What comes to mind when you hear the word “genealogy”? Does it sound boring and time-consuming? Or, does it sound fascinating in the same way that solving a mystery or reading a historical novel can be?
Pedigree charts might sound fancy, but they’re really just family trees. If you think pedigrees are just for royalty, dogs, and horses, think again!
In my last blog post — Family history: Why organize it if you don’t care about genealogy? — I proposed six categories of family history: keepsakes, memorabilia, photos, genealogy research materials, medical history, and pedigree charts (aka family trees).
This post is specifically about organizing your genealogy research materials.
Did you know that not everyone cares about genealogy? Gasp! It is the #2 hobby in America, though. (Do you know what the #1 hobby is? Keep reading to find out!)
Sometimes when I talk about family history I am, indeed, referring to genealogy. But not always. So, what else falls under the umbrella term family history? Think about your own things as you read this list. Some items will belong to more than one category.
George D. Hankins
READERS: This is the sort of story I intend to write more of over the next few years to share with my family. It’s also the sort of story I encourage you to write about your own family! It doesn’t have to be fancy, with footnotes and such. Just capture the memories for future generations.
This is a different kind of New Mexico family history in that no one in my family was born in New Mexico! My mom, her parents and two sisters, and my three brothers were all born in Indiana. My dad and I were both born in California. But most of us came to call Albuquerque home.
I’ve long been intrigued by family resemblances. I also love the genealogy TV show, Who Do You Think You Are?, which inspired my blog title.
I wrote this post for APPO (Association of Personal Photo Organizers), and I’m sharing it here so you can enjoy it too!
Click here to read the rest of the story and to view my family photos.
The genealogy research money tree.
Genealogy research can be an expensive hobby if you factor in computer programs, tools, memberships, documentation fees, research trips, books, seminars, and conferences! (Hmmm, wonder how much I’ve spent over the years? Not to mention the time invested…)
But it doesn’t have to cost a penny.
I want to help everyone who’s interested in discovering, organizing, preserving, and sharing their family histories regardless of where they live, or how much money they have. But there’s only one of me, and I need to make a living too (so I can’t work for free). In this post, I’ve listed some options for researching and organizing your documents, memorabilia, and photos, in order of affordability.
This little book is a gem! The Basic Genealogy Checklist: 101 Tips & Tactics to Find Your Family History, by Henrietta M. Christmas and Paul F. Rhetts.
Henrietta and Paul are longtime friends (of each other). She is the President of the New Mexico Genealogical Society, and a recent acquaintance of mine; he has written over two dozen nonfiction and history books. As a longtime genealogy researcher who has started providing family history research services to others, I was curious enough about this new book to attend their signing, at Bookworks Albuquerque, and to buy a copy for myself. Just so you know, this review was my idea, not theirs.
My grandpa, dad, and brother.
Have you ever lost part of your family history and found it again? Do you still have unsolved mysteries that intrigue you?
In Puzzling Out Your Family History I talked about the joys and challenges of doing one’s own genealogy research. In The Gift of an Organized Family Tree I describe one of the several types of projects I can do for you. My Family History Research Services web page includes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), the first of which is, “What the heck does genealogy have to do with organizing?” In Gifts I Got from Mom, I shared more of my story. And in the Mom’s Boxes series, I share more of hers.
And here’s how it all began…..
I like to compare genealogy research to working a jigsaw puzzle. Sound fun? It is… except… imagine that there are dozens of puzzles all mixed together (one for each nuclear family)… and many of the puzzle pieces are broken or missing… and there are extra pieces thrown in there from other people’s puzzles… and you don’t have any of the boxes with the pictures on them to guide you. Sound tough? It is… and yet, it is so rewarding when the pieces start to fit together, and the picture starts to take shape!
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