John, I got two copies of your email. One to me and one to Maureen. I think you used my email address for Maureen, so you may want to send her another.
Thanks, David C Abernathy Email disclaimers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message represents the official view of the voices in my head. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.SchmeckAbernathy.com == All outgoing and incoming mail is scanned by F-Prot Antivirus == -----Original Message----- From: hwedhlor [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2012 9:58 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] What to do with genealogical files after death of compi ler Hi Maureen, Thank you for your interest in my file naming standard. In preparing to send out these documents I discovered some details I thought should be enhanced, so the five-page document has grown to eight pages. I hope that you find the information useful. The standard is a work in progress and I invite your comments. All the best, John Zimmerman Mesa, AZ On 10/13/2012 6:57 AM, Maureen Supon wrote: > I'm interested - I started with date-first filenames and decided > change to surname-first. I'd like to read your reasoning before I do > any more work on this ! > Thanks, > Maureen > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "hwedhlor" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2012 2:55 AM > Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] What to do with genealogical files after death > of compi ler > > > JLB and Robert Austen, > > Thank you both for your kind remarks. > > On the further subject of archiving images in Legacy and elsewhere, > while I was working through the thousands of documents, articles and > images a lady delivered to my friend a pair of cardboard boxes, each > measuring about two feet on each side. Both boxes were filled to the > brim with beautiful photographs, mostly from the last quarter of the > 19th century, though some were as late as the 1920s from the styles of > clothing, and some were early cabinet photos from the 1860s. They were > all extremely well preserved and unblemished, mounted in mats and > folders. The product of a variety of studios in a variety of > geographic locations. The lady who brought them had no idea who they > were, or to whom they might be related. She knew that we were doing > some fairly intensive work on family history and thought we might be > able to identify some of them or find descendants who might like to > have them. Unfortunately not a single photograph had any identifying > markings. Those photos should have been scanned and posted on web > sites for others to view and possibly identify. I have no idea what > the disposition of those photos was. What a tragic loss to the > families of those in the photos. > > I urge all of you to mark the photos you have with names, dates, > places and circumstances where know, and also to scan each image and > develop a file naming standard that will allow anyone viewing the file > names to know who, what, when and where they were taken. Paper, or > electronic filing systems that tag photos and image files with numbers > and require separate index lists to identify those in the photos, or > systems that place photos and image files in folders by surname, but > only use given names on the photos themselves, often end up with the > index lists disappearing, or the photos being separated from the > surname folders. Each individual photo, or electronic image file > should bear enough information to identify the people in the image, > along with the date, place and ideally the circumstances of that photo > or image file. > > I strongly urge that your file naming standard be based on surnames > rather than on dates. Our goal is to document the lives of people, not > the happenings of years. Those who come after us may not have a clue > what year look at for a particular image, but they will recognize the > surnames, and often the given names, of those whose image they seek in > a list of electronic file names. There is much more that can be done > to develop a useful file naming standard, and I have documented such a > standard in previous submissions to this list. I developed my personal > standard over a period of years working with thousands of photographs > of other peoples families. Having such a file naming standard allowed > me to organize those images so that I could find anyone easily in > seconds. That standard us now fairly well-established, though minor > changes continue to evolve as needs arise. One of the additional > benefits of the file naming standard I use is that it allows me to > keep all of my electronic images of individuals in a single folder, > and images of groups (2 or more people in a photo), documents and > places & things in three sub-folders. That makes it very easy to both > back up those image files, or to move them if the need arises. If > anyone is interested I will be happy to send them a five-page > rationale and a one-page quick reference sheet, both in MS Word > format, or to publish that rationale here if there is sufficient > demand. > > John Zimmerman > Mesa, AZ > > > On 10/12/2012 4:14 PM, Robert Austen wrote: >> I have witnessed similar ‘tragedies’ of lost files and work. On the >> brighter side I discovered a binder, with all handwritten notes, in a >> small town ‘research’ center that contained info on a relative. The >> archivist knew the person who donated it, called them immediately, we >> met and all enjoyed the ‘family reunion’. She also gave much more >> info and photos, and was grateful to hear/receive other info on the >> family even though she would not be doing any research. >> >> My file is much too large to print everything out but I do share the >> complete Legacy file with a cousin thereby safeguarding the >> information. We both spend a great deal of time each day on research >> and can work through the problems/walls that arise. It is great to >> have someone to share/do that with. However, neither one of us has a >> close family member that is keen on genealogy so our tree may die >> with us! >> >> John Zimmerman’s later post is well taken. >> >> Bob >> >> *From:*[email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] >> *Sent:* Thursday, October 11, 2012 2:23 PM >> *To:* [email protected] >> *Subject:* RE: [LegacyUG] What to do with genealogical files after >> death of compi ler >> >> Lets be honest and face it. No matter what format our life's work is >> in it becomes questionable as to whether it will survive us, >> especially if what we do is not appreciated in anyway by our >> survivors. >> >> I personally knew of a situation where a friend and fellow >> genealogist who helped me get started had all his research PAPERS >> (including correspondence spanning several years) PITCHED when his >> 'loving children' thought he was on his death bed. 40 years of >> meticulous gladiolus hybridizing records suffered the same fate. He >> survived his "impending death" scare only to learn when he was well >> enough to come home that his children had rented a dumpster, parked >> it at the front door and got rid of all his "crap". He later told me >> he didn't have one scrap of paper left to show for >> 40+ years of hybridizing OR genealogy. I would have LOVED >> to have, at least been offered, the chance to pick through what he >> had since we had a common ancestor. >> >> In another situation the widow of the researcher was ready to pitch >> her husband's research when an in law found out about it and salvaged >> it before she did. In neither case was anyone contacted to see if >> "you want any of this 'stuff' ________ (fill in the blank, Dad, Mom, >> Aunt Alice, Grandpa, Grandma etc) accumulated?" >> >> Safe guard as best we can and hope for it to survive us and wind up >> in some one (or some institution) loving hands.......! >> >> gc >> ---------- Original Message ---------- >> From: "Brian L. Lightfoot" <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> >> To: [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]> >> Subject: RE: [LegacyUG] What to do with genealogical files after >> death of compi ler >> Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:03:17 -0700 >> >> I'd just like to pass along my recommendation for passing along your >> own legacy: HARD COPY ! No exceptions. >> >> >> Brian in CA >> >> >> >> >> >> >> 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 > > > > 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 > > > > > > > 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 > > > 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 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
