Tuesday’s Tip - Evernote and Family Tree Research

This week I made a concerted effort to familiarise myself with some of the features of the App Evernote.

As most of my family will agree, I am not good at taking my time to read instructions and generally just jump straight in, often missing some of the basic and vital tips.  So this time I, started carefully, by first watching the short introductory video on how to get started http://evernote.com/video/

Then I went to their How to Get Started page  and made my way through each step, testing each application. These steps provided information on installation, creating an account, creating your first entry, adding an images, synchronising with your phone, laptop etc, saving web content.  All pretty basic you might say, however, after a week of playing around with Evernote, I think you need to have it set up properly and understand its applications to really reap the benefits.

I was really impressed with the fact that I could sync with my phone, work and home computer, Ipad, and laptop (yes!! gadget tragic). This means that if I find a interesting article/photo when reading paper on the train, I can take a photo of it with my phone and send to Evernote, or if I am  reading article on Ipad I can send the link with the appropriate "filing tag" for later reference.  Likewise, if I am researching in a library, I can take a photo of article/photo from book or magazine and link to my Evernote account.

My gadgets really came to the fore over the weekend.  I was visiting an Aunt and she had some old family photos and was very loathed to part with them for even a second so that I could scan them. However,  I was able to take a photo of them with my phone and immediately send the pictures to my Evernote account, tagged with the appropriate family names, and a short note of who were in the picture and the approximate date that the picture was taken.

To gain the full benefit I have taken the time to set up NoteBooks (folders) to correspond with the four main branches of my family tree.  Then as I save items, I am tagging them with the Surname within each branch, and description of the item eg "photo", "newspaper article",  "link" , "certificate" etc. 

I have to confirm that my so far my Evernote experience is very positive and I am sure as I become more familiar with it's different applications it will prove to be among my most valuable research tools.

Sorting Family Tree Digital Files

An integral part of storing your files/photos should be, if possible, making digital copies of all your documents and photos.  To assist me with this I enlisted the aid of my (sometimes willing) husband. We had invested in a good flat bed scanner about a year ago and have found it an invaluable resource. As I sorted all the documents and photos into Family Groups, Steve scanned the documents, ready for me to later label and sort into folders.

There are a number of good reasons for making digital copies which include:

• Security:  in case of loss due to water damage, fire or misplacement of a document
• Online Resources:  for attaching to your online family tree or blog, an easy way to back up your research.
• Sharing: for sharing with other family tree researchers 
• Time Management:  it is a good way to have all your files at your finger tips, you are able to check out details quickly and without fuss.  It is much easier than going through folders, boxes etc for the hard copy for the record.

The  dilemma again arises on how to file them so they can be easily found. 

Trying to stick to my KISS philosophy, this is the method I have chosen.
As each document, photo or newspaper cutting is scanned I name the file with DC, BC, MC, newspaper, census etc, then the surname, christian name, and date if known.  eg.  Death Certificate for my grandfather would have the file name:  DC.Shepherd, Malcolm Michael 25.06.1932. 

Of course the system you use is a personal choice and you need to choose your own approach and make it consistent for all your files.

The next step is to set up your files within your Family Tree Digital File.  I have chosen to organise my digital files in the same manner as I set up the files for the hard copies.  (see my previous blog , Time to Go Shopping.  All the folders on the computer corresponded with original files of photos and documents. i.e,. Four main folders  in the names of grandparents eg. Shepherd, Herbert, Smith, and Hewson  (see diagram above).

 

Once these files are set up I set up a file within each of these folders for the family groups of my great grand parents.

 eg:  Hewson is divided into Hewson and Keable and Shepherd is divided into Shepherd and Lee.

Then within each of these folders set up files for the documents for that section of your family group, eg: Births, Deaths, Marriages, Newspaper Articles, Military etc. 

 See the diagram to the right as an example of how your folder setup could look.

Again these folders are a personal choice and will correspond to the type of documents you have to store.

One final note:  Yes this is quite a daunting task! However if you take the time to set up a workable system and slowly work your way through your collection of data, you will be rewarded with a manageable collection of family tree files that can be easily accessed and shared with other researchers.

Also, as you discover new information or others share photos or documents with you, they are easily filed away.

If you find this system of use let me know, or if you have any suggestions to improve my system I would love to hear from you.

Time to go Shopping!!!

In my last blog I described the early how I had started to tackle the paper pile that represented my family tree research over the past 15-20 years.  This blog celebrates the fact that I have moved on from the four boxes marked “Hewson”, “Smith”, “Shepherd” and “Herbert”  and now have a fully functioning storage system for all my documents, photos etc.  .

This step started with a visit to the local office supplies shop, where I purchased folders, binders, photo boxes , sticky labels, protective plastic sleeves, folder dividers and alphabetical filing cards for the photo boxes. You will note these were all colour coordinated to fit with our spare room décor, much to my husband’s amusement. 

 The next step was to make up folders for each of the following: Births, Deaths, Marriages, Newspaper Cuttings, Census, Research Notes and Miscellaneous (for the odd things that didn’t seem to fit into the other folders).  In each folder I put in dividers for each of the Family Branches and filed all relevant documentation into each folder.  For example my grandmother on the Shepherd side’s death certificate, funeral notice, photo of her grave stone and family thank you card were all filed in the Deaths Folder in the Section for Shepherd.

