FINALLY Get Organized! Jan 24th-31st 2016 Checklist Progress

I'm feeling like there is progress here. And I am looking forward to next month... which is tomorrow. Yikes!

So for the last week of January:

1. Volunteer at FamilySearch Indexing.

I have done this in the past and so I already have the software installed on my Mac. I will set aside some time, even if just an hour or two each month, to give back.

2. Learn to browse the image collections at FamilySearch.org.

Thanks for reminding us to browse instead of just search. I've been browsing in Ancestry's U. S. Evangelical Lutheran Church America Records 1875 - 1940, and it's amazing how much can be found! Especially when you are looking in a collection of church records - you need to go through the baptisms for the appropriate time span, then the marriages, the deaths, and even the membership rolls. I found some membership rolls for my ancestors' churches that give the birth, baptism, confirmation and birth location for members by family. Granted, they need to be researched further but what great clues! 


3. Create surname binders for yourself (if female) and your mother's maiden name, but leave them at that for the moment.

Done - check!

 4. Update your genealogy program to include your siblings.

Thanks for reminding us to include our present generation! I have eight siblings so this is not a quick task. But it's a fun one, and one that brings back fond personal memories. If we want to entice other members of our families to be interested in family history - there's no better way then to let them see themselves as part of it.

Reflecting back on the month of January: I really appreciate the push to find my next genealogical data base program. I had been putting it off but am now much closer to a decision. Many thanks to AmericanAncestors.org and Rhonda McClure's look at several choices in a great webinar available here. And they also deserve additional thanks for their Genealogical Software Comparison Chart 1!

Thanks, Dear Myrtle, for the January checklists!

 1 "Genealogy Software Comparisons," AmericanAncestors.org,
http://www.americanancestors.org/education/learning-resources/read/genealogical-software-programs; accessed 30 January 2016.

FINALLY Get Organized! Jan 17th-23rd 2016 Checklist Progress

1. Transcribe every document you've collected on the first 4-four generations in your surname/ maiden name binder. 

Every document? Dear, Dear Myrtle! What are you trying to do to me? 

I'm going to fail at a couple of these and that's OK. The first two generations of families in my dad's family were born in what is now the Czech Republic. I hired a researcher to find the family in the Czech archives and he has transcribed the church entries for baptisms and marriages. I'm going to take his word for it. Not only can I not read Czech or Latin, I also cannot decipher that particular Gothic script although I can pick out a word or two here and there.

The first record I tried transcribing myself surprised me. I thought I knew, without looking, where this individual was born. I was off by one county. Transcribing the information will remind me to fact-check before running off on a wild-goose chase for more information.

I'm using GenScriber 2.3.4 which has similar features to Transcript referred to in DearMyrtle's FINALLY Get Organized! Jan 17th-23rd 2016 Checklist.

  2. Refile each document in the Surname/Maiden Name binder.

This part was easy as I never removed the files from the "digital" binder but rather just opened them in the transcription software. I filed the transcriptions with the exact same name as the original file except I added the word "transcribed" to the end of the file name. Also, the transcription files are rich-text-format" or "rtf" file types instead of image files.

Ready for the next challenge!

FINALLY Get Organized! Jan 10th-16th 2016 Checklist Progress

I'm behind, of course, but I am going to try to catch up this weekend. So, here we go with week 2!

1. First, back up your data.

I am pretty good at this. I will give full credit to Dick Eastman's monthly reminders in his blog, Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter. I use a portable drive to back up my genealogy database and related digital files. I have another portable drive at our year-round lake home and backup the same data there before we return home. The portable drive at the lake home provides me with my off-site storage.

I'm still working on digitizing my 30 years worth of research but I think I am about half-way there. It helps that for the most part, I've been keeping only digital copies of my sources for the last 6 or 7 years. At last count (found in the Consumable Status area of my ScanSnap scanner) I have scanned over 12,000 pages.

 2. Decide on a genealogy management program.   

This one is going to take a little longer although I've been reviewing them for quite a while. I use The Master Genealogist (TMG) and was saddened to learn that Bob Velke was retiring for health reasons and was unable to support it. So I have been looking at other programs on both the Mac and PC side to determine where to go next. I have a MacBook Pro running Parallels so I am keeping my options open. 

I have full working versions with a sample of my database loaded in several programs: Legacy, RootsMagic 7, Heredis 2015, MacFamilyTree, FamilyTreeBuilder, and RootsTrust . Of course, I also had FamilyTreeMaker 2014 and the Mac version but those are no longer under consideration. So far, I am leaning toward Legacy or RootsMagic. Beyond testing and playing with the program, I am watching videos to see what features "grab" me.

I don't think I am in a great hurry here as TMG will continue to work and serve as my main genealogy management program for some time. I plan to switch when I am ready to start my "Do-Over" and then will carefully hand-enter my data taking care with sources, citations and proofs.

 3. As soon as you've scanned them, place all important "must save" photos and documents in top-loading page protectors for those first 3-4 generations in your surname binder. 

Yikes! I've come to realize that "paperless" does not necessarily mean "organized."

This one was tough even though I already had my items digitized. It really made me re-think my digitizing plan. Instead of printing out the family group sheets, I printed them to PDF files and put one in each of four folders labeled with the last name and first name. Then I copied my digital files of photos, certificates and other information to the appropriate folder.

