Let's Get Organized
Mondays... a great day to ORGANIZE your GENEALOGY Research
I could talk about ORGANIZING Genealogy Research everyday for who knows how long… because there are SO many options and ways to get your genealogy in a storage solution that will not only make your MORE productive, but it will help you keep track of where you stand within your research.
But… it always can be a VERY CONTROVERSIAL topic… I mean -
binder versus folder?
Sure… you can be a one versus the other type of person… or you can be LIKE ME and USE BOTH! I store my research in folders, but … I also have a binder for sharing my research or when I wrap a client case - that research will be printed and put into a binder so I don’t lose anything if questions arise at a later date.
So… today I wanted to break down SIX (6) SIMPLE steps on HOW to put together a FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH BINDER to get your started!
Six (6) SIMPLE STEPS to Create a Family History Research Binder
1. Grab Some Supplies
First things first… you need to decide WHAT kind of BINDER you want to use. This one can be tricky, I must warn you.
If you want a binder that is passed around and shared - you might want to choose one that is pretty durable.
If you are just storing and archiving your research, you might choose a binder that is archival-grade so it’s less likely to deteroritate.
The amount and type of materials you need will really depend on your goal and the scale of your specific project.
Think about HOW you’ll be using your binder, WHERE you plan to store it, and how LARGE you’d like it to be BEFORE YOU START BUYING SUPPLIES!
Here is a simple list of what all you’ll need to start your project:
3-ring binder
Document sheet protectors
Tabs
Blank Paper or Family Tree Templates and/or printouts of research
Photos
2. What’s Your Organizational Method
This is going to be the trickiest part when it comes to your decision-making. The best organizational method will DEPEND no your GOAL and FAMILY STRUCTURE.
Here are Five (5) Filing Systems To Consider:
Ancestral: This filing system is pretty basic and organizes around a SINGLE FAMILY, starting with one (1) person and includes records of ALL his/her ancestors through a certain number of generations. Each binder starts with a pedigree chart, then a section for each ancestor (organized by birth date and/or generation) in that chart follows, along with accompanying records.
Married Couple: This system focuses on family units, with each binder (or, the smaller families, subsections within a binder) documenting a married couple and their descendants. You start with a family group sheet or descendant report. Subsections are organized by ancestors.
Surname: If you’re still in the thick of your researching, you might want a system more flexible to your new discoveries. In this method, each binder covers a surname - regardless of what family unit the person came from. Subsections are for record type, rather than specific ancesotrs, so you might have labels for sections like SMITH: Birth, then SMITH: Census, and so on. (Note: File records for married women by their maiden names, as that’s how they’ll appear in reports and charts.)
Record Type: Place all documents of a particular kind in one (1) binder, with subsections for surnames or other identifiers (such as record year). This can be useful for documents like censuses that contain several people. Create a catchall binder for unusual resources, such as oral histories, interview transcripts, letters from modern relatives, or a relative’s memoir.
You can also mix-match your binder methods. For example, if you wanted to document the ancestors of Joseph Smith, you could create a binder for him that begins with his records, then has separate sections for each of his ancestors (his father, mother, paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, etc.).
A question I get asked regularly when it comes to organization is what do I do with census records because they usually hold multiple members of a family on them. I create separate binders that collect ONE (1) KIND OF RECORD - censuses- and sort it by year or place. Then I have a reference to that binder that is held in the family binder. (Ex: “The Robert and Jeanie Gemmell census record for 1930 appears on Page 5 of the binder titled Gemmell Census Records.”)
Note: For simplicity’s sake, I use the Ancestral method most often in my research binder organization, so the below will follow HOW TO CREATE A BINDER using the Ancestral Method, but many of the principals apply to the other systems, as well.
3. Complete a Pedigree Chart
Knowing WHICH ancestors to include within your binder is an IMPORTANT STEP, as it gives you an OUTLINE to your project and (in Ancestral Method) will serve as a kind of “table of contents” for your binder. Using a templated five-generation ancestor chart will help.
Here are a few tips on HOW to complete a Pedigree Chart:
CAPITALIZE SURNAMES: The all-caps approach lets you (or whoever may read your charts) immediately distinguish LAST NAMES from first/middle names.
SPELL OUT MIDDLE NAMES: Naturally, this helps you know Grandpa John Ralph Reyes from Grandpa John Robert Reyes.
RECORD NICKNAMES…. ALWAYS!: denote them in quotations. You want to show your ancestors’ full identities, so you can match up family history to the correct relative.
LIST MAIDEN NAMES: not their married names. Since you’re recording your female ancestors right next to their husbands, including their married names is rather redundant.
WRITE DATES AS DAY, MONTH, FULL YEAR: For consistency, genealogists usually write dates in the “European” style, flipflogging the American convention of month, day, year. So, for example, the day the Declaration of Independence was ratified should be written as 4 JUL 1776 instead of JUL 4, 1776 or 7/4/1776. Notice, also, the use of the abbreviated, all-caps month rather than a numeral.
4. Create Section Openers
After you’ve completed your pedigree chart(s), it’s time to outline the rest of your binder. For our example, that means building out the sections for individual ancestors.
You might find it helpful to start each ancestor’s section with some sort of fact sheet or biography. Make sure to include the person’s birth, marriage, and death dates; any known residences; names and birth dates of their children; and other genealogically relevant details that might generate records (e.g. occupations or military service). You’ll want to make sure you’re consistent in how you begin EACH section.
5. Add / Track Records
Once you’ve gathered the facts and biographical information for each ancestor, it’s time to create a personal record inventory. This is a detailed LIST of EACH kind of RECORD you’ve found for an ancestor, from birth to death.
After this summary, add photocopies of any/all of those records, in chronological order. You can three-hole-punch these if that is more convenient, but make you don’t punch out any details. (And remember that any original materials should be placed in archival-safe page protectors!) Avoid stapling or gluing materials together, as this will make it more difficult to turn pages- and could damage items. Add a note indicating where the original record is stored, if applicaple.
For oversized or fragile documents, keep photocopies in the binder and orignials in separate archival storage. Save space and supplies by filing multiple-page documents in the same sheet protector. But don’t file fragile originals or materials of different types together (such as newspaper articles or photos).
Once you’ve created your first section, repeat steps 4 and 5 for EACH ANCESTOR in your pedigree chart. Having a consistent structure within each section will make it easier to quickly find materials.
6. Assemble Your Binder
Time to put it ALL TOGETHER! Remember to label the binder’s spine with the appropriate surname, and label tabbed dividers for each and quick reference.
Here are a few other ideas for additional sectons and elements you mgith want to include:
a “note from the editor” to explain the scope of your research
a notes page (either within EACH section for details that don’t fit nicely into a records inventory, or at the end of the binder for future reference/discoveries)
a dedicated photos section (useful if photos have multiple ancestors within them)
maps
timelines or other information about the time and period your family lived in
And there you have it! Now you can PROUDLY show off your completed project at the next holiday gathering or family reunion!