Here is how I organize my papers... I have heavy duty 3 inch 3 ring binders. I have a binder for each type of document. I have
Marriage Records (which would contain certificates, licenses, newspaper announcements, programs etc.) Birth Records (certificates, newspaper announcements) Church Records (member lists, minutes, baptisms) Death Records (death certificates, obituaries, funeral cards) Military Records (Registration for draft, release from draft, compiled service records, pensions) Wills and Probate (wills, administrations) Social Security Records (SS-5s) Land Records (deeds, warrants, land grants) Within each book, documents are in plastic sheet protectors and the outside of the sheet protector has a large label on the upper right corner so that I can flip through the book to find what I want. The documents are alphabetized (there are tabs/sections). A sample death record label would look like this... DOE, John [1875-1942] Death Certificate Columbia Co, GA 04 Jun 1942 CITIZEN, Jane Q. [1840-1926] Obituary, Augusta Chronicle Richmond Co, GA 08 Nov 1926 A marriage record label would look like this.... WHITE, David [1840-1892] M2 BROWN, Mary [1852-1900] M1 Marriage License Columbia Co, MS 14 Jul 1870 A military label would look like..... GREENE, Matthew [1838-1876] Compiled Service Record, Civil War, Confederate Perry Co, MS [1861-1864] I can find documents fast. If a binder gets too full, I can start a 2nd binder and then label them this way.... Death Records A-Z Death Records N-Z NOTE: I DO use Mary Hill’s”Location Files” concept. I have a file folder for every county that I work with. These are in a filing cabinet. They are filed like this. GA – Columbia Co GA – Lincoln Co GA – Richmond Co MS – Lamar Co MS – Forrest Co MS – Perry Co In these I put things like maps, research guides, lists of cemeteries etc. Michele 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
