I am going to have to forget >> everything else and find a way to put all of my genealogy sheets in some >> kind of order so I can find them. Any suggestions as to how to do this? I don't know if my method would work for everyone, but it works well for me. I keep everything in Family Tree Maker as well as in notebooks. Here's how I have my notebooks organized: I use photo albums from Century Plastics because they are wider than regular notebooks (I order the albums without any photo pages). I get straight-cut manilla file folders, cut them in half and discard the "front" half so that I have only what is the back of a file folder, and then three-hole punch it. Then, using 1/5 cut alphabet tabs as a guide, I cut them at either A, B, C, D, or E level. The A level is for the oldest known ancestor of a particular surname, B level for his children, C level for his grandchildren, etc. Then I file the paperwork (family group sheet, census records, marriage records, photos, etc.) in sheet protectors behind the proper divider. I buy sheet protectors at Sam's in massive quantities. Of course, families that I have spent more time on end up being divided into several notebooks, often requiring a new notebook for each direct ancestor -- so he would have essentially an empty "B" tab in his father's notebook to hold his place among his siblings, and then he becomes an "A" tab in his own notebook with all his children, grandchildren, etc. It took me a while to come up with this system, but it was the only way I could get the dividers to stick out beyond the sheet protectors so I could see them. My original method of just having a file folder for each surname quickly became incomprehensible, especially since I am trying to trace each ancestor's descendants down for at least 2 or 3 generations. You get one patriarch with 11 children who each have several children and grandchildren, and they all begin to run together! I hope this explanation makes sense -- I wish I could just show you! Jenny Calvin

Re organization: My computer program allows me to put in a family (hanging and not connected)...I can go to the index looking for an individual through a search mode and as I find who they "belong" to I can merge that individual to either parents or siblings to parents. I used to do it the notebook way...but it drove me crazy...now all I do is add the individual (say from a census with his family) with all I find and go to his/her notes and add the source of what I found. Sometimes it is years later before I can connect the individual but there it is when I need it. Sometimes I have several with similar names in the index, some off census, and some with marriage record and not sure it is same individual....later on I find they are the same and I merge them to one individual or family. Most important for all - make a backup of information each time you finish in that file for the day. Doesn't family tree maker have the same options? Melba -------Original Message------- From: Jenny M. Calvin Date: 10/27/05 19:37:13 To: TNSMITH-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] Harwell and messed up spellings / paper organization I am going to have to forget >> everything else and find a way to put all of my genealogy sheets in some >> kind of order so I can find them. Any suggestions as to how to do this? I don't know if my method would work for everyone, but it works well for me. I keep everything in Family Tree Maker as well as in notebooks. Here's how I have my notebooks organized: I use photo albums from Century Plastics because they are wider than regular notebooks (I order the albums without any photo pages). I get straight-cut manilla file folders, cut them in half and discard the "front" half so that I have only what is the back of a file folder, and then three-hole punch it. Then, using 1/5 cut alphabet tabs as a guide, I cut them at either A, B, C, D, or E level. The A level is for the oldest known ancestor of a particular surname, B level for his children, C level for his grandchildren, etc. Then I file the paperwork (family group sheet, census records, marriage records, photos, etc.) in sheet protectors behind the proper divider. I buy sheet protectors at Sam's in massive quantities. Of course, families that I have spent more time on end up being divided into several notebooks, often requiring a new notebook for each direct ancestor -- so he would have essentially an empty "B" tab in his father's notebook to hold his place among his siblings, and then he becomes an "A" tab in his own notebook with all his children, grandchildren, etc. It took me a while to come up with this system, but it was the only way I could get the dividers to stick out beyond the sheet protectors so I could see them. My original method of just having a file folder for each surname quickly became incomprehensible, especially since I am trying to trace each ancestor's descendants down for at least 2 or 3 generations. You get one patriarch with 11 children who each have several children and grandchildren, and they all begin to run together! I hope this explanation makes sense -- I wish I could just show you! Jenny Calvin ==== TNSMITH Mailing List ==== Have you updated your Smith County Query lately? http://www.tngennet.org/queries/qpost.htm

Jenny, I agree with you on doing both, it just seems I put more in pc first, but at least I have it. I buy the big notebooks from Sam's and then put the numbered tabs (Office Depot) and then 3 hole punch my family sheets, etc and put them in generations. I start with my childrenas 1, me 2 and come down with my family sheets and info. Then I don't have to pull it out of a sleeve everytime I want to check something. Hope you can make heads or tails of this. I am a show me and I understand better person. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jenny M. Calvin" <jcalvin5@cafes.net> To: <TNSMITH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 9:37 PM Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] Harwell and messed up spellings / paper organization > > I am going to have to forget >>> everything else and find a way to put all of my genealogy sheets in some >>> kind of order so I can find them. Any suggestions as to how to do this? > > I don't know if my method would work for everyone, but it works well for > me. I keep everything in Family Tree Maker as well as in notebooks. > Here's how I have my notebooks organized: > > I use photo albums from Century Plastics because they are wider than > regular notebooks (I order the albums without any photo pages). I get > straight-cut manilla file folders, cut them in half and discard the > "front" half so that I have only what is the back of a file folder, and > then three-hole punch it. Then, using 1/5 cut alphabet tabs as a guide, I > cut them at either A, B, C, D, or E level. The A level is for the oldest > known ancestor of a particular surname, B level for his children, C level > for his grandchildren, etc. Then I file the paperwork (family group > sheet, census records, marriage records, photos, etc.) in sheet protectors > behind the proper divider. I buy sheet protectors at Sam's in massive > quantities. > > Of course, families that I have spent more time on end up being divided > into several notebooks, often requiring a new notebook for each direct > ancestor -- so he would have essentially an empty "B" tab in his father's > notebook to hold his place among his siblings, and then he becomes an "A" > tab in his own notebook with all his children, grandchildren, etc. > > It took me a while to come up with this system, but it was the only way I > could get the dividers to stick out beyond the sheet protectors so I could > see them. My original method of just having a file folder for each > surname quickly became incomprehensible, especially since I am trying to > trace each ancestor's descendants down for at least 2 or 3 generations. > You get one patriarch with 11 children who each have several children and > grandchildren, and they all begin to run together! > > I hope this explanation makes sense -- I wish I could just show you! > > Jenny Calvin > > > ==== TNSMITH Mailing List ==== > Have you updated your Smith County Query lately? > http://www.tngennet.org/queries/qpost.htm > >