Genealogy Chat

Can anyone help with the some tips on the best way to file the printed documents, although relatively new to this I am sinking under paper work. I have started a file but as I am adding g.parents, then ggparents and so on I am getting myself in a pickle. Sounds a silly question but some help would be appreciated. I never knew that so many people could have the same names!!!! hope you can help thanks.

Maybe not the best advice, but I have 4 files! I each for my and my husabnds' maternal and paternal lines. Also keep a lot on computer.
Jan

I use plastic document wallets and have at least two for each surname I am researching. In one I keep certificates and in the other any other information I have on the family - Census printouts, photographs of houses, notes, baptism records etc. For some surnames I have even more wallets as I have some army records and other information which won't fit in the other wallets.

I keep most of the information on my FTM2005 software so if I want to look up dates etc. I look there instead of looking through the paperwork.

I must admit I also have bits of paper all over the place as well as these document wallets, so I'm not the best person to give advice, lol.

Kath. x

I have one file for certificates. They are stored A-Z by surname and in the case of marriages, under the husbands surname.
At the front of this file i keep two basic family tree diagrams (one for each side of the family, showing only my direct ancestors) so i can see how people are related at a glance.
These sheets are also colour coded to show what certificates i have for each person (pink for birth, yellow for marriage, green for death.)

I then have a file for each side of my family which holds (again in alphabetical order by surname) census returns.

Next come two more files (one maternal, one paternal) in which i have seperated the main surnames by dividers. In this file i keep any other papers relating to the family ie, army records, court records, emigration etc...

I then have a final file where i store any odd pieces of paper for families where i think i may have a connection, but cannot link them into mine yet.

It sounds like a lot of files, but i can lay my hands on any piece of paper within a couple of minutes.

I also keep my family tree on the computer so that day to day i can just refer to family tree maker rather than having to go searching through files.

Gem

Keep my main family tree with all details on an offline package - copy on my USB stick so I can take it to work if I want to check something at lunchtime.

I have an A4 file for each main name - don't use Lever Arch as they are too heavy and drive me mad. As the files fill up I split them a bit more.

In each file I have a printout of each direct ancestor with their family record sheet behind that. So, in one of the files I have a tab for Adams with the direct ancestors going backwards. (Those little sticky notes are handy as well as I can then do a little tab for each direct - just forename and yob.) Behind that tab there is an "Adams relatives" tab where I can hurl any odd bits of info on siblings etc, plus any notes of the ones I'm not sure of etc.

I keep the certificates separate. Trying to file those in some sort of logical order this afternoon but at the moment they are in a tidy heap in a folder!

I keep the printouts of the different branches in the front of my skinny A4 "workbook" and highlight the names where I have the certs etc so I make sure I don't order duplicates!

I also have one of those cardboard A-Z index thingies (about £3 to buy) where I can lob any odd bits of paper alphabetically by surname. That keeps the heaps of paperwork down a bit and means that when I'm working on, say, the Adams file I can check through the A-Z thingy quite quickly for any odd bits of paper relating to Adams or their rellies. If I'm feeling really well organised I spend an hour or so filing all the bits of paper away but that doesn't happen very often!

Good luck - it will only get worse if you let it so try to tackle it sooner rather than later!

Jill

A word of advice. If anything like me you jot anything anywhere. Set aside a few minutes each week to re-organise your files - it will really pay off.
I agree about the lever-arch files, I have one and it's a pain. Also a good tip to keep certs separate, indeed I think I might do that for all stuff I only look at occasionally. Then you can have an "active" file to update with new stuff.
Now, where did I put that obscure IGI reference ...................
Jan

Well well well I am new to this my mind is boggling, I am sinking with scrappy bits of paper & certs not yet filed already so I have taken on board what you have all been advising. What a joy this adventure is going to be!!!!


Barbara

For "joy" read obsession - whatever are you thinking of? You will need to emply a gardener and housekeeper as you will no longer have time for such mundane activities believe me.
Jan

Different coloured A4 files are helpful.

I use green ones for the family of my maternal grandmother, red for my maternal grandfather, purple for my paternal grandmother and blue for my paternal grandfather. (And black for my husband's family but that will soon be divided into black and yellow).

You can get pink ones too!

Angela

Angela, there are heaps more colours you can have and then there are the ones with patterns on. I started with 4 with smiley faces: white with yellow, green with yellow, blue with yellow and red with yellow, but they were soon too small so I have dozens of plain ones in a wide variety of colours. I presume you are talking of the clearfiles. They also come in different sizes, from 10 pages to 100. I label the spine so I can see at a glance what I want, not that I am ultra organised and still have a lot of boxes of papers that need to be organised if I ever get the time.

Huia.

I keep most of mine on the computer. The origional certificates I keep in a lever arch file with a-z dividers but I never have to get them out. When they arrive I scan them twice and index them in a desktop folder once under the womans surname and once under the mans. Because its on the computer it automatically puts them in alphabetical order. Then I add the details to my offline tree and file the certificate away. I have other computer based folders and index all documents the same, I have a military records folder, a census returns folder, a baptism certificates folder, a deed poll folder, a newspaper cuttings folder, a birth certificates folder, a marriage certificates folder, a death certificates folder etc etc and either scan into them or save directly from the web and it puts them all in the correct places for me. Every week I back up my files onto a storage device and update my online trees at the same time then I have another lever arch a-z file for my 'other' bits and I keep single pieces of paper rather than note books for notes so that each one can be filed as soon as its completed but I also scan those and file them as I do photographs.

