Genealogy Chat

I get the verified information onto family tree software (PAF)as soon as possible, making use of the "Notes" sections for infrmation which doesn't go in the predetermined fields. For extended research into particular families I use Excel files with columns for Year; Event; Date; Location; Names; Source; Reference; and Notes. Data extracted from Records Offices goes into a notebook and is transcribed onto the relevent excel sheet ASAP.

These ideas are all excellent but when you get engrossed in family history, time has a habit of flying by, and the months turn into years. It all depends on how old you are, whether you keep on collecting or get down to bringing all the strands collected together in the way that only YOU know how. How often have we moaned about our ancestors. "If only they had.........!" Janet

You can buy 100 index cards, each pack containing four colours, in WHSmiths. I use one colour for each of my grandparents and their ancestors, then store them alphabetically by surname. Each contains spouse, parent and children details so I can link them all up if I'm having a dizzy moment.

Hi all, I have been reading this thread with interest. I started out with good intentions to be organised but the more I find, the more dis-organised i become!! Am now just trying to organise everything into folders etc, but have soooo many 'bits of paper'. Am now sorting all into families, individuals etc before doing the really serious work. Would you be able to tell me where I can find an A5 A-Z anyone? Thought this would be easy but have looked in all the obvious places, WH Smiths and the like. Am using an A5 loose leaf with home made divisions but a purpose made one would be better. Well back to the sorting, every available flat surface is covered at the moment!! Lol. Cheers Jean :-))

Steve I agree deciding what you want to do with your info is a good idea before you hit on a method of organising it. Me - I have several family chapters I want to write, but am doing more research first, so I have HUGE ringbinders which hold all the certs (in plastic pockets) and info on families arranged alphabetically by surname - I have about 3 surnames per file. Each person gets an individual sheet which I did on Word on the computer and I fill it in. I also bung in photocopies of census forms, newspaper articles etc. I then have one clean file with a posh form [from the National Archives Family History Starter Pack] per person and one for each family group. I have a hardback A5 A-Z book with everyone listed alphabetically and all the relevant places/dates which I use to take to records offices for quick reference. I have a hardback A5 notebook to jot down EVERYTHING and where I found it, which is easier to take to an archive than an A4 file or folder. PLUS I have my original family hardback book with info I put in about various branches of the family. Of course I also have info on the computer and back-up disks in a fireproof box. nell

Hi Steve - I made myself an A4 sized form with space for all the birth, marriage and death information and for all the censuses. I photocopied it to make a pile of blanks then fill them in - one form for each person. I have them filed in alphabetical order by surname in a ringbinder. For married women, I write the surname in pencil then when I find out the maiden name I re-write it in ink and file it in the right place alphabetically. This is working for me okay so far. I also have a big blank family tree chart which I am filling in. Having said all that, I would like to know how people deal with all the "might be useful one day" or "interesting but maybe not so useful" heaps of paper that accumulate.

Steve I have reached the point in my research where even files for each person is groaning under the weight and I can no longer find things quickly but start looking for something, get engrossed in some other point I remember seeing a few years back and after several hours wonder what I went to look for! I then decided that enough was enough, and would like to get some of this in print for family consumption mainly. But where do I start? I then hit on the idea of doing Family History Projects on a specific person or time or even place, starting with myself. These are SMALL MANEAGEABLE PROJECTS, about 40 pages at most, done on Desk Top Publishing, to include scanned photos, maybe envelopes with addresses on etc. postcards, any memorabilia, Scanned BMD certs, whatever takes your fancy. I have laminated Front and Back cover and now have 3. I have recently been on holiday to Ireland to a place of an ancestor and have many photos which I have put into a Powerpoint presentation to which I have added notes about the places and that is growing at present to include other members of the same family, When it is finished it will get sent around the family members in Ireland and America. Just a few ideas but I did realise I was collecting too much info, and in danger of having the whole lot skipped when I pass on! I also run a family history group and I am being constantly asked what is the best method to store information and realised that I had a lot to learn still in this area. Since starting these projects, it has heightened my awareness considerably, and made me put things together in a way that will be easily understood for the next generation. Janet

I'm seriously considering getting rid of my other half and getting a cat instead! Just think of the extra room I'd have to store all my bits of paper, files, photos, books etc and of course, a cat's eyes won't glaze over every time I mention my GGGrelatives (And cats don't call you an anorak!)

1. Stop doing any more research. 2. Decide why you are hooked on this hobby. 3. Consider what you want to do with the information you have, eg help others with queries, write a family history, use it to find the next generation back. 4. Are you better at writing or typing? 5. does your information lend itself to being stored in files and/or scanned and saved on a computer medium? If you have already reached the stage of being overwhelmed, it will take (at least) the Christmas holidays with no interuptions (lol!) to get yourself a working system. You need to chose a system that suits you, that works for you and that you don't abandon after investing huge amounts of time in getting started. Having followed various methods, I like computer software. I can email a gedcom file to anybody. I can readily access information on any branch without having to hunt for a file or shoebox. Unfortunately, I still have teetering piles of letters, photocopies, printouts and notebooks that I have yet to sort out because I'm lousy at typing. Good luck B

thanks for your ideas. Steve

Hi Steve - How well I know that feeling. I have put a family tree chart on the wall in the spare bedroom and filled it in in ink when I have been sure of my research and in pencil when it's a bit iffy. That way all the bits of paper I have notes on can be chucked. Interested to hear anymore ideas. Good luck - Shirli

Hi there, if you mean 'how do you go about sorting and filing your info, the best thing that I ever did was to buy some small index cards and a box to put them. I have one card for each person and on there I write the dates and locations of birth, baptism, marraige, death etc and also what occupations are known. I also write down where they are on census etc. All the info I know to be correct is written in pen and the info that needs verified is written in pencil. I started by dividing the cards into surnames (you can buy the dividers along with the cards) and using different coloured cards for each of my grandparents. For example my grandmothers side of the family are all on pink cards and divided into surnames, my grandfathers side are on green. I now have four boxes! One for each grandparent and again split into colours for thier respective grandparents. If I need to find something quickly I just look in the relevant box, find the surname and retrieve the card. All the supporting documents are filed in A4 ringbinders, again one for each grandparent and are divided in the same way. I tried to use a coding system but it all got a bit too much...!! This is a very simple method that works for me...(being a simple person!!) The cards and dividers are cheap to buy and are available in all stationary shops, I bought mine at Staples. Hope this helps you Regards Kx

I have now collected so much information for my family tree it is starting to overwhelm me, does anyone have any advice as to how I can successfully make use of all the info I have collected?