Genealogy Chat

You used to able to print off from this site, a very useful list of all the people in your tree, in alaphabetical order. I would then highlight my direct line and also add cert info - in my case I used to write 'I have the ....cert' (birth/marriage/death). You can no longer print such a list from here, but I have successfully photocopied the last one (which got tatty) and update it with both people and certs, and census as I get them. (For census, I write 41,51, etc, which means I have a copy of that census). I now use Tribal Pages for my tree and it is very easy to indicate which census, certs etc you have on there. OC

Hi I am nudging this for later as you all have some good tips I could use. Many thanks Diana

Regarding census images, I have paper copies of every relevant ones. I also print off blank census forms (from ancestry) and transcribe the info onto them. I then put each census form and transcription into a poly-pocket into a file. I have them organised into family groups using dividers. this may seem a bit anal but it works. I can go straight to the census record i need and if I can't read it clearly I always have the transcription to rely on. When I'm sorting them all out, I call it 'playing'!!! Carole x

Hi Kathryn, I do the same as Chris, as soon as they arrive, and I also now add (after 3 yrs) the GRO reference No. to the Family Tree Maker programme, just in case and I also keep a copy of the on line order (in seperate folder). Census images: I keep a paper copy in plastic sleeve in the family file, keep a copy in my FT Maker programme, again keep the image No. and file page etc. I lost all the info I kept on the computer when it crashed, I now back up regularily and keep paper copies of everything. Hope it helps, Lou

You can share your certificate information with others here: http://www.bmdshare(.)com/ i find it quite useful for keeping tabs on what I have as well. You can also offer duplicate/not relevant certificates to others via pages on this site

Been there and done that Kathlyn..... Just the once and the most annoying thing was it was my maternal Grandmother's birth cert that I knew I had :( I put it down to old age or a couple of glasses of wine, probably the latter! :))) I now have all my certs copied onto my Family Tree Maker programme.....That way I can see at a glance exactly what certs I have for a particular person when I am researching them. I have trained myself to scan certs as soon as they are received to my picture file and then copy them to FTM. The original cert I place into the individual's section of my paper filing system....Photocopying marriage certs so a copy goes to both the bride and groom's file. Works for me :) Chris

Hello!! I have them all in lever arch folders- in plastic wallets. Births in alphabetical order. Marriages in date order (otherwise I can't figure out whether to index by bride or groom), and deaths in alphabetical order. So far it seems to be working. Any ideas for filing of census images?? - currently filed in a messy pile on my desk!! Michelle

Dash and darn, I have just ordered a cert that I already have. Can anyone give me a sensible way to record cert info....for example........By surname.....type of cert..........alphabetically by surname etc etc. Kathlyn