There isn't much that cant be put onto computer in one format or another. It might sound a bit complicated but it really works for me and means that I can spend just a few moments working on my tree when the kids have their afternoon naps etc without having to worry about packing away piles of important paperwork when they get up.

Always use acid free folders and pockets etc so as to not damage your priceless documents and photos, when I work out how much I have spent just on certificates alone it runs into thousands of pounds.

I hope that helps. xxx

Hello,
I cannot believe the replies to my posting, I luv the thought of keeping my files on the computer but as I have not yet worked out how to do the most basic things,( being a bit of a computer technaphobe!!) I think I will have to stay with the paper version.
I am currently working on my husbands side of the family and I have started two files, one for his dads side and one for his mothers side, one of which is a lever arch file!! with print outs in the clear plastic wallets. I have the male members of the respective family at the front of the file and the women at the back but this seems to be getting complicated to follow and to be sure that I am not going over old ground. But I want to thank you for your ideas which I am going to look at carefully to see which might help me improve my filing system. many thanks.

Gemma, I have also scanned certs and census and all sorts and put them in various files on the computer, I forgot to mention that. I just hope it is legal! Now I have a DVD burner I can also put the files onto discs for extra safety.

Huia (who does have a reasonably technical mind)

Yes, putting everything onto disc is good but do make two copies and keep one away from home in case the house burns down. I keep my second copy 300 miles away at our holiday home. Update them regularly too.

Angela

I have found a filing cabinet a good investment.......you can get a good 2 drawer one from places like Argos for around £40.00.......mine is actually an old office secondhand one, but is in cupboard under the stairs so dosn`t matter thats its grey and metal...

I have all my families divided up by their surnames, and then plastic wallets with all the census returns, baptism info, and any other info divided up in to each family, each sibling of direct line also gets their own plastic wallet with the same in. The filing system works well, i just go to the surname, and then the individual i want.

I also am slowly building up an alphabetical card index system, with every person in my tree having their own card, with all their BMD, baptism, burial, parents ,children occupation and siblings details on it, its amazing how much info you can get on a small card...it was a tip I picked up on here from another GR member, whos OH called it her "dead body box.".....

My "dead body box" sits on top of the Tower of my computor so is always to hand, and is a very quick way of checking info. Also good when going to Records Offices as you can slip the cards for the relevant people in your bag rather than carrying around wafts of A4 paper.

I store Certs in a huge A4 folder.
I also have trees on GR, Tribal Pages {which is very user friendly} and an FTM 2006, which I must confess I don`t add to as often as i should.


I`m sure you`ll find the best system for you.....


Nicky

Gemma, you sound really well organised, I got frightened just reading your post!

Nicky, I totally agree with your post, I have a box full of record cards, one for each member of the family with relevant details on it, it saves me loads of time & also saves me re-applying for a duplicate cert, I found that out to my cost! When I started my family tree I thought it would be easy to keep track of what I did or didn't know, but that was a bit naive. In some families I have a male ancestor, who had 2 sons, one called after him, one very similar (eg Albert Snr, Albert Jnr, Alfred), then the 2 sons both had sons who they named after grandad! So in 3 generations I had 4 males with the same name.
Theat's without adding in Alberts on the other side of the family.

Everybody makes it all sound so simple, so let me say I used to ask the same question when I first started and tried all sorts - and 3 years on everything is still in a big heap (or rather several big heaps). Every now and again I DO tidy up, but I have started so many different filing systems (and abandoned them), that I am coming to the conclusion that some people are organised and some are just not able to be so (I am the latter).

I will say, though, if you can find a system that works for you, do stick to it, cos I have wasted time, effort and money by my lack of organisation. Before I retired I always said I needed a secretary as I couldn't do Admin - and wouldn't have minded at all if he or she was paid more than me (in fact I might have paid the person something myself).

Good luck

Margaret

Actually it might have been me who had the Dead Body Box, that was the most useful thing I had. I chucked it out yesterday as I am beyond it now, but it was the single most useful resource I had. An index card for each ancestor, and on the top their own details re birth, then their parents, then a section for their children. With alphabetic index cards. The back of the card was used to record census records found (though wasn't big enought to record all members of the family).

It sat on my printer and was at hand all the time. It stood me in good stead in the first year or so of searching, whilst I was fleshing out people from 1837 onwards.


Margaret

Hey,
Now I am sinking under ideas!! thanks a lot folks, I feel much better knowing that I am not the only one struggling with filing and I have not been doing this very long. I think this could become an obsesssion and I will get hooked, it does not make sleeping any easier as I spend half the night thinking about ancestors, how sad is that...... cheers and thanks. Margaret.

Hello all, I hope I am doing this right and adding to a previous post and not creating a "new thread" I got into trouble when that happend!!
I just want to let you all know that after getting your tips for filing I have adapted what I had to a lever arch file ( I know its the dreaded file but at the moment I don't have that many files that it is a problem) and have filed by surname, each direct relation in their own clear folder or folders with census forms, birth certs etc divided by colour tabs. At the front of the file I have a sketched family tree of direct relatives on the template printed from Lost Cousins. so I know who is who and I can find anyone easily, so far. I like the idea of a "dead box" ( I think that was what it was called) and I am making a start on that tomorrow, providing I get some ironing done!!!!!!! So you guys, thanks for the inspiration. cheers. M.