Family History Spreadsheets

To know me is to know my love of all things Excel. I can create a spreadsheet faster than you can say the word formula. I use Excel for everything at home and at work, and of course, in my family history research.

A color-coded spreadsheet is the easiest way for me to stay organized while I play genealogy. I keep one in the front of each surname folder to give me a hint where I left off help me track what I know and how I know it.

This spreadsheet provides a location for each family member at a given point in time, a list of sources I may want to check, and the places I need to record my newly-found data. It's my go-to checklist and I Excel at using it.

What's your favorite genealogy organizing tool?

Genealogy Success Team Update

I've made more progress on my family tree since Jenny and I started our Success Team than I'd made in the six preceding months combined. It has to do with accountability. I don't want to waste Jenny's time by telling her I couldn't finish the goals I set during our last meeting, so I get them done. Thanks Jenny, and go team!

Working toward accomplishing my 2011 New Year's Resolutions, I have a five-pronged approach to each week. This week my list consists of:

BLOG: Follow Lisa Alzo's 15-minutes a day plan. I missed Lisa's program at FGS 2011, but read about it on Diana's blog post. Like Diana, I'm pretty busy. But as Diana mentioned, I'm sure we can all squeeze in 15 minutes a day to do something more important than reading Facebook status updates.

LEARN: In a never-ending quest to add to my overall genealogical education, this week I'm going to finish reading one of the books I bought at FGS 2011; "Finding Your Chicago Ancestors; A Beginner's Guide to Family History in the City and Cook County" by Grace DuMelle. I'm not a beginner to research in this area, but the book has more than beginner information. I've already found several new resources.

ORGANIZE: What genealogist doesn't need to be better organized? I recently created an "at-a-glance record inventory" in Excel. This week I will add comments to the Mueller page.

You probably know about the yearbook collection on Ancestry. I'm interested in Englewood High School. The oldest yearbook on Ancestry for that school is 1940, far later than I need. A Google search shows records for EHS at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. Time to start a list for a road trip.

PRESERVE: I'm a huge fan of Find A Grave. This week I want to make 15 new contributions. I also need to upload another CD of family photos for my scrapbook project.

RESEARCH: Ah yes, the real reason I play the genealogy game! This week I hope to locate the church my Mueller/Schmitt family attended in Chicago and request records from them. I'd like to answer several questions:

• In which Swiss village was Jacob Mueller born?
• When did he immigrate to the United States?
• Did Elise have four children with Jacob or only two?
• Is there a record of (Elise's son) Otto's divorce? Of his suicide?
• Where did (Jacob/Elise's daughter) Alma live after Jacob died?
• What happened to Alma after (her stepbrother) Otto' death?

My French translation comfort level is decreasing. I've been away from the records for too long. So my last task for this week is to transcribe and translate at least one French vital record for an ancestor in Moselle.

This should be a fun (and productive!) week for genealogy. What's in your wallet on your genealogy to-do list?

Those Old Photographs



First Grandchild's First Christmas


I know the little girl in this picture. I catch a glimpse of her every time I look in a mirror.

The hand in the upper right-hand corner belongs to my Grandpa John. I'm sure his unlit cigar is in his left hand; it always was. Makes me smile just remembering.

But who is the woman on the left? I'm pretty sure it's Judith, my great-grandfather's second wife.

Shall I assume I'm correct? There isn't anyone left to ask. Or should I mark the picture with "my guess is..."?

My family looks at me a little strange when I label my photos with:

• the date of the event
• a description of the occasion (so-and-so's birthday for example)
• location in which the picture was taken (address-specific)
• all participants' first and last names; and age when appropriate
• all participants' relationships to one another

Okay, maybe that's excessive. But it sure would have been nice if someone had labeled this picture with more than "First Grandchild's First Christmas".

Playing Ketchup by Myself

When did I become so disorganized? Is it an age-related issue? A busier-than-ever conundrum? Or am I simply working on too many projects at once?

Here's a perfect example. One of the items on my Success Team to-do list is to create a rough draft list of the ancestors I know are buried in Oakwoods Cemetery. Seems pretty straightforward, doesn't it? And I know it will be easy because when I enter places of burial in Family Tree Maker, I put the cemetery name, address, and phone number in the place field.

So I confidently open FTM, click on Places and scroll to Oakwoods. Nine names are listed. Seven of them have dates of burial. Both of the names missing the burial date are collateral ancestors. To my credit they each have a date of death gleaned from their obituaries. Sounds like a check mark looms in my future, doesn't it?

Then I look closer at the names on my list. Conspicuously absent is my second great-grandfather Jacob K. Mueller. I know he is buried at Oakwoods because I have a copy of his obituary and his death certificate.

