How to Organize a Genealogical Search

Tracing your family tree is a treasure hunt: lots of work but plenty of gems to be found. Since the Internet revolutionized research and documentation, you may even uncover relatives you didn't know you had. Keeping all those cousins straight is another feat. Plan well and your tree will bloom.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Download family tree charts and research logs at Ancestry.com and Family Tree magazine. Use these to organize ancestor names and important dates.
2. Consider how you are going to record all the information you find before you get too far in. Record and fill in family group sheets, pedigrees and charts all by hand. Or use a computer genealogical program, such as Personal Ancestral File or Family Tree Maker by Reunion (leisterpro.com). These offer you the ability to make backups of your information on a disk.
3. Document the information you find properly. Always copy the title of the book, microfilm reel number, page number, author, publisher, year of publication and whatever else you see on the cover sheet. Also make note of where you got the information, for example, from a LDS Family History Center (familysearch.org), a library, JewishGen.org, EllisIsland.org or the National Archives and Records Administration (archives.gov).
4. Capture interviews with living relatives on video- or audiotape so future generations can hear their words, too. If you shoot digital video, you can copy it without any reduction of quality, and save to a CD or DVD for easy viewing.
5. Create a master tree-type graph, either on paper or electronically, in which you'll insert your ancestors' names and birth, marriage and death dates as you discover them.
6. Print or photocopy all your printed source materials. File in folders labeled by relative's name. Include birth and death dates to distinguish between people with the same name (for example: Block, Anna 1910-1998). You can also file information by family, family line, state or country of origin, or event (birth records, census). You can further break it down into proven and unproven documents. You may want to make separate files for correspondence or event materials, such as wedding programs.
7. Use different-color folders to identify different branches of the family. This will help keep the byzantine paper trail organized.
8. Store all your genealogical information files and tapes temporarily in your filing cabinet and permanently in archival storage boxes for safekeeping. See 137 Organize Movies, Music and Other Media.

Tips & Warnings

• Store fragile documents, photos and tombstone rubbings carefully. See 296 Archive Family Records.
• Confirm facts with more than one source whenever feasible.
• See 366 Plan a Family Reunion.
• Choose a software program that allows simple inputting for record-keeping of all your ancestors and that can print out genealogical charts. This will also make it easy for you to share your information with others.
• Back up your files regularly to safeguard your hand work (see 190 Organize Computer Files). Consider it an inexpensive if somewhat inconvenient insurance policy.