Preferred Applications

While pondering over the issue of the best way to organize my genealogy files, and playing with a number of different applications in the process, I realized that what I am using now beats the others hands down. For those who are curious, my main database uses TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Software), a web-based application. Because TNG offers a great deal of flexibility, it allows me to present data in a lot of different ways and keeps the data organized well.

TNG allows all different types of media to be organized by types in what the program calls collections. These can easily then be used to store the files that pertain to individuals and then linked directly to the individual, or individals, within the database. I’m just starting the process of converting my files, but so far I’m using a directory for each different type of record or photograph. The next step in the process, beyond, uploading the records, will be to purchase some large binders and archival sheet protectors to store the documents and photos.

Getting Organized – Again

Every year or so, I seem to go through a phase where I try to get more organized and this spring was no exception, but at least this time, I seem to be making real progress. For them most part, I’ve managed to get most of the old photographs scanned and their digital copies filed under the surnames involved, but there remains a lot of work to do dealing with the other types of files.

Since I work from several different computers at times, I’ve started storing all of the genealogy files on an external hard drive that can be accessed from any of the computers in the house. On the external drive, I have broken most of the files down into location-based areas, starting at the state level, then by county and finally, if necessary by township. Within the area sections, I have additional headings such as cemeteries, local histories, churches, historic places, etc. Surname files are a bit more of a challenge as it’s hard to know the best place to file such things as marriage docs which cover more than one surname, but at this point, they’re categorized under the married surname.

Since most of my files are in digital format, I rely very heavily on my genealogy software to keep things organized properly, but it may be time to start looking at alternatives for filing…

In The Attic

Old attics can be a real treasure trove for the genealogist, especially in older homes that have been in your family for years. If, like me, you are the official, or unofficial, historian for your family, you may yourself inheriting all sorts of interesting old family artifacts – from old journals to jewelry to furniture and everything in between. Since it appears that my ancestors rarely, if ever, disposed of anything, my house has tended more and more to resemble an antique in recent years. I’m not complaining, though, even if it does become quite a challenge at times to make room for theses things. I suspect some local historical society would have a field day here.

One of the projects I’ve set for myself is to photograph or scan all these various articles in order to document them further for future generations. In many cases, I am probably the only person who still knows where most of them came from and how they ended up here.

Looking for Genealogy Sites

Working on one’s family history can be a very rewarding process, but it can also be a very frustrating one if one has to rely solely on the internet for data. While the web is a wonderful resource in many ways, finding truly useful sites for research can be a daunting process. Typically, a would-be researcher will look for sites through one of the big search engines, such as Google, in the hopes of having relevant links returned. Unfortunately, a lot of the links will be those of sites that are just pages of other links and contain no real data of interest. All is not lost, however – it is possible individually to affect the rankings of sites within these large search engines by creating links to sites that are worthwhile genealogy sites. One of the aspects that the search engiens look at is the number of other sites that link to a particular site, so if you find a good site, consider linking to it from your own pages. You can also help promote good sites by mentioning them in postings to mailing lists and forums. In time, the search engines take note of these additional links and the good sites begin to rise inthe rankings, making them easier to find when searching.