How to Organize Your Genealogy for Free
Keeping track of your family history can be hard. Preserving your records and information in an organized way that both you and your posterity will understand in the future can take much time and effort. There are several websites and resources to choose from. Companies like Ancestry.com charge expensive and recurring fees to access their services. Thankfully, there are also a number of free resources available to help. Organizing your genealogy for you and the generations to come is possible, even on a budget, when using the right programs and tools.
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Instructions
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Organizing Your Genealogy on a Budget
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Identify what kind of program or resource you are most interested in using to house the sum of your data. If you are looking for something basic, you may be interested in choosing from any number of Microsoft Excel templates you can download online that open like normal spreadsheets but have preexisting formulas and aids to keep your family records organized. If you want a professional genealogy program, however, visiting FamilySearch.org is likely in your best interest.
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Download a copy of Personal Ancestral File (PAF) from FamilySearch.org, or pursue another free program of your choice instead. PAF is a user-friendly program designed specifically to collect, organize, and share the information users have regarding their family histories.
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Enter your collected information into PAF, following the various prompts and using the help section as needed. Save your changes and back up your file as necessary.
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Continue to research your genealogy, correcting and adding to your PAF as more and clearer information becomes available. As you refine your research and update your digital pedigree file, your genealogy will likely come together in an organized fashion that would have otherwise been next to impossible.
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Work with other descendants of common ancestors to share your PAF findings and further complete and organize your genealogy records. You can also use FamilySearch.org, as well as a number of other sites dedicated to family history studies, as a tool for conducting additional research.
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Tips & Warnings
Because the genealogy work you do is so important, be sure to share your PAF with your family. Let them know how to access the file and use the program so that all of your valuable information can be maintained by future generations as necessary
Backing up your PAF information is extremely important and should be performed regularly using storage devices that can work separately from your main computer.
