word. I don’t keep a separate log, but I integrate it into my notes. I’ll add the title, etc. of whatever I’m looking at, why I’m looking at it, and what I found (and what I didn’t find).

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

I have several trees on Ancestry. One is public, the rest are private. The public tree is for cousin bait and DNA. The private trees are for my “works in progress” and trees where I’m helping someone.

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

Digital files, especially photos. I’ve been known to take dozens or even hundreds of photos when I’m researching or at a cemetery. I organize them by general category, but it’s the specific tagging that trips me up. There are times when I *know* I have a photo of a particular type of tombstone, but I can’t find it.

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

Get in the habit of copying or scanning the title page of whatever book you’re using. Also note when you *don’t* find something.

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

Find a method that works for them. Some people have to organize by family, while others go by location or record type. (I’m more of a location-based organizer myself, but I know that doesn’t work for everyone.)

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

I would have started out with better citations. Back when I first started, my genealogy software allowed all of 8 characters to record a source. So many of my earliest citations were “stone” or some code that I later had no idea what it meant. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun trying to figure out where some of those facts came from!

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

Both. As techie as I am, I still love some paper.

Are you folder or binder person for your paper files?

Folders. I find them more flexible for how I organize.

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

I’ve dabbled in Evernote, but I don’t use it regularly.

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

I have my own home office. (I joke that the best piece of office equipment that I have is my door!) I’m actually scaling it back and getting rid of an entire bookcase of books (donating them to a couple of different libraries.) I love books — I am a librarian, after all — but I find that having a workspace that’s more “minimal” helps with my work.

Do you have anything to add?

There’s a lot to be said for organizing how it makes sense and is comfortable for you. However, 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.

Amen, sister! A great example both of a simple organizing strategy and the kind of practical advice that Amy shares on her blog is one of her favorite posts (and mine), The Easy, Low-Tech Way to Label Scanned Photos. Organizing systems don’t have to be complicated–in fact we think it’s better if they aren’t!