Melba, Yes, Family Tree Maker does and I do the same thing. Teresa ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eldon Wilkins" <MelEl512@att.net> To: <TNSMITH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 10:24 PM Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] Harwell and messed up spellings / paper organization > 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 > > > > > ==== TNSMITH Mailing List ==== > Submit Your Family Pictures, Biographies, Histories > Wills, Fokelore, To The Smith Co Web Project > http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnsmith/ > >