Ferndale Genies Rock “Organizing”

I hope everyone had a great time last Monday.  I know I did.  Thank you to Rick for bringing his notebooks and ideas and to everyone who contributed to the discussion.

For today I am going to suggest that you read this post on the blogsite.  If you are receiving it by email, just click on the Title of the post in blue above.

My all new Organizing Tips page is over there on the left sidebar.  And below it are new pages:  Two Organizing Articles, Personal Checklist form, Research Log forms, and Judith’s Organizing system. 

My Organizing Tips are new and I would suggest that everyone with organizing problems read through them.  Even if you were at the meeting, I skipped some important points like “you need a naming system for your computer files” and I gave an example.  Organizing resources are at the bottom.

I use the Personal Checklist along with a Family Group Sheet when I am organizing all the information I have about an individual or family, usually in preparation for trying to solve a problem.

Most of us could make a leap if we consistently used a research process.  I added some Research Logs to our blog too.  Even better would be coming to the Whatcom Genealogical Society meeting on February 12 where professional genealogist Cyndi Ingle will be speaking on “Back to the Basics: Research Planning and Execution Online”.  (see Events tab for details)

Coming Up

Friday, February 9^th we are planning an afternoon of learning to build family trees online.  This is by reservation only.  I am speaking to participants ahead of time to find out what they need.  Also recruiting mentors.  So far requested programs are Ancestry.com, familysearch.org, and RootsMagic.  Participants and mentors can contact me at ferndalegenies at gmail dot com.  The sooner the better.

January 31 is a free webinar at https://familytreewebinars.com/with Sunny Morton.  Her topic is Comparing the Genealogy Giants: Ancestry, FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com.  I watched her similar talk last year and will be watching this one too.  It’s for all levels.  If you have never watched a webinar, this is the time.  It is free for the live broadcast and for a week following.  Go to the link and register.  When you register, you will receive an email reminder and also a notice when the recording is available.  While you are there, cruise through the topics.  Some are free but with a $50 annual membership you receive on-demand access to over 600 recorded webinars, access to the syllabi and other perks.  The membership is only recommended for people who will actually watch webinars. 😊

Tuesday at 8 on PBS:  Sylvia asks “Are you watching the new PBS series We'll Meet Again? It's really good. They are using genealogy and detective work to reunite lost friends.’’ This is the new Ann Curry show I have been hearing about.  I missed the first episode last Tuesday but it is being reshown on KCTS on Friday night at 3am Sat morning if you can record it.  Also may be on their website.

February 26 is our next Genies meeting.  We don’t have a topic yet but we never run out of interesting information.  Let me know if you have particular interests.  For now DNA is scheduled for March when I hope some of your new tests will have been processed.

Happy Winter!  If Ferndale Schools are closed, we will be too.  Just late opening?  Check with the library.

Reminder! Meeting this Monday 1/22/18

Doors open at 12:30 for setup and to borrow a library computer if needed.

Meeting starts at 1:00 and wraps up by 3:30.

We will be talking about topics people want to work on this year.  There was a strong response about “Organization” so I am coming prepared to discuss it.  Let’s see what the problem areas are. 

Bring your tips and “show and tell” notebooks or other methods of organizing.  Even if you have brought them before we continue to show new people.

A second topic of interest is building trees and basic research.  There should be plenty of time to talk about what you need and to get started working.  Bring your papers and any passwords with you.

Whether you are beginning or more experienced, this meeting is all about what you need and how we can help you. 

Don’t forget we will need helpers too. 

Can’t wait to see you all.  Judith

Meeting 1/22 Focuses on Organization

This Monday is Martin Luther King Day and the library is closed. 

Our meeting is on Monday, January 22 from 1:00 to 3:30.

During our meeting we will focus on organizing genealogy, one of our common themes.  There are so many blogs about organizing and I could spend all day reading, reading, reading.  It seems important to pin down what your personal organizing problem is. 

For me it’s that, even though I know a lot about organizing genealogy now, I didn’t when I started so I have been building on a heck of a mess.

1.      I need to learn a few things.  Like how to use a research plan.  Blogger Lisa Lisson states this goal as “Setting a detailed and organized research plan, documenting where I stop and where I need to pick up again.”  That would save me a lot of time as I jump around a lot in the little time I have available.

2.      I need to tackle my paper and my computer files.  The best hint here is to use the same system for both.  I organize by surname while there are other systems being used.  And along with this I need to settle on a naming convention for my computer files.

3.      I made a big leap when I finally decided to switch to RootsMagic for my main automated family tree.  I like the advantages of having it on my desk.  This tree was easily built with a gedcom file from my Ancestry.com tree.  Now I have to do a major cleanup, again from the days when I didn’t know what I was doing. 

What are your biggest organization challenges?  Let the group know and we’ll make suggestions.  Get ready for a lively discussion.  Bring tips, notebooks, examples and questions.  Here are a few resources to help.

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Lisa Lisson has written a number of organizing articles.  Start with this overview:  http://lisalisson.com/2018/01/02/organize-genealogy-research/

In the first paragraph she says this: Read the full story on what you need to know to organize your genealogy here: http://lisalisson.com/2017/01/03/what-you-need-to-know-to-organize-your-genealogy/  

At the bottom of her first article there are links to “genealogy in 20 minutes a day”, how to create a genealogy research plan, using a timeline, photo organization and other topics.  

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Here’s a free 14-page collection of organizing articles you can download from Family Tree Magazine:  https://www.familytreemagazine.com/freebie/family-tree-tips-23-secrets-organize-genealogy/