Free Family History Mini-Class 2024: Lesson 4

 

Image by Dmitriy from Pixabay

In this lesson, I take a look at organising the information you find about your family.  This could be on a visit to a record office, a graveyard, or in conversation with a relative.  It may be a good idea to start with what you have at home; for some suggestions on how to go about that, check out my post on shoebox genealogy. Whichever method you choose, you’ll need something to help you make sense of all the details you’ve collected and recorded in your notes. 

To start with, you should decide if you’re going to store your collected data on paper, in electronic format, or both.  

Paper options

☙  A good hard-backed notebook, with a page for each individual or family. The kind with built-in alphabetical index tabs is ideal.

☙  A loose-leaf folder or lever arch file for family sheets, which you can organise by surname or family line. This is a really flexible system - polythene pockets can protect your records and keep related documents together.

☙  Index cards, one per person – but beware, this can grow very rapidly and take up quite a bit of space!

☙  Once things really take off, you may want to splash out and get a filing cabinet.  This is a great method for storing copies of documents as well as your family history notes and charts.

Electronic options

☙  If you’re comfortable using database or spreadsheet programs, you might like to consider adapting an existing package like Access, a cloud-based app such as Google Sheets, or a free office suite of programs. 

☙  Install specialised genealogy computer software on your laptop or PC – check out some of the many free packages available to download.  Take advantage of free trial versions before deciding on one with the features you want.

☙  Use a genealogy website with online tree hosting facilities – and you don’t need to have a paid subscription with them.  In a previous blog post I compare a few of these companies’ free offerings. 

☙  Consider using a mobile app on your phone or tablet, which you can use to check your pedigree while you're on the go. Whether that's at an organised family history event or an informal get-together with relatives, it can be very handy. If you've already shared your tree on one of the big hitters like Ancestry or FamilySearch, downloading their app allows you to sign into your account with them and view your tree. Note: a paid subscription isn't necessary in order to use Ancestry as a tree-hosting site, and all of FamilySearch's tools and resources are free to use.

Next time, I'll look at how to plan and
carry out a cemetery visit in search
of family gravestones.