Most of us have some system in place in how we conduct our genealogy research. But sometimes that system gets out of whack and we have to go back and clean up what we didn’t do right the first time. In this blog post, I’ll show how I process a backlog of documents so you can learn from my mistakes and process documents efficiently.
Does this look like your genealogy research? A jumbled mess of document photos you took years ago? Unfortunately, this is a screenshot of my computer from my trip to the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah in February 2019.
If this is you, too, it’s time to tackle this mess one piece at a time.
I love that the FamilySearch Library allows you to take pictures. That certainly saved my bacon in this instance. If the repository you visit doesn’t allow that, write down all the information you need…before you leave.
I took photos of the copyright and title pages so I could have a proper citation.
Ready to process
Let’s say I just got home from the library and I’m now ready to process what I found. I was looking for the marriage of my 3x great-grandparents Edwin Dennis and Sarah Rock.
I found the date in the Botetourt County, Virginia Register of Marriages transcriptions. By the way, you pronounce Botetourt as bot-a-tot. They married on 6 July 1846. Sarah’s father is Thomas Rock. I’ll keep looking for an original record, but for now this will do.
Download to my computer
I downloaded this image to my computer. I love Cyndi Ingle’s way of organizing my digital files, so I find their folder and add the document. If you have a Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscription (best bang for your genealogy buck), you can listen to her explain this process here. Cyndi is the creator of the website Cyndi’s List, a wonderful site packed with all sorts of information.
Rename image
I can’t leave it with that awful computer name, so I renamed it immediately. My naming protocol is pretty easy: name(s), date, record, place, other info.
So, their digital file name would look like this: Dennis, Edwin and Sarah Rock – 1846 – Marriage – Botetourt County, Virginia. Whatever naming protocol you use, just be consistent.
Analyze and add to genealogy software
I then analyze what I’ve found and add it to my genealogy research software program. I use Legacy (which I love!), but if you’re a RootsMagic or Family Tree Maker person, add it there.
Before now, I haven’t added any information to their profiles regarding their marriage – that section is still blank:
I won’t go through the steps for adding a marriage record in Legacy in this blog post, but afterward, their profiles now look like this:
Legacy software is amazing at putting citations together. It follows the book, Evidence Explained, by Elizabeth Shown Mills. This is what the citation looks like:
Vogt, John and T. William Kethley, Jr., Botetourt County Marriages, 1770-1853 (Atlanta, Georgia: Iberian Publishing Co., 1987), 2: 548, Sarah Rock and Edwin H. Dennis, 6 Jul 1846.
If I hadn’t collected the copyright and title pages when I found the source, I’d struggle to create a proper citation now. All that’s left is to add this information to your trees on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, or wherever you have your online family tree.
File documents
If you have documents you need to file, do that now. I prefer folders to binders for this but check out my organizational tips in this blog post.
Summary of the process
To summarize a short but effective way to process the genealogy research documents you find:
- Download the image to the appropriate folder on your computer.
- Rename the image with your consistent naming protocol.
- Analyze all the information included in the document. This phase could also include an abstract or transcription for when you write up your research.
- Add to your genealogy research software and attach source citations to each fact.
- File your documents.
It took me longer to write this blog post than it did to process this document!
Finally
Processing documents as soon as you find them will make the most of your research efforts. It’s essential to follow a systematic digital workflow. By examining, digitizing, organizing, and documenting your findings, you can efficiently manage the documents you discover.
Genealogy tip: Take the time to set up your computer filing system now. If you’re changing systems, do it slowly as you find new information, so you don’t get overwhelmed in the process. It’s not going anywhere, so you’ve got time!
If you would like help finding your ancestors, I’d love to chat with you. Just click the button below to start a conversation!
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