Organization key skill for gen

By Beth Wall

Organizing your genealogical material in a way that is usable to you is one of the most rewarding tasks you can accomplish.

Without organization, genealogy is frustration after frustration! So where do you begin? That is a $64,000 question for many people, but it can be solved if you begin by organizing and cross indexing your information as you go. Without these two efforts from the very beginning, you may find all you have Replica Nike Free is lots of paper leading in absolutely no direction.

What follows comes from one of my articles published in the Brandon Shopper back in 2004.

"If you are computer minded, then you are set. You can make up your own forms and programs and go from there, or you can look to some of the available family history programs which have built-in forms for this particular task.

If using the computer, you must input all your data but first you must establish some way of identifying your information and where it is going to be filed. Then you must use the same identification marks on the information, document, picture, etc. so it corresponds to your listing. And, of course, you must file it in the correct place in your filing system. (For your filing system, several 10 by 12 brown kraft envelopes filed in a banker's box obtainable at your local stationers is a good way to go.)

Most documents, pictures, etc. are easily identified and filed, but what about the little morsels of information you collect as you are researching?

All too often that record is made on a small piece of paper which then finds its way into pocket or purse. It may stay hidden there until a spring cleaning of your belongings turns it up and then you are faced with the question of remembering where you found it and when. A small notebook carried in pocket or purse at all times should help there -- but you should make note of where you found the information, the source of the information and the date. That way you can go back to your filing system at least once every month or so and enter the data in your indexing system and file the information in the correct family file.

One system I read about suggested a Record Matrix. This was done on a form which had relatives' names going down the left side of a page and record types listed across Replica fendi wholesale the top. Then a four-symbol table showed what had been obtained etc.

The symbols are as follows:

X -- I know where to look for the record

XX -- I've ordered the record

XXX -- I possess the record

NA -- Not applicable (eg. Voting records for a non-citizen)

With this type of record, you can then quickly ascertain what you might be looking for if you happen to find yourself making an unexpected trip to an area where your ancestors may have been located.

It is also wise to keep two lists running -- one a to-do list and the other, a pending list.

Your to-do list should contain things that can be done locally, phone calls to be made, letters and emails to be written. You can also add things to this list which you can do when on holidays. Adding to the list as you think of things you can do on vacation means you will have a ready-made list when holiday times comes around.

The pending list allows you to keep track of things you have done such as sending for a document
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