How to organize your genealogy research efforts b y using your computer

1. The Organized
Genealogist
Dick Eastman
November 16, 2019

2. These slides are available at:
http://eogn.com/handouts/organized

3. When I told my family the topic of
today’s talk…

4. When I told my family the topic of
today’s talk…

5. When I told my family the topic of
today’s talk…

6. When I told my family the topic of
today’s talk…

7. So I went to my office and…

8. I looked in my bookcases

9. Introduction
• Everything that I will offer today is
something that I use daily.

10. 4
3
2
1 Organizing Paper
Record Your Findings
Organize Family Photos
Create a Genealogy Disaster Plan

11. Today’s Goal
• If you go home and use one or two of
today’s ideas, I'll be happy

12. 1 Organizing Paper
RSS
Making Constant Backups
Digitizing Documents & Pictures

13. Is This Your “Office?”

14. Or this?

15. Or would you prefer this?

16. Or this?

17. Or this?

18. I Have Another Issue With
Storage Space
In my retirement years, I planned to move to
smaller living quarters. This brings up a
challenging word:
DOWNSIZING

19. I Have Another Issue With
Storage Space
A few years ago, I made the problem worse
by purchasing a new home:

20. I Have Another Issue With
Storage Space

22. I Have Another Issue With
Storage Space

23. I Have Another Issue With
Storage Space

24. Filing Documents
What kind of filing system should you use?
I suggest you consider Google’s filing system.
Don’t worry about folders and any complex
hierarchical filing method!
Let your computer do what it does best: search
for you!

25. Filing Documents
Create a systematic filing system that is easy to
understand and manage.
The most common paper systems used are file
folders, notebooks and binders, or a combination
of all those things.
I use “folders” in my computer but others will prefer
physical file folders or 3-ring binders
Most systems are based on a surname structure,
with family records filed together.

26. Filing Documents

27. Filing Documents
Use long files names that are descriptive
Don’t be afraid to go several layers deep in
“the tree”

28. Filing Documents
The same method works for paper or
electronic documents other than
surnames:
Census Records
Pension applications
Extracts from county histories
…and much more

29. Evernote
• Evernote is God’s Gift to Genealogists!
• I use Evernote to fulfill my pack-rat and
archiving needs, both for genealogy and
for many other purposes as well.

30. Evernote
• Evernote can store tens of thousands of
notes…
• Research notes, research logs,
documents, timelines, to do lists,
checklists, post-it notes, email messages,
audio files, pictures, videos, business
cards, web pages, PowerPoint
presentations, seminar notes, webinar
notes, reminder notes, prescriptions, and
more.
• Even better, Evernote can RETRIEVE any
of those notes within seconds when you

31. Evernote
• Why Should a Genealogist Use Evernote?
– Notes taken during genealogy
presentations
– Ideas for suture research
– Articles from blogs
– Web pages
– “to do” lists
– User IDs and passwords
– Subscription and membership renewal
dates
– And more…

32. Evernote
• One more thing: Evernote is FREE for
most people!

33. Evernote

34. Avoid This!

35. Filing Documents
Cite sources as you go. For every piece of research
you gather, note the source, where you found it,
and the library call number, if applicable. Citing
sources is essential to proving your research
findings.
Source citations can be embedded in the files, if
possible, or saved as a separate file. (To be
discussed later.)

36. Filing Documents
Digitize as much as possible. Limit paper files to
original documents and photographs.
For those paper documents you absolutely need to
keep, use acid free archival materials for storage
of original documents, photographs and
newspapers

37. 2
1 Organizing Paper
Record Your Findings
Getting Started
Digitizing Documents & Pictures

38. Record Your Findings
Use a genealogy software program.
The days of maintaining a paper-only
database are long gone.
There are many free and paid genealogy
programs available for Windows,
Macintosh, Android, Apple iOS, and in the
cloud for entering your information. You
can print charts, tables, reports and books
from these programs. This makes sharing
very easy.

39. Record Your Findings
Keep a research log or journal.
Keep a list of books, reference materials,
census records and web sites where you
have looked for information.
Include the date you reviewed the source
and what you found - as well as what
wasn't there.
Record the “not found” citations as well so
you won’t do the same thing again in
future years.

40. 3
2
1 Organizing Paper
Record Your Findings
Organize Family Photos
Digitizing Documents & Pictures

41. Scanning Pictures
• To improve the original photos (faded,
scratched, damaged, etc.)

42. Scanning Pictures

43. Scanning Pictures
• To improve the original photos (faded,
scratched, damaged, etc.)
• To share with others
• For preservation

44. Scanning Pictures
Use long and descriptive subdirectories and
file names:
– C:DocumentsMy
PhotosgenealogySmith1938Family
Reunion at Brad Smith’s farm.jpg
Use separate files to describe the contents
of the picture and place that file in the same
subdirectory:
– C:DocumentsMy
PhotosgenealogySmith1938Family
Reunion at Brad Smith’s farm.txt

45. But How About Documents?
Genealogy Books? Magazines?
• I am now in the process of scanning all of
my papers, books, magazines and…
• I am destroying most of the originals!

46. But How About Documents?
Books? Magazines?
I file these documents, books, and magazines on
the computer’s hard drive in a similar manner to
all other files:
Long and descriptive file names
Use subdirectories to subdirectories to
subdirectories…

47. How to Get Started
• Temporarily ignore the backlog of paper that has
accumulated over the years
• Start with new paper received TODAY or to be
received in the future

48. How to Get Started
• Buy a scanner… or two… or three…

49. My Solution:
• I use four different scanners, depending
upon the item to be scanned

50. A desktop flatbed scanner

51. Flip-Pal

52. MagicWand

53. Evernote Scanner

54. Evernote Scanner

55. Here is my most-used solution:

56. My Solution:

57. 4
3
2
1 Organizing Paper
Record Your Findings
Organize Family Photos
Create a Genealogy Disaster Plan

58. Create a Genealogy Disaster
Plan

59. Create a Genealogy Disaster
Plan
• You may be covered by homeowners
insurance, but have you “insured” your
many hours of genealogy searches? If a
disaster does strike, will you be able to
replace your genealogy records once you
get your life back in order?

60. Create a Genealogy Disaster
Plan
• As many items as possible should be
stored in a container that can easily be
grabbed and removed from the house, if
necessary.

61. Create a Genealogy Disaster
Plan
• This recommendation applies to
genealogy records as well as credit card
information, insurance documents,
passports, and jewelry.
• Almost anything that is portable and also
is valuable is a candidate for storage in
that box!

62. Create a Genealogy Disaster
Plan
• Finally, make backups and store those
backups “off site.”
• Store copies in a safety deposit box, or at
the office, or send a copy to an interested
relative.
• I also recommend saving copies in the file
storage services in the cloud that are
available today, such as Google Docs,
Dropbox, iCloud, pCloud, Mega,
SpiderOak, or the dozen or more other
services.

63. Create a Genealogy Disaster
Plan
• In fact, don’t make one backup copy;
make several and them store them in
different places.
• Please remember the acronym:
• L.O.C.K.S.S. – Lots of Copies Keeps
Stuff Safe

64. My Solution:

65. Being organized reduces
frustrations!

66. Being organized reduces
frustrations!

67. www.eogn.com

68. These slides are available at:
http://eogn.com/handouts/organized