I needed to take a step back and determine how, exactly, I wanted to organize my paperless surname binders. At this point, I'm trying a document that starts with the family group report, then puts the other documents and photos in chronological order. This allows me update and to insert other items later. This could later be printed out or printed to a PDF for a "coffee table" version, if needed. 

But, I still have the original digital versions in my general surname folder on my desktop so now there are two copies. I watched Denise Levenick this week on a Legacy webinar talk about naming conventions and have determined that I need to rename most of my digital copies. This will also have to wait until my "Do-Over" as I don't want to break any connections in my current program.

4. Create an introduction for those that follow. 

My introductions were rather short as I anticipate many changes and those will have to be accounted for as I go. Also, I'm a little over-protective of my passwords. That probably comes from years of being in the IT department. I uses a password keeper program that does a nice job, is fairly intuitive, and syncs across platforms. This means only one password is needed to get access to all others. That one password is shared with a trusted person.

 5. Add a "genealogy codicil" to your will by making an appointment with your attorney. 

I love this one but this item will take a bit of time to complete. I have filled out the genealogical codicil and will keep a paper copy (because it's critical!) and a digital copy of the codicil. There are too many other considerations in regards to the will to do this item in a hurry.

My Ancestor Score for 2016

Randy Seaver, in his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun column, invites us to create "Your Ancestor Score for 2016." You can read his column to see how others have inspired him to create a chart determining, by generation, how far along he he is in his genealogy research. 

Since this is just a count of direct ancestors, it's not really an accurate picture of how complete my research is, but it is one way to measure progress.

I use The Master Genealogist (TMG), even though it's no longer supported, as I am still trying to determine which family history database I will use in its place. Using Charting Companion to read the TMG database, I created an ancestor fan chart shown at left.

It's too small to read, but I am in the bottom center of the chart and the chart fans out with each row being a new generation. This chart shows eight generations. It's fairly easy to see, even without being able to read any of the names, that I am doing well for the first 6 generations (including myself). I am missing 25% of the 7th generation and over 60% of the 8th generation. 

I used this chart to collect the majority of the data needed for my "Ancestor Score for 2016." I added a couple more generations to the chart to determine the rest but I don't keep that chart as it the printing is so small it's not usable.

From that chart I created a table similar to one that Randy suggested in his column. Mine has additional columns to show results by generation and by combined totals. This method was used in Blaine Bettinger's column. Here are my results:

The results show in the bottom row (green center column) that my ancestor score for 11 generations, up to my 8th great-grandparents, is 275. That's only 13.4% of my ancestors identified to that point. My 10 generation score is better, but still only 245 or 23.9%.

If I look at just 7 generations, up to my 4th great-grandparents, I'm at 87% and I am missing only 16 ancestors from that generation. I have a lot of work to do in those early generations to try to uncover more of my ancestors and their stories.

This year, I am still in the educational mode and am really trying to build my skills in several different areas of genealogy. So I won't be doing quite as much research. However, I plan to be able to devote a lot more time to research in the not too distant future. Perhaps my numbers in 2017 or 2018 will show some improvement.

Thanks, Randy Seaver, it was a fun exercise even if it does make my task look a little daunting.

FINALLY Get Organized! Jan 3rd-9th 2016 Checklist Progress

Thanks, DearMyrtle, for your encouragement and suggestions to help tame the all the paper caused by a passion for genealogy. Here's how I am doing so far on your first checklist:

  1. Clear off the computer desk and make piles for everything.

This was probably one of the easier tasks as I actually already had some work space cleared off. And I have piles, multiple piles, for everything! I wonder if I get extra points for extra piles?


  2. Check your office supplies, and replace any missing or lost items 

I love office supplies. Does a love for office supplies come with the genealogy bug? It sure seems to. But I think I am good to go in this area.


  3. Setup your computer desk and office the way you really want it!

Not only do I have a new mouse pad, it's genealogy related. I have one with ancestors to help guide me and another with my children and grandchildren to inspire me.

My mousepad, at upper left, shows a number of my ancestors and I like to think they are pointing me in the right direction. Except for that one guy name Ole Olson, whose father was named Ole Olson, and his father was also named Ole Olson, and so on. Really? That's the only name you could come up with?

The mousepad at right shows my children, grandchildren and they inspire me to write the stories.

I also spent a good deal of time the last two summers building a library both physically and electronically. This will always be a work in progress but it is a labor of love.


4. Designate a special red clipboard as the "When Computer Help Arrives" clipboard. 

I am going to take this route digitally. This might be an area where, at least for a time, I have an advantage. My current profession is in the education technology field and I am pretty darn comfortable with most things technology. However, after 30+ years in the profession, I know how fast things change, and with retirement looming, I will probably fall out of the loop in a hurry!


5. Designate a special green clipboard as the "Genealogy Challenges" clipboard.

See #4 above for reference to my digital route. But this list will probably grow rather quickly as I am more easily challenged in this area.


 And one more BRIGHT IDEA - Open up an Amazon Prime account.

I am good with this one, too. Having an Amazon Prime account has helped with a variety of purchases and related shipping costs: genealogy, gifts, books and other media. It's an addiction and I admit, there are times I feel like I am hooked.

Thanks again, Myrtle, for your help with my New Year's Resolution. I can hardly wait to see how it all turns out!