Ron -- I haven't seen posted exactly what I do, so here it is, for what it is worth.
First of all, I define "Source" as the census or death certificate or probate record or tombstone or interview transcript or whatever I am using to support an event or fact (the repository would be "New York Public Library," or "Internet site ______________" or "Vasser Special Collections" or "Minnesota Department of Public Health" or "Compiler's Collection," etc.). I know that many people prefer to keep their source lists short, and they will designate the "1900 US census," as a single source, for example, putting specific details about different 1900 census entries for different families in the source detail. Others will list "Madison County, Illinois 1880 US census," as a single source, for example, and create different source detail screens for different families in that county. With a few exceptions (mostly city directories and published books), I prefer to list *each family on each document as a separate source*. Therefore, I have separate source listings in the 1880 census, for example, for my Gottlob, Keiser, and Fischer families, even though they all live in the same county within a mile of each other. In addition, I try to maximize my data retrieval from each source. A single family's census entry (one source) may eventually be used to support many different events, including birth date and place, address, marriage date, estimates of death dates, parents' birthplaces, occupations, immigration dates, and so on. On the "text of source" screen I usually abstract and transcribe the source information. Here is an example of the process, using a 1930 census entry for the family of Harry Wolfenson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to document his address, and, indeed the address of each family member. On the EVENT entry screen, I enter: EVENT: Residence DESCRIPTION: 1108 N. 25th Place DATE: 15 April 1930 PLACE: Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA Then I click on the Source icon to bring up the assigned sources and click on the "Add a New Source" button. Entries on that screen are as follows: Source List Name MN, Hennepin, Minneapolis - Wolfenson, Harry - US census, 1930 [hierarchy here is location, name, document type, date. I have a very long source list, but using this hierarchy to group them seems to work well for me] Author Harry Wolfenson household [arguably could go under title also, and perhaps should go there instead because GEDCOMING "Harry Wolfenson household" as an author is probably not a good idea Title 1930 United States census Hennepin County, Minnesota, population schedule Publication Facts Minneapolis ward 8, enumeration district [ED] 17-153, sheet 19B, family number 326, National Archives micropublication T626, roll 1094 Text of Source 1) Wolfenson, Harry, head, rented home, owns radio set, family does not live on a farm, male, white, age 55, married, first married at age 19, has not attended school previous year, can read and write, born Roumania, parents born Roumania, native tongue English, immigrated 1885, naturalized, engineer, employed by railroad, wage worker, currently employed, not a veteran 2) Wolfenson, Caroline, wife, female, white, age 45, married, first married at age 17, has not attended school previous year, can read and write, born Roumania, parents born Roumania, native tongue Yiddish, immigrated 1899, naturalized, speaks English 3) Wolfenson, Ernest, son, male, white, age 23, single, has not attended school previous year, can read and write, born Minnesota, parents born Roumania, occupation [unreadable], employed by rail road, wage worker, currently employed, not a veteran 4) Wolfenson, Milton, son, male, white, age 19, single, attended school, can read and write, born Minnesota, parents born Roumania 5) Wolfenson, Bernice, daughter, female, white, age 14, single, attended school, can read and write, born Minnesota, parents born Roumania 6) Wolfenson, Sidney, son, male, white, age 12, single, attended school, can read and write, born Minnesota, parents born Roumania Repository Ancestry My Family.com, www.ancestry.com Comments (about condition or readability of document, if needed) I don't use the Recorded Date or File ID. I haven't found a need for the recorded date, although I suppose in some universe I could regret not having it. I don't use file ID numbers because I use a standardized color-coding system that works well. Depending on the event, I may also cut-and-paste the source text notes into the event notes. Once I have created the source, I will use it to document as many events for as many family members as possible. The source above is attached to 10 individuals (6 named family members and 4 parents of Harry and Caroline), and -- rough count -- at least 35 events. That's about it. Best, Cafi in California I am a beginner at using this program. I have the Deluxe Version 5. I am ready to start adding documents to support my research. I have copies of birth and death certificates and want to record them correctly to start with. I have looked at "Sources" and I think I understand what one is. I have received several birth and death certificates from the Arizona Bureau of Vital Statistics. I think that "Arizona Bureau of Vital Statistics" should be recorded as a source. If this is true then where do I record the individual certificates and associate them to the person? Thanks, Ron Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp
