ORGANIZING YOUR NOTES

I gather my genealogical notes in fits and starts, from here and there, writing them on whatever scrap of paper I have at hand. Getting them organized is something that I am always working on. Here are some great ideas I found in an article by William Dollarhide.

He divides the piles of papers that genealogists collect into three categories. First, there are the compiled sheets. These consist of the family group sheets, pedigree charts, and surname lists that you put together from the notes you've collected. He suggests putting them in folders, separated by types - pedigree charts in one, group sheets in another. I have mine divided even further with the maternal side of my family in one folder, the paternal in another, and my family (my parents, siblings, and offspring) in a third. If you start working on your spouse's side of the family, you may want to divide that, also. What is important is that these are separated from your other stacks of papers.

The next category is research aids. This includes books, maps, state, county, and country facts. The books, of course, should go on a shelf set up for them. The loose papers are then diveded by geographical location.

The third category, notes and documents, is where the real work starts. In my first article, I suggested file folders for each surname. That's a good start. If your notes are organized my surnames, you are ready for the next step.

First, have a scissors handy. Then grab a surname folder and separate your notes by location. For instance, I have information on my surname HINKEL with references to Ohio, California and Germany. If you have several notes on one page, with different locations, that's where the scissors comes in.

Some notes don't lend to separation, such as a census note that lists place of birth, and place of residence at two different locations. Make a copy of that note, so it will fit into both locations.

The next step is to get these notes into a binder with separators for each location. Tape or glue your odd sized notes and clipped pages onto standard notebook paper to fit into a binder for that surname. Large notes, too big for the page, can be folded or slipped into a pocket separator. If you have original copies of birth certificates, letters, etc., it would be best to make copies of them and keep the originals in a safe, fireproof place.

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