Genealogy Chat

Such excellent advice ............................. but despite having the notebooks, I am terminally addicted to little bits of paper ............................ Bev x

I know this only too well. Recently faxed away for a birth certificate from Ireland - while I was waiting to hear back I found a photocopy of that same entry. I had ordered it in 1991 - and yep! it was the wrong one. So far, the certificate I ordered in March has not been sent (nor my card charged) so I may have got lost in the shuffle!! Sometimes that's a good thing. Margaret

Another thing about keeping notes is to ALWAYS write them in a notebook rather than scraps of paper. I find it doesn't matter about the order - if its in the book I'll find it. Its those little things I jotted down on a scrap of paper that get lost! Every time I am tempted to scribble on a scrap, I MAKE myself reach for a notebook and put the date I jotted it down (Just like we used to do at school!) Anne

Good advice from everyone! Remember the Arabic motto - 'Weak ink is better than strong memory' Keith

I think most of us are the same when we first start out. When I look at my family home page and FTM2005 program, there are tons and tons of references for sources EXCEPT for the ones I did at the very beginning. This came home to me recently when a new lady on here contacted me having seen a name on my GR tree which looked like her GGFx4. It was him, he was the bro of my GGMx4 but when I gave her all the info about him and his siblings and parents she emailed back, can I have the sources please. Yes I said, then when I looked, erm ................ not there. I have no doubt I did these at the NRO but why oh why didnt I enter the sources on my program. No doubt the reference for source are on bits of paper somewhere in the office but what a fag to find them. I guess we all learn by our mistakes.

Another thing - Still keep a note even if it's how you proved something is NOT the case. Recently I spotted a possible marriage on the IGI for a young lady on my tree and spend an age searching census records looking for the woman in her married name to confirm her age and place of birth to see if she was ''mine''. When I eventually found the married lady (who was NOT mine after all) I realised I had done all this before a couple of years before. I now have a note on her file saying - ''Care X did NOT marry Mr Y in 1859 as per the IGI.'' Happy Hunting Sarah

I have also been guilty of this. Or have little scraps of paper that make no sense. Another area to watch is when you look at paid sites like 1837. Always save the images and in a form that makes sense. I have wasted so much money by not saving and so much time because I called the file stupid things like Brewerton 1 rather than Brewerton death march 1849. Regards Jeanie

Oh how true! A friend once pointed out a marriage she thought I might be interested in. It was in one of 700 odd Norfolk parishes, and I couldn't remember which! It is also important to note WHEN you looked for something and what you were looking for. Then you can see how your mind was working, and if the entry you wanted wasn't in a source, then you don't have to search through it again. How I wish I did all these things!

Thought I would make this a tip - an important one... lest you find yourselves in my predicament. I have traced back part of my family in the early 1800's, and failed to keep hold of my notes. Now, I have to research everything all over again from 1885 back to 1800 to verify the details I have are correct. If I had kept my notes, I'd have simply to look up how I thought certain people are related.... All this because I can't remember how I found these people I have wasted so much time and effort. Hope you all have better luck :)