I have been pondering filing systems, both paper and electronic, so I have been re-reading threads. This one was from July. Faith's example is below, but I'm asking all those who posted a "filing system" to respond to my question on organizing documents.
These filing systems seem to describe how you organize your various documents... downloaded census records, scanned marriage licenses and death certificates, photos of great-grandparents, etc. These are the sorts of documents I also link to my sources, events, individuals, etc. in Legacy. As I understand it, I'm supposed to have all of those files in the "pictures" folder under "Legacy"... so my question is this: Do you build this structure of folders within the /Legacy/Pictures folder? Or do you build this structure under My Documents/Genealogy (for example), and copy each item over to the Legacy/Pictures folder when you're ready to link it in? Do you thereafter keep 2 copies? Or is the My Documents/Genealogy merely a "holding" place or "Inbox" (and the file removed when it has been formally added into Legacy) ? I think I have been doing a messy combination of those two approaches over the past 5 years........... hence my looking at getting more organized! Thanks in advance for your thoughts, --Paula in Texas Researching: Adair Baker Betz Bigley Blagrave Burton Chapman Clement Clough Coppernoll Costine Daulton Dinwiddie Doody Ellis Exline Field Floran Floyd Gates Goodale Gordon Gump Harbaugh Hopkins Hughes Jones Koyle Laswell McDonald Misner Passwaters Pelton Roberts Roche Ryburn Sullivan Williams ----- Original Message ---- From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Sent: Fri, July 22, 2011 10:32:48 PM Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Source Name Filing System I use a combination of Alan's and Jacki's systems, but I add the date. My electronic file cabinet (Windows Explorer) has a folder for each surname and under that a separate folder for each couple (think MRIN, but without using the actual #, since I want to keep the family info together even with a second marriage), such as folder for Joe and Jane (Jones) Smith, and a separate folder for Steve and Sally (Brown)Smith, with maiden names in ( ). The files in each folder are listed by date (yyyy mo dy),then name the document pertains to, and what the document is, such as, 1879 04 01 Joe and Jane (Jones) Smith-Marriage, or 1880 05 15 John Smith-Birth. When I open the folder for Joe and Jane (Jones) Smith I see, at a glance, the history of the family. No, this doesn't group the documents by person (all of John's documents together, then all Sally's documents), but I can see: (comments in ( ) are my narrative, not part of file name) 1885 01 01 Judith Smith-Birth 1885 03 01 Judith Smith-Death (daughter dies at 2 months of age) 1886 07 04 Steven Smith-Birth 1888 09 01 Judith Smith-Birth (birth of another daughter named Judith) 1890 12 15 Samuel Smith-Birth 1890 12 16 Samuel Smith-Death (child dies at 1 day old) 1890 12 20 Jane (Jones) Smith-Death (mother died after childbirth) 1892 01 12 Joe and Bertha (Johnson) Smith-MARRIAGE (father remarries, CAPS bring your eye to a new marriage) 1892 12 02 Andrew Smith-Birth (child of Joe & Bertha, step-brother to Steven and Judith) Opening this family's folder gives a quick look at what has happened and where something I find might fit in the overall scope of things. I haven't yet found where a father died and the mother remarried and had children with the new husband - in my families the mother dies and father remarries. If the husband dies and wife remarries and has children with the new husband I probably will add a new FOLDER for the new couple under the existing folder in order to keep the family relationship intact, (and not make myself crazy). Perfect, maybe not. However, after many different tries this is the approach that works best for me.....until I find something that works better! Faith Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