All photos are now filed in “Family” boxes in Alphabetical order (SURNAME, Christian name) and any photos that are too large for the photo’s boxes I have filed into a photo folder .  I have to admit as I packed the “colour coordinated” boxes into the shelving, along with all my family research books I felt quite pleased with my progress.  It was now time to sort the conglomeration of digital files that lived on my computer, lap top and a number of usb sticks.

Filing and Storing Original Documents - Keeping that Pile under control

If you are like me, the amount of time that you have to spend on your family tree research is limited.  This means that it is important to develop a filing/storage system that is straight forward, and doesn't consume to much of your valuable research time. I think it is important that you choose a filing system that suits you and works for you.  You are the person who has to work with it.

Operation Paper Control was on!!!!

 

What an adventure!!!  When I had allotted the amount of time I would take to do this I had not considered the time I would waste being side tracked by the little bits of information I rediscovered in  letters, on the back of photos and in notes I had taken. Having a deadline kept me reasonably focused and I resisted the temptation to wander too far from the task at hand.

Much to my husbands delight, I finally sorted all the documentation into the four "Family" boxes!!   He  now had space to watch the footy in peace.  The next step was to work my way through each "Family" Box. sorting the information into documentation that supported "Birth", Death" and Marriages", Census, Newspaper articles, photos. 

 Initially, I sat on the floor of our lounge Room with four boxes marked "Shepherd", "Herbert", "Smith" and "Hewson".  These were the four main branches of our family tree.  Legs crossed, sneezing from all the dust, I slowly made my way through the boxes of documents, photos, notes, letters, newspaper cuttings  and other bits and pieces that I had collected over the last 15-20 years.   I then proceeded to sort all the information I had collected into these four boxes. 

The Family Tree Project

Where am I going to start?  Feeling a little overwhelmed I sat down and tried to set  some rational boundaries.  I had to remember that this was a starting point and to not get bogged down with the unrelenting supply of information, and resources available.   It was important to have a clear picture of where I was going with this project. I spent the initial week planning, considering all the stakeholders, setting a budget, developing a timeline and reaching decisions on what were achievable goals.

The achievable goals would be:

• Selection of a suitable online Genealogy site to post family tree on
• Provision of access to this tree to family members and other researchers
• Development of a Filing system for all documentation, photos etc
• Electronic copies and electronic filing system for all documentation.

The first step was to do some research into the different online Genealogy sites and to compare them with those that I am already familiar and decide which would suit my project requirements. It was important that this site could be easily accessed by other members of the family  and researchers who were interested following the development of our family tree.

I decided to approach the development of this family tree as a pilot project that could be expanded and developed at a later stage to include all my family tree research.  To keep the project within a reasonable boundary, I decided to only extend by family tree back 5 generations.  Then when this was established I would be able to move on and add the additional information past the first 5 generations. I think this is good advice for anyone starting on their family tree.   Keep the initial stages of your research within achievable limits. Once you have established your Family Tree up to the first 5 generations you can use this as the base to go back further in your family tree exploration. 

It was also necessary to decide on a simple and easy to use filing system for all my documents in both hard copy and soft copy.  The logical form for me, was to develop Files for the four branches of our parents surnames, e.g. my parents family names and my husbands family names.  It was important to keep this filing system simple, so as it didn't consume too much of my valuable research time.

The Family Tree Grows

In the late 1980’s our family moved and all my family tree research was packed into boxes to be shipped off to our new home.  Over the next 10-15 years, though I still kept my eyes and ears open for new family information, I didn't have time for any serious research and so these boxes virtually, stayed sealed.  With two young boys starting school, and a family business, there wasn't a lot of spare hours for digging around our family tree roots.

It was interesting though, I had unofficially become the keeper of the family history.   Members of the family would forward on anything they thought I might be interested in.  Also when another member of the family started to delve into the family history, they would be referred to me.  So during this time, my boxes of family memorabilia grew, and gathered dust in our spare room. 

It was almost 15 years later when both my boys had left home and we had moved home again that I finally started to find the time to start digging back into the mysteries of my family tree.  By this time there were numerous online genealogy sites such Ancestry, Genes United and My Heritage. Initially I took a starter package with Genes United. I signed up and was hooked.  I started pulling out all the notes, old pictures  etc and entering the data into my family tree. We invested in a scanner and my poor dear husband scored the task of scanning the reams of photos and certificates.

The feedback that I received from my on-line tree was phenomenal.  I couldn't wait for the next instalment of "hot matches" to come through, so I could make contact with others researching similar trees. I was starting to acquire a large address book of family tree contacts and it was great to be able to share stories, documents and photos.  Over the next few years I invested in a couple of on-line genealogy site memberships, trying them out to see which I found the best.  Now I do my main research and record keeping on Ancestry, but have a number of other memberships with other On Line Family Research sites as I find that some offer advantages that others don't and it also widens my access to other researchers. A word of caution, memberships can become expensive so be careful to look for the option that best meets your needs and budget. 

However, despite my joy at the influx of new information on my family history, a dilemma was developing.  The more information, pictures and documents I collected the harder it was to keep it in order.  I needed to find a way to put all the information into logical order!!  this was not an easy task and I hope to share this learning experience with you in later blogs.