Of course these documents would be attached to Jacob on Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com, right? Not so much, no.

But that shouldn't be a problem. I can simply click on My Pictures and add the images to Jacob's file. My Pictures has a Family Tree folder inside with a Mueller folder inside that. The Mueller folder contains 19 objects, none of which is Jacob's death certificate. Drat.

Oh, I remember now! I changed the way I label my photo files. I'll have to look in the "old" Family Tree picture folder and then the Mueller file there.

57 objects are patiently waiting inside this folder. Thankfully Jacob's death certificate is here. Named DC Jacob K Mueller.pdf. And here, named DCJacobKMueller.pdf. And here again, this time named Jacob Mueller DC.jpg.

I think what happened was...well...you know...I'm really not sure what happened. But it looks like I already have a goal for the July 9th Success Team meeting. Does this make me an overachiever?

Success Team ~ Week Two

A simple three item list turns into the most genealogically productive week I've had in months. Why? Because I'm accountable to my team.

I could have spent hours contributing to Find A Grave, but I had already reached my goal and earned my check mark, and I had to move on to the other items on my list. Why? Because I'm accountable to my team.

Could I have accomplished as much without Jenny? M a y b e. Would it have been anywhere near as much fun? No way.

One of my goals last week was to ask the Cincinnati Library for copies of announcements from an archived German newspaper. I've wanted to do this forever, but it kept getting bumped by other tasks. This time it was a Success Team goal, so I had to check this item off my list. And because I'm accountable to my team, I now have this:

It's an obituary from February 1876 for Nicolaus Schmitt, my third great-grandfather! I learned his date of death. I verified an address I'd been following in city directories for years. I saw evidence of a relationship with his children. All because I was accountable to my team.

Checking in once a week, sharing our triumphs and failures, getting an Atta Girl or suggestions for another route, plotting next steps; it's all part of a collaboration that cannot be beat.

GO TEAM!!  

Genealogy Success Team Wanted

I'm stuck. And I need your help.

This year my family history progress is pitiful and its nearly May. There is much more I'd like to accomplish, but I just can't seem to do it alone.

When I was a young entrepreneur, I met with three people once a week for an hour. We gave each other 15 minutes; five to review, five to brainstorm, and five to set new goals.

We were accountable to each other. We guided each other over bumpy roads, cheered each other on, and forced each other to acknowledge and overcome perceived shortcomings.

I need a new virtual success team focused on family history. Are you interested? Here's what you'd have to do:

• Be committed. Once you join, you must attend 95% of meetings.
• Be prepared to share your accomplishments or lack thereof with three other researchers.
• Be receptive to suggestions and generous with suggestions for others.
• Be sensitive to the privacy of your team members.
• Be prepared, organized, brief, and focused during each meeting.

If you are passionate about your family history but making less progress than you'd like, please consider becoming a member of my Success Team.

Motivation Monday ~ Create an Assembly Line



Image Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Super Simple tip # 4: Henry Ford was right.

Hunting seems to be every genealogist's favorite sport. We'll look in every nook and cranny for elusive clues that may lead us to the catch of the day - a document mentioning our ancestor. Those documents can add up quickly however and soon we're faced with a pile of paper that feels more like a chore than a treasure.

I recently copied 27 French records that referred to my ancestors. Twenty-seven records to transcribe, translate, review, and add to my tree. A task that seemed overwhelming. One day I separated the Gury records from the Schmitt's. More organized, but still daunting. I put the records in chronological order. Then I filed them in the left side sleeves of two old photo albums. Ah ha! Now the project felt managable.

Transcribing the records in French was next. Then I ran each through Google language. My translated transcriptions went into the right side sleeves, next to the appropriate photocopy. I tweaked the records with help from a few French friends, and voilà! I can copy and paste the results into my family tree.

By the second transcription, the handwriting seemed more legible. Translating the records all in a row helped fine-tune many of the "old" words used by the Maire. Posing all my questions at one time prevented my helpers from tiring of me. Hopefully. :o)

At each stage of the project, I felt a sense of accomplishment. By the end, I had twenty-seven new French family members and a long list of new clues. Now I just have to tackle those...

Standard Operating Procedure

The files stored between my ears are sometimes less than accessible. Whether you call them senior moments or information overload, they have the potential to thwart my efforts at organized research. Hence my SOP:

Active surnames have a hanging file with the surname on the label in all CAPS. Active direct line surnames also have yellow file folders labeled as follows:

• Census Records/City Directories
• Charts and Trees
• Correspondence
• Multiple Births, Marriages, Deaths
• Photographs
• Requires Further Action

Documents in the Census Records/City Directories folder are placed with census in the front and city directories in back. Each group is arranged in reverse chronological order; i.e. most current in front.

