Genealogy Chat

Hi All, I'm starting to gather quite a collection of certificates and was wondering how people kept/filed theirs? I was thinking of putting them into individual plastic pockets then into a folder and then splitting it into two for maternal & paternal. One of my friends has suggested colour coding for each generation. Also I have quite a few photographs and newspaper clippings of some of my ancestors and I'd like to put everything together. I don't have a scanner so I can't put the pictures onto the pc. What do you do? Thanks Naomi

Plastic wallets within a folder and I use coloured card index sheets with names in date order. The first page is a complete index. Good luck Dave

Thanks Paul, Sounds similar to how I was planning. Will have fun trying to sort it out this weekend. Naomi

I use plastic sleeves and put them in color coded 3 ring binders for each branch. Each sleeve holds either one single, double printed certificate or two single sided printed doucments seperated by a plain white piece of paper to give it a clean look. I, too, have an index of names in the front and information in each book is in date order. For funeral cards and pictures I use plastic sleeves with pockets that also go into a 3 ring binder. The sleeves are something along the kind collectors use for protecting valuable baseball cards. All my information is backed up on a CD disk. One of the programs I use generates an HTML formated report (which you can check out at www(.)coskey(.)net....under GENEALOGY, then click on FAMILT TREE....pics and doucments are not on the website yet but the tree is) The HTML formated disk I then burned to CD, added a picture of my gg grandfather to the front of the CD and handed them out at our annual family reunion. Now everyone has our family's history, pictures and documents.....all of which, if one chooses, can be printed out to full document/picture size from the disk. Judy

Thanks Judy, My husband already complains about the mess I leave behind me. I'm hoping to keep everything in one folder. I mainly work on a laptop and don't even have access to a printer at home at the moment. (It broke and I can't afford to replace it!) I have to save files to PDF then e-mail them to work to print. Naomi

I include photos, newspaper cuttings etc with other docs in plastic wallets by mounting them on A4 paper using photograph corners. This also allows me write details of who's in the photos beneath them. Peter.

Hi Peter, Thanks for that, My Mum kept loads of paper clippings etc so it'll be nice to have somewhere to put them.

Oh dear, Naomi! ONE folder!! I started with two folders, one for my family and one for hubbys. Now I have 10, and they are all full to bursting!!! Just considering how to divide these branches down further, to split into even MORE folders!!!! lol Debbie

Deborah has 1,918 names on her tree. Let that be a warning ! LOL

I keep two folders for my certificates - one folder for births /deaths, the other for marriages. Both are divided alphabetically, the marriages by the groom. The births and deaths contain the bith certificate on one side of the plastic wallet and the death on the other. They are filed alphabetically by surname (maiden name if woman). Hope this helps. By the way, I have multiple other folders for other things as well. I DO TRY and keep the study tidy!

Hi, I have 4 folders and like to keep them in time order. Earliest dates back to the present. It then runs like a story and if I'm looking for something I know (approx) where it look for it. I think all genealogists should be able to have a room to themselves to spread out as much as they like. Don't think I'm going to get that though! Christine

10 folders Deorah! How do you cope? The tree I have on here says I have 34 names but I do have more on my tree on my pc. I've just ordered Family Tree Maker to try and keep me a little more organised. I didn't manage to do my folders this weekend. Will have to wait for next now :0( Naomi

I don't split certificates into branches - I have a birth section, a marriage section and a death section, then it's done chronologically. I have A4 person indexes which tell me when someone was born, when they died and when and to whom a person was married.