>From speaking to many people, most people do NOT assign their own numbers. I only know of one person who does, actually. Most people allow the computer program to assign the numbers and most people don't pay attention to them (except within their own program).
I'm # 81 in my program (there's a story to that one). If I sent you my Gedcom and told you to look for # 81, it probably won't be # 81, as it just happens to be the 81st entry in my genealogy program. And seriously, you really don't care that I'm 81 and that Manuel de Mello is 432. Because if we share Manuel, he's # 278 in your program. So we will probably never get our genealogy programs to match on the assigned numbers. It's really not worth the time or effort, as the index in genealogy programs is pretty good and we can search for an ancestor in various ways. The numbering system that Shirley S mentioned is the Henry system (named after a Mr. Henry) or the d'Aboville system. You can read more about them in Dick Eastman's Encyclopedia of Genealogy. Henry: http://www.eogen.com/HenryNumbers d'Aboville: http://www.eogen.com/dAbovilleNumbers I have one family history book that uses the above numbering system (done around the 1980s). It's kind of a pain, or that's my personal opinion of it. Mary, I'm not sure what you mean by good references for organizing family history records. I have a notebook with the family group sheet and behind that I have a sheet protector where I keep the marriage and baptism of all the kids. But that was before computers. Now I scan the record and attach it in my genealogy program. Much, much easier. Of course the genealogy program needs to be backed up so if anything happens, you still have those records. Cheri Mello Listowner, Azores-Gen Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
