Free Public Records Search - The Best Sites for Free Public Records Search

Free Public Records Search - The Best Sites for Free Public Records Search

Got this link through the google toolbar button "share"..

ORGANIZING the Paper Mountain part 3

And now , drum roll Please....................

Elyse did a 3 part series on Organizing your genealogy papers on her Genealogy Blog and I have been doing my own little commentary for each. Now the papers in question, aren't few; nowhere close. We are talking about piles and piles of endless piles of paper scattered all over. No real place to go , just setting there , on the table, nightstand, even on the floor...to be walked on, having a little on run across, scattering everything every which way. I am sure you get the picture.

I have to say, Randy Sever's photo of his "cave" isn't all that bad! There is lots, and lots of stuff, papers, books, but it all seem to be ...well, just an organized mess! (and Randy I say that in a nice way.)

*The first post involves your mental attitude to deal with your admission of having the problem in the first place, and no this isn't one of the 12 step programs...only 7 steps!

*Also with the actual planning out of this project. Setting a goal, following trough and achieving it!

*Then getting down and doing the physical work, separating, categorizing , making piles , etc.

With the 2nd post; you start getting your mindset to how you look at your ancestors, sub-divide, and access what you have and how you are going to use it. You also make a list of what you have on hand as far as supplies go, and what you want to go out and shop for. Nothing expensive, you'd be surprised what a regular cardboard box can do for your filing system!

Now with this post , there is the general questions, tips and a bit of advice here and there..just listen and learn~ And don't forget the ink and paper for your printer!

To HAVE a whole room JUST 4 GENEALOGY!!!!!! That would be ssooooo Lovvvv errrr lyyy! Lovely thought, but then you make your own space where ever you may be! The smaller , the tighter, the less of a pile to organize. That is~if you aren't like me , PACK RAT, saves Everything and anything. This includes Books, Magazines, Newsletters (which are printed out , to file at a later date.) and that is just the genealogy stuff!

We will conquer and overcome. What was it Elyse called it , The MONSTER!
We will tame the Beast.

Now , the documents. You know the ones you paid and mailed off for. Copies of SS applications, Birth Certificates, Marriage applications/ licences, Draft cards , military records and so on. These documents are the foundation of your many hours of research. I have these in a page protector for safe keeping. I do plan to get them scanned sooner or later (another catch up issue of mine.)

You may not have or get the original document, but the copy is just as precious as the heirloom would be. So take care of it, preserve it for those who come after you, like the grand kids!
Elyse mentioned Denise over at Family Curator who has a post about this very subject. Just remember, do what works for you ! You're the one doing the work, so don't overdo with the details, set up a system that is yours alone. The later generation will, yes they will, appreciate all the work you did for them!

The BACK UP thing, well this is new to me! Don't have much as for genealogy software on my computer. My main data base, with photos and documents, along with stories and comments are on the Ancestry dot com site. I also have the tree on TRIBAL PAGES. Both are free , to a point, then the money spent, can/can't be of use to you . The tribal pages is where I can get
one report which you still can't get on ancestry. Ahnentafel report. It prints out to be a real
nice and neat , by generations, with facts and date showing the relationship to the #1 person
you have on the tree...usually you. There is also a tool for showing the relationship between
two people on your list. Once you have the generations and names , this can be quite a fun tool to tinker with. See just how every one is related to each other Check the one on my site using my dad JAMES SARGENT and then anyone else on the second drop down . My privacy for the living is not shown. Do let me know what you think.

Organizing on the computer itself, well most of the data is on a website. As for the photos, that is where I need to go in and move them around into a better filing system. Been putting most of the genealogy photos on my Face Book page in its own album.

Well there you have it , am sorry to have rattled on, how this and the other two post with this series has been of help to you. Thank Elyse for the original one two and three

ORGANIZING the Paper Mountain part 2

Second installment of the Paper Mountain from Elyse's Blog where we have learn the first three steps of ADMITTING, PLANNING and ORGANIZING. Here is what I posted about Part 1

4~this step THINKING ,& Your MINDSET of how you see the ancestors. You will start with what you did with organizing your papers into piles. So this step of giving your paper piles a name or category.

The pedigree is the foundation of my tree, with this , add the list of the "women who married into the SARGENT line. Each of these ladies will have their own pedigree , and another huge zippered Notebook (which is growning just as fast...only in multiplies!

I first think of my ancestors as individuals, then couples , family units, and which generation they are place into. As for the wives, the pedigree begins with their father. And the cycle begin....

This reminds me of how bunny rabbits multiple, so do surnames, with every generation you add!

5~SUB-DIVIDE, not sure if this is something I am already doing, or just need to file the loose pages I an not needing just yet. Most of the printed out census records with the family units, dates and places have been used for verifying the couples and children. Most of these will be filed in topic categories for the time being.

