Diane, Your post was fantastic. How do you make your Family Research file? Do you put the e-mail under the family name that you are researching or do you put it under the name of the person to whom you are correspondingt? Sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion. the other Clare (in Fla.) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Diane Nichols" <150atf@salsgiver.com> To: <paallegh@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 8:13 PM Subject: [ALL] winter days > Hi Listers, > > > > The list has been kind of quiet. Since the winter days are keeping a lot > of > us at home between necessary visits to work, school and grocery stores, > what > is everyone doing for genealogical fun? > > > > I have been going over my paper files, checking that all my notes are on > my > computer somewhere. And I don't mean my on-line family tree, but in > family > files on my hard drive that I can back up. Those of us who depend on > Ancestry, etc for on-line research may forget an occasional census record, > military record or a possible date or name we need to confirm. It's so > easy > to download it and forget to make a copy. > > > > I have had multiple computer crashes because of an accidental button > pushed > by a grandchild that deleted a part of a program (how I never figured out) > and it was just fortunate that I have a month old backup on a separate > drive. It has made me paranoid ever since. This periodical checking > makes > me feel better and occasionally reveals something that sets the light bulb > in my head off like a beacon. > > > > I have also developed a paper for each of my contacts. I copy the e-mails > between us and hold them under the last name in a "Family Research File". > My memory ain't what it used to be and I always had trouble with it > anyway, > so these e-mail copies are necessary when someone mails back a year later > asking if I uncovered anything new. I would have no idea without the > mailings kept, but want my e-mail file restrained within reason. > > > > So tell us all what you are doing. > > > > Diane > > > > > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > Visit our Allegheny County, PA Website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~paallegh/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > PAALLEGH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Clare, There are so many researchers that contact me about the records at Greenwood Cemetery, and I'm sorry to say that before my computer crash, I seldom saved the correspondence other that handwritten notes in a folder in my file cabinet. But this past year I have built them into a Word document for each name. There are seldom more that one researcher asking me about a particular family, but occasionally they will bring in an aunt or cousin who is also researching, so we get a 3 way conversation going. I started a folder in My Documents for "Research For Others" and also have a "Family Research" folder too. With each correspondence, I make a Word document with the family name on top. Then I go to the e-mails and copy and paste each post on the Word document (I have to remember to date at least the first one). Sometimes I have to make note about a file that I attached to a mailing. I save that document under the family name and save the file in the appropriate folder (Others or Family). Each folder has at least 20 document files in it. Then there are the old paper files in my cabinet. Probably 50 or so that I still have to convert into a computer file. The tombstone photos for Greenwood and the research Ellis has allowed me to attach to each old stone has certainly increased the correspondence! I also have a folder for the Civil War veterans, which started me on all of this. They are a bit more extensive, with a photo of the stone cut and pasted. It can be a lot of trouble to type all of this and save it, but it's also a lot of trouble to go back and do the research again when someone new comes along asking the same questions. Also some people have corrections to the quick research I did. It really helps, especially when women of similar names get mixed. Some of these files are actual research also - census records, military pension records, etc. My only hitch in all of this is my family files. Each relative (especially cousins) can go off in many directions, and I have several files for each family name. It's just a matter of organization, and I will figure out how to simplify it this winter. Diane -----Original Message----- From: paallegh-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:paallegh-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Clare Pebworth Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 8:25 PM To: paallegh@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ALL] winter days Diane, Your post was fantastic. How do you make your Family Research file? Do you put the e-mail under the family name that you are researching or do you put it under the name of the person to whom you are correspondingt? Sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion. the other Clare (in Fla.) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Diane Nichols" <150atf@salsgiver.com> To: <paallegh@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 8:13 PM Subject: [ALL] winter days > Hi Listers, > > > > The list has been kind of quiet. Since the winter days are keeping a lot > of > us at home between necessary visits to work, school and grocery stores, > what > is everyone doing for genealogical fun? > > > > I have been going over my paper files, checking that all my notes are on > my > computer somewhere. And I don't mean my on-line family tree, but in > family > files on my hard drive that I can back up. Those of us who depend on > Ancestry, etc for on-line research may forget an occasional census record, > military record or a possible date or name we need to confirm. It's so > easy > to download it and forget to make a copy. > > > > I have had multiple computer crashes because of an accidental button > pushed > by a grandchild that deleted a part of a program (how I never figured out) > and it was just fortunate that I have a month old backup on a separate > drive. It has made me paranoid ever since. This periodical checking > makes > me feel better and occasionally reveals something that sets the light bulb > in my head off like a beacon. > > > > I have also developed a paper for each of my contacts. I copy the e-mails > between us and hold them under the last name in a "Family Research File". > My memory ain't what it used to be and I always had trouble with it > anyway, > so these e-mail copies are necessary when someone mails back a year later > asking if I uncovered anything new. I would have no idea without the > mailings kept, but want my e-mail file restrained within reason. > > > > So tell us all what you are doing. > > > > Diane > > > > > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > Visit our Allegheny County, PA Website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~paallegh/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > PAALLEGH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Visit our Allegheny County, PA Website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~paallegh/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PAALLEGH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message