Taking a look inside my research folders

Research Folder for George A. Tucker (1883-1932)

We began discussing the items that go into my research folders.  We have already mentioned that I use a the Resource Checklist to jog my memory about any items I may have in my possession or that a relative may share with me.  I make copies of all the original records and photographs and place them in the research folder.

I paste the CensusTools Genealogy Research Log to the inside of the folder to log the items that I have placed in it.  This helps me to be able to glance quickly at the items that should be in the folder, and I am able to know right away if I have found a record type already.  Remember that I mentioned that I create a folder for each person listed on a document, and I place a copy of the document into each person's folder.

Let's go over a few other items that I create for each folder.  I generate a Pedigree Chart and a Family Group Sheet for each individual that I research using a family history database.  These items are placed in the research folder and are easily accessible if I need to refer to information about a spouse, parent, children, or siblings.  If I am at the archives and my hunt for an ancestor turns up cold, I can quickly turn to researching the next obvious closely related person.  This has enabled me to make full use of my time.  I often spend an entire day at the archives where I am able to fully exhaust resources because of how well organized my research folders are.

I also really like the Biographical Outline at Family Tree Magazine.  They have many different free forms there to help you with organization. You can browse the different forms here.  I will be using several of them in articles forthcoming.  The Biographical Outline can be found under Basic Charts and Worksheets.

Basic Charts and Worksheets

I like to extract the events in my ancestor's life and record them here in the order that they occurred.  It is really important to have a visual when you are researching where you can refer to the time period and place where an event occurred.  If my ancestor moved around a lot, I still could easily identify when and where he went to school if it was previously recorded on the Biographical Outline.

It is really important to search systematically for documentation as well.  If you begin with the last event in an ancestor's life (burial usually) and move backward documenting events in order, it is much easier to locate documentation. Sometimes your sixth sense kicks in, and you can just about determine where to look for you ancestor or which records would be most helpful.  It is so much easier for someone else to help you if you are at the archives as well.

Armed with the above resources in your research folder, you can simply ask to know which resources are available to document your ancestor during a particular time and in a specific place.  Having asked that very same question often at my local archives, I always seem to learn about records that I did not know existed.

Research Trackers and Organizers

The Research Calendar, found under Research Trackers and Organizers, will help you keep track of the places you have looked for your ancestor and resources that you have discovered.  This is another form that I keep in the research folder.  After I began using the tracker, I stopped wasting time checking the same resource again, and I was even able look for more than one person at a time.

Where is the greatest arsenal of resources?

The greatest arsenal of resources are right within your reach.  They are the records and photographs in you own personal record vault at home. Outside of collecting oral history, this is the most neglected source.  Often we jump online or go toward outside resources too soon when we should gather everything that mentions a family member's name in our own home.

Ask extended family
We need to also consult our oldest living relatives for old obituaries, photographs, or old letters that they may have in their homes.  It is too great a challenge to just dive head first into online databases or archives without the foundation of oral history and personal documents to help you positively identify your ancestor.

How to start
Start simple.  Get a cardboard box,  Spend time gathering.  Place everything you find in the box.  Get manila folders.  Everyone has a preferred filing system.  What has worked the best for me has been to create a folder for each family member I find listed in a document.  If I find a document that lists more than one family member, I create a folder and make a copy of that document to place in each individual's folder.

Individual Folders

Putting individual records into individual folders.

Resource checklist

This is a great checklist of the type of resources that you may find at home or in the possession of an older  relative:

Family and Home Sources Checklist

If I was going to the home of a relative to conduct an oral history interview, I would mail a copy of the "Family and Home Sources Checklist" ahead of time.  I would ask the family member to look around for a few weeks to see if he or she could find any of the listed resources in his or her home.  I would ask them to gather them for me to review when I came to visit.

My experience


You never know who you may discover through extended family members.  I research every family member even if they are not directly related.  Because if this, I have gained so much knowledge about my ancestors.  I have had extended family share photographs that I would not have had.  I do not have photographs of some of my ancestors, so it is so wonderful to look into the faces of cousins and see resemblances.  The stories they have shared have included tidbits about our common ancestors as well.

You will find that the folders start to fill up nicely, and you are able to understand more about each person.  When I go to the archives or visit a family member, I just grab the folder of the individual I am researching.

Individual Folder

Research Log in pasted in folder of Ora Nelms (Foster)

This helps me to quickly identify the record types which I am gathering, and I can easily see what I am missing for each individual.  I try to collect everything I can on an individual especially if they are my ancestor or in the same family group as my ancestor.  I do this because it takes the guesswork out of who the end-of-the-line ancestor is connect to.  Usually, I connect to the next generation when I find a resource that mentions the person by name.  This method has helped me to identify many details and has keep me from duplicating my research. I do not have to wonder where I left off in my research.

In the next article, we will talk about Research Folders a little more and a few other records and logs you may include to be more efficient.

See also Gather Records and Photos on Hand

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