It’s almost the middle of our January 30 x 30 challenge. For those of you who signed up, how is it going? Are you managing 30 minutes of genealogy research (or organizing or scanning or whatever it is you set out to do)?
My challenge was made a little extra challenging by travel. I was in Walla Walla, Washington, visiting my dad from January 3 to 12. I’m happy to say that I did manage to research every day, but one of those days barely counts. The day I traveled home (a 12-hour journey by car and plane) I thought I’d get research done on the plane, but when I started working I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind. So the ten minutes I put in was barely productive. I give myself credit for at least trying, but execution was not impressive.
One thing that’s helped me get back on track is that yesterday, back at my desk, I decided to pull out my 2nd great grandfather’s Civil War pension file, which I’d received way back in 2015. At the NGS conference that year, I heard Julie Miller talk about these files: what they contain and how to process them. I immediately requested the complete pension files for my three Union veteran ancestors from the National Archives. I’ve already processed the other two but had not focused on the file of Benjamin Franklin Igleheart. Since I’ve turned my attention to the Igleheart line, this is a natural thing for me to work on.
Once I pulled it out of the file (I haven’t yet scanned it), I saw that I’d started by putting the pages in chronological order and created a source citation for the whole pension file. The next step is to create a source citation for each individual document, print the citation on a label and affix the label to the paper document before scanning the whole document. After it’s scanned, I’ll start transcribing it. Yesterday I spent 45 minutes creating the citations and their labels and got through about eleven documents before having to move on to something else. For the near future, this will be the project I’ll be working every day.
I’d forgotten how great it was to have a project like this that I can break down into tiny bites. I love knowing exactly what I’m going to be working on and I love that there are lots of little milestones in this giant project so I can celebrate my progress.
Enough about me. I hope your challenge is going well and I look forward to hearing about it in the comments!
I have a newly-received 127-page Civil War pension file to process, too, but mine was sent to me as a PDF download. I’ve been thinking about how to get it into chronological order, and I think I can use Preview on my Mac to do it.
First I’ll make a copy of that PDF (to recover from any mishaps). Then I’ll open the copy in Preview, with View>Thumbnails. Then I can drag the thumbnails into order in Preview (saving once in a while), although working with that many pages at once could be REAL drag, even as thumbnails. Maybe sorting your papers first is a better idea!
Advice from the ancient days of data processing, when sorting was a challenge and we studied the theory: If I had 127 sheets of real paper to sort, I would separate it into bundles of about 30 sheets each, or possibly fewer, depending on how adept your hands are. Sort each bundle within itelf. Then merge the bundles. (I wonder whether there’s a way to do that with Preview?)
Marian, you can indeed use Preview thumbnails to reorder the pages, but with 127 pages that will pose a bit of a challenge. With Preview you could also create separate files for bundles of 30 sheets, just by dragging the thumbnails from one file to another. The tricky part, of course, is that the papers arrive sorted in no particular order. The analog method I used with my paper sheets was to put a little sticky note on the edge of the sheet with the date of the document, then manually sort the sheets into chronological order before scanning them.
I’m such a no-paper person that it’s amazing to me that I’m happy that I got these on paper (at the time I ordered them, the only other option was a CD, which I have no way to read), because it seems to be easier to deal with the paper. I also love pasting a label with the source citation on each document before I scan the whole thing.
These pension files are such a treasure but they can be unwieldy to deal with! If there’s any way you think I can be helpful, don’t hesitate to reach out.
I’m having a problem with my all-in-one so I have managed to scan exactly zero pictures. Hoping to have it fixed soon. I hope you all have managed to be more productive than me!
What a bummer that you’re having a scanner problem. Good luck fixing it, Christy!
As I had mentioned, I did not do much genealogy during the months of Oct-Dec. This challenge has helped me to get back into genealogy. I had to spend a week to figure out where I had left off and regroup my tasks. I did decide to start keeping a simple daily research log in Evernote that you had mentioned in your prior post. I was prompted to start keeping a daily log when I realized that I had started to transcribe a Last Will and Testament that I had already transcribed back in September. Luckily, I caught my error without spending too much time.
Oh gosh, Jerry, that would have a real shame if you transcribed that will twice! Glad you’re back into the swing of it and that you’re starting a research log habit. Let it be easy!
I am still trying to organize all my files and papers. You stated the following, “The next step is to create a source citation for each individual document, print the citation on a label and affix the label to the paper document before scanning the whole document.” What type of labels do you use and where to you affix them so that it won’t interfere with the document itself? Do you use these labels on actual (certified, etc.) ‘official’ documents as well? Some of my documents are written to the very bottom of the pages and others are two-sided, so it it hard to find the space or determine a consistent place to affix a label on these papers. I need to put the Accession numbers on each document and your addition of the citation is a great idea. I am wondering if your method would work for me or if you have any ideas on how I can accomplish this? Thanks!
Diana, I use 2 x 4-inch labels (Avery 5163), which are 10 labels per sheet. They’re about the smallest I can fit the source citation in a legible size. These documents are printed on legal size paper and often there’s room for the label. But when there isn’t, I put the label on the back of the sheet and it gets scanned with the document.
I don’t use labels on any other documents besides the pension file. The reason I use them there is that these files are so large (one of my ancestor’s files was 235 pages). It’s one way for me to feel confident that I’ve kept track of everything. I have an overall source citation whose label I apply to the whole document and a subcitation, so to speak, for each document. So the source number is for the overall pension file and in Reunion when I enter a fact derived from a document, I use the overall source number and enter the document number in the detail area for that fact. I have very few official documents and for those that I have I have scanned and attached the image of the document to the source citation in Reunion, my genealogy software. No labels.
With your project, you could apply the label to a blank page and scan with the document so they’re in the same file. With my pension file, I don’t worry about putting the label in a consistent place, I just put it wherever I can find it.
Let me know if you have other questions! I described how I process civil war pension files in this post: https://organizeyourfamilyhistory.com/processing-civil-war-pension-files/.
I have done 30 minutes, usually more, every day since Jan. 1. I have a reminder on my closet that helps motivate me to get in the room and get to work. I have been going through boxes of documents and pictures, transcribing letters, etc. Breaking the work into 30 min. chunks and concentrating on getting that bit done has really helped to focus. I haven’t been getting overwhelmed and quitting, which has been a major problem in the past. It’s exciting to feel like I’m making progress.
That is fantastic, Terry! Your comments makes me happy!
Having a specific project is a great way to stay focused! I’ve been working on a new patriot for a supplemental application for the DAR. I worked on this line late last year and this research led me to the father-in-law of my subject. After looking through a will and other probabate records, I found documents connecting this patriot! (James Gentry). I was SO excited to find his line was already proven. The DAR website has great records of these lines. The “Build-an-App” program makes it easy to link your line to one that is already proven. I hope to have the application and related documentation ready to send to our chapter registrar by week’s end! I’ll be continuing on this original line, Whitlow and Martin Harvey (father and son) after I complete the Gentry project.
That’s great, Zenda. Congratulations on your progress!
Surprisingly, I am keeping up with the 30 minutes a day. I’ve been putting it on my daily list of things to do. I think that it helps that January isn’t really as busy for me as other months. I’ve been able to get to more research and writing than I ever thought I’d get to this month. This has me more focused. If I can keep this daily schedule up for the next two week, I would like to continue it into February but maybe do 20 minute daily sessions instead.
Great, Mary! It really is amazing to me what progress is made with daily research and creating the habit of daily research is so helpful! Good luck with it. I love the idea of your moving it forward into February!