Use the same system in the Charts and Trees folder; charts in front, trees in back. Arrange each group in reverse chronological order.

File Correspondence in reverse chronological order.

The Multiple Births, Marriages, Deaths folder consists of four groups; births, marriages, deaths, and misc. Each group is in reverse chronological order.

Label and scan pictures to appropriate computer files, FTM, and Ancestry.com. Store originals in archival-quality containers. Arrange copies by ancestors' given names and store in Photographs.

Arrange the items in the Requires Further Action folder in order of priority. Highest priority items are in the front, lower priority items behind.

Type file folder labels in 14pt Arial font. Surnames are in CAPS on the top line, then space, hyphen, space, and year of birth. Given names are in upper and lower case on the second line. Highlight given names in yellow on direct line ancestors’ file folder labels.

Each direct line ancestor has a manila file folder containing a current Family Group Sheet and documents that are exclusive to him/her. These documents are arranged in reverse chronological order. Working copies of active family group sheets are in my genealogy brief case, filed under the appropriate surname.

Collateral ancestors have a kinship report in the front of their folder listing immediate family members.

File a copy of each marriage record in both spouses’ folders.

Documentation for children is filed in their father’s folder (in birth order) unless a.) the quantity is such that a separate folder is necessary for the child or b.) the father is unknown. In the latter case, file documentation in the mother’s folder.

For each direct line ancestor; locate, secure documentation, and cite sources for at least the:

• date and place of birth
• date and place of baptism and/or confirmation
• date and place of marriage and/or divorce
• date and method of immigration (when applicable); naturalization records
• residences (census records, city directories, tax records)
• land ownership, mortgages, deeds
• cause, date and place of death
• wills when available
• date and place of burial and photo of headstone when possible

Create a timeline for each family group; include political leaders and world events during the ancestor’s lifetime.

Create maps with residences and their proximity to local churches, schools etc.

Log this info in the facts section of Family Tree Maker. Cite sources and add any additional information to the Notes section.

Update the public tree on Ancestry. Update the LITPL web site. Update Find A Grave. Post new info on Twitter and Facebook.

Keep my fingers crossed that someone researching the same line finds me.

So Many Ancestors, So Little Time

My new job allows less time for my genealogy project. This means until I win the lottery, I will have to research in stolen moments here and there.

To make the most of these abbreviated time allotments, organization will be key. Obviously the three file boxes filled with notes can't be conquered simultaneously. And the cluster genealogy approach, often leading me down interesting but non-productive paths, must be streamlined.

Where to begin? I chose my grandparents and printed pedigree charts for each. Such a surprise to see the lack of information in some those spaces! While some lines trace back centuries, others end within decades. How can this be? I've been working on this tree for, gasp, nearly 25 years!

And so a plan is born. To record what I know and how I know it. To follow direct line ancestor's back as far as I am able. To use siblings and cousins as aids in the search, not as focuses, well...until later anyway. And to share the organized (and oh-so-interesting) facts about my family on my web site.

Wish me luck!

Spring Cleaning Genealogy Style

In the spring, life is all about cleaning and organizing inside and out. I'm fairly organized (obsessive according to my family, but I digress), so restoring order has never required a huge amount of time or energy. Until I turn to my genealogy files.

Every piece of paper left unattended seems to multiple overnight. I used to awaken to an unruly stack of folders, forms, and files; the result of overzealous family history searches.

One day I had an epiphany. I needed a SOP for my hobby, something similar to what I had at work. And my genealogy took a turn for the better, both historically and environmentally.

To be effective, a Standard Operating Procedure has to be written. I appreciate good documentation since my aging brain cells can misplace even the most brilliant of ideas.

So I created a Word document that clearly spells out how I do things. Things like who gets a manila folder and how those folders are labeled. My SOP explains how a surname is determined to be worthy of its own hanging folder. Where unmarried daughters' records will be kept. How to tell (at a glance) the difference between three folders with the same first and last names on the labels. What each direct line folder should contain. The purpose of those color-coded folders in the front of each hanging file.

One of the reasons I documented my process was the gap between research opportunities. If too much time lapsed, I wouldn't remember where I had left off. My SOP is priceless for that alone, but even more so in many other ways:

* Who will take over my research? If they can't understand my system, what precious records will they toss?

* Fewer trees give their lives to the creation of census records printed two and three times because I didn't know I already had them. My SOP explains where one copy will be kept for each family group. Don't have the SOP handy? Not to worry. Part of the instructions are to put directions for shared records in each folder.

* Only a tiny increment of time to play genealogy? Each folder has complete information and 'next steps' are clearly explained.

It's quite possible that your system is better than mine. That's okay. Having a system is the real key. Consistently using that system is a time-honored method for unlocking more priceless family history treasures.