Ahnentafels as IDs, Sharon Carmack
Replies: 17
Re: Ahnentafels as IDs, Sharon Carmack
 Jillaine_Smith
(View posts)
|
Posted: 20 Feb 2005 9:40PM GMT |
Classification: Query
Lee Kaiwen,
Did you ever decide on how best to organize your hard copy files?
For awhile I used Clooz. But I hated the idea that I had to run two different software programs to manage my genealogy research. Clooz did help me think through how I might organize my hard copy files. And I followed it for awhile, but I didn't like it. They had me put all census records in one place, and birth records in another. That just didn't jibe with the way I thought about my records-- i.e., by family name.
I ended up re-organizing my files by Surname. I have a 3-ring binder for each surname. Then using plastic insert pages, I place all my hard copy records in chronological order. I then create an index for each notebook.
A variation of this that I did before the chronolocal notebook system was to have a hanging file folder for reach surname, and then put document types in their own folder. For example, my surname/hanging file folder would be SMITH, then I would have manilla folders for:
- SMITH: Census records (and they'd be chronological inside of each folder).
- SMITH: Church Records
But after awhile, the dormant historian/storyteller in me woke up and insisted on something of a story-line, so that's how I ended up with notebooks by surname with all records in plastic sleeves, chronologically.
One exception I make to this is for those surnames where I am tracking a number of branches to the present. I'm thinking specifically here of my Buffalo Betz project (see my URL).
In this case, I had an emigrating family of BETZes that all came to Buffalo, NY. There were something like eight siblings. In my big fat Betz notebook, I made divisions for each sibling. Therefore, all the records for Heinrich and his descendants are inside of one tab section; all of sister Elisabetha's records and descendants are in another, etc.
I have yet to find a good way to generate a good index for all these records (other than manually). So I'm still curious to hear how others organize their hard copy records.
Sincerely,
Jillaine SMITH
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jillaine
Did you ever decide on how best to organize your hard copy files?
For awhile I used Clooz. But I hated the idea that I had to run two different software programs to manage my genealogy research. Clooz did help me think through how I might organize my hard copy files. And I followed it for awhile, but I didn't like it. They had me put all census records in one place, and birth records in another. That just didn't jibe with the way I thought about my records-- i.e., by family name.
I ended up re-organizing my files by Surname. I have a 3-ring binder for each surname. Then using plastic insert pages, I place all my hard copy records in chronological order. I then create an index for each notebook.
A variation of this that I did before the chronolocal notebook system was to have a hanging file folder for reach surname, and then put document types in their own folder. For example, my surname/hanging file folder would be SMITH, then I would have manilla folders for:
- SMITH: Census records (and they'd be chronological inside of each folder).
- SMITH: Church Records
But after awhile, the dormant historian/storyteller in me woke up and insisted on something of a story-line, so that's how I ended up with notebooks by surname with all records in plastic sleeves, chronologically.
One exception I make to this is for those surnames where I am tracking a number of branches to the present. I'm thinking specifically here of my Buffalo Betz project (see my URL).
In this case, I had an emigrating family of BETZes that all came to Buffalo, NY. There were something like eight siblings. In my big fat Betz notebook, I made divisions for each sibling. Therefore, all the records for Heinrich and his descendants are inside of one tab section; all of sister Elisabetha's records and descendants are in another, etc.
I have yet to find a good way to generate a good index for all these records (other than manually). So I'm still curious to hear how others organize their hard copy records.
Sincerely,
Jillaine SMITH
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jillaine