Organising Your Data

In genealogy, as in life, the more organised you are, the smoother things will flow. The box file stuffed with notes will work, but soon you're going to find yourself digging through it regularly for information. The quicker you can lay your hands on something you need, the less frustrated you'll become - and there will be times when you'll need one particular piece of information to confirm a connection with something else. In genealogy, organisation is vital. The best way is to implement a system.

Working Copies

You need working copies of your pedigree chart and ahnentafel chart to carry with you. When you're researching, it's going to be impossible to carry everything, so something simple and very portable keeps you on track. Update both original and working copies every time you research.

Keep a file on each family unit. This way you can group the information about them together. It should not only have the completed family group sheet, but whatever other information you can find, such as birth, marriage and death certificates, census returns and military records - anything that's pertinent. For ease, don't just identify the file by the surnames of the pair, but also by the numbers of the ahnentafel chart (for example, Robert HINCHCLIFFE/ Mary WILSON 8/9). Filing them by number rather than name can often prove to be much easier.

Where you have irreplaceable items from your family's history, such as old letters or documents, invest in a fireproof box and store them there, keeping photocopies in your files.

Communications

Like any detective, there's a lot of legwork involved in tracing a family tree. You'll contact plenty of people, whether it's by phone, e-mail or letter. The simplest way to keep track of all that is with a contact log. It lets you know at a glance who you've contacted (add a column to briefly list the subject), whether you've had a response, and what the result was. Whilst this can be as simple as a page in a notebook, it's best to give the log its own file for quick, easy access.

The Relatives You Don't Know About

In the beginning there's going to be far more that you don't know about your family's history than you do know. As time passes and your investigations continue, that situation will gradually change. Along the way you'll glean bits and pieces of information - for instance, you might discover your great-great-grandfather was called Robert Hinchcliffe and came from Wombwell. However, what you have is scanty. Write out a sheet stating exactly what you do know, and where will be the good sources to find more. As you think of other ways to find what you need (and as you become more experienced you'll learn about ways beyond the obvious), add them to the paper to be explored later. Also note what you've already tried, just to save going over old ground. Carry these papers with you (in a loose-leaf folder) when you're researching, and check through them before you go.

To Do List

Before you undertake any research trip, be it to a library, parish church or wherever, go through your folder. There might be several questions you can answer at the same place - when was Robert Hinchcliffe married, for example, and was his son baptised at the same church? Was his wife from the same village? Writing up a list of all the things to check at one place beforehand can make a single journey very fruitful - and save you having to return a few weeks later.

Computers

Whatever computer programme you choose to use (assuming you use one at all), you're still going to acquire plenty of paper. Short of taking a laptop every time you research, most of your material will be on paper (and if you do everything on computer, back it up immediately onto CD or portable hard drive, in case of a crash). Transcribe your notes after each session, by all means, but don't discard the originals. Keep them in the appropriate files in case you need to consult them later. You might feel like a pack rat, but when the time comes that you need to corroborate a particular fact, you'll be grateful. Genealogy is one area where going paperless isn't a plus.

Your System

What's listed above is a system used by many genealogists for keeping track of information - what they know and what they don't know. However, it's not necessarily a one-size-fits-all idea. Develop a system that works for you and that you find easy to use - you'll be working with it a lot over the next few years.