6~ASSESS what you need as supplies go. Do I really need some big bulky metal file cabinet...which I couldn't carry home on my bike or the bus.

With what price are today, cardboard boxes are the simplest and just as good as Plastic..and with one of my perks working 3rd shift doing stocking, I come across some medium type (and strong) boxes. I won't be sorry , money is tight, we all know this and this will serve the purpose for now.

The store bought storage boxes with file holder can serve just as well if the "free/cheap" boxes are unavailable.

Of course will need the section files for categories, files for individuals, etc.

Will check what I might have on hand laying around here at home and at the storage room.

Color Coding ~haven't really worked with it at all, so this will be a learning process for me . More hit or Miss type thing. Working with the genealogy, I find myself becoming more detailed , so don't think the color coding would work for me...I would end up marking up the papers with to many colors.. Think I will pass on this one!

Making the system ARCHIVAL~just not there yet in my genealogy, still working with the papers. This is a good idea, something to think about. Now my zipper Notebook has the page protector which I slid the family worksheet into, for each male of the pedigree.

7~With LIST OF SUPPLIES in hand, off I go.

Make sure you check out my 3rd and last post of this series, as well as the 1rst and 2nd.

in reference to: Elyse's Genealogy Blog: Organizing The Paper Mountain (Part 2) (view on Google Sidewiki)

ORGANIZING the Paper Mountain part 1

Elyse at Elyse's Genealogy Blog has three great posts on dealing with the huge paper piles that are associated with genealogy. So this is my attempt at making a comment post on the subject.

1~ADMIT~well of course I have the problem with the papers...I save everything. AND I do mean EVERYTHING! I Do ADMIT there is a problem, a big problem~NO , a Huge Problem!

2~the PLAN, well first I need to get ALL the papers together from ALL the places they are setting at , like the local storage cubical I am renting by the month!

How do I think of my ancestors? Been doing mostly the pedigree , working at filling in everyone who is directly in my family line. Since getting to those "eek" brick walls with 10 to 12 generations back, have been working on the family units of couples and the children.

This is where I have found myself being the FIRST child, FIRST grand, FIRST Gr Grand. Now am working at seeing if I could be the First GR GR GRAND.

At this point , I am discovering the "Double Cousins" or as I like to call it, "a tree within a tree!"

I have one huge zippered type Notebook which has tabs for the 10 plus generation, filed with those of that group. Along with ALL those printed out Census record from online...one for each person I have recorded on the tree so far. Of course there is the online (printed) marriage records, SS death records, Military/service records, etc.....

So you can see just where my little old problem lays!

3~the third step, The SEPARATING and ORGANIZING

Actually, the plan is there with the notebook. What I need is to go through the pile and weed out the duplicates of all the records , one of the same would be trashed , ones belonging to sibling, cousins and others will be filed for another time...ones I know I will need at later date, just not right now.

So in conclusion, I just need to bring together and RE vamp my system to a better form of organization! This year I will be working / training myself to taming this "beast" !

Now on to Part 2 of the 3 Part article

in reference to: Elyses Genealogy Blog: Organizing The Paper Mountain (Part 3) - StumbleUpon (view on Google Sidewiki)

3 Simple Questions ~Purpose of this Blog!

1 What is the purpose of this site for building my business?

This is my first GENEALOGY family blog, not quite a business. But there is a purpose to this blog, to gather and documate any and all info about this family tree for generations to come.

2 What is the target audience of this site and who is might be the perfect reader? (Age, Sex, income, Goals, locations, etc.)

Target audience is mostly those within my family , relatives and those found to be connected to the family line. This blog will also show how and what I did toward documating the family tree.

3 What is the "NICHE" of this site?

"GENEALOGY" of course! This would include family and the history of the family.

in reference to: What is the Purpose of Your Blog for Building Your Business Johncow.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

So John of Johncow , what do you think of my answers...anyone else? Please let me know what you are doing on your family blog...

DOUBLE COUSINS (Tree with in a Tree)

Here is a new term , but know of relatives who have done this.~ my great great granddad Jasper Nelson SARGENT married Mary Elizabeth ADKINS had siblings who married~Jasper's sister Jane married Mary Elizabeth's brother Abner.

in reference to: eogen - Double Cousins (view on Google Sidewiki)

FREE Data Bases from Genealogy Buff

Great resourse, book mark this site for looking at later!

in reference to: Handy tool - free Ancestry.com genealogy databases (view on Google Sidewiki)

Allen County Public Library

Good site with lots of links in and around the Allen county and state of Indiana

in reference to: Allen County Public Library:Genealogy (view on Google Sidewiki)

GENEALOGY search site ~ USA

by state or surname. Very interesting, have bookmarked this for later

in reference to: Linkpendium > Genealogy > USA (view on Google Sidewiki)