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Post by peaceandfreedom on Sept 4, 2015 1:16:08 GMT -5
The last couple of weeks a cousin and I have been working on a genealogy project via email. I hadn't done any research for quite awhile, so it has been fun and we are making good progress. But I can see so clearly now how yet another result of my messiness and lack of good filing habits can cause problems not only for me but also for other people. This cousin has wanted to join the DAR for some time, so we are now trying to prove all the details of our Ancestor who served in the revolution. While working together I decided to look in some old files of stuff I gathered on a trip to New England in 1987. Lo and behold, I had a copy of the probate of his estate that gave the exact info the cousin needed! And I had no idea I had that in my files.
So, while I was glad I could help her, I am also embarrassed that I never put all the info I had gathered onto the old charts we used to use before everything was computerized. And I have absolutely no idea of what else I may have had for the past 28 years without knowing it, and still don't.
It is bad enough to be messy myself, without it becoming so apparent to someone else too! Sheesh!
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Post by imamess on Sept 4, 2015 17:14:59 GMT -5
I haven't looked at the paper horde for the last few days. Spraying the fence rows at the farm has really drained me. I have to get started on this again so I can get this out of my house. I also have to go through a few file folders either Sunday or Monday to pull some examples of research material for a speech I am giving to a neighboring Historical Society next week. That one I can't put off any longer than that. I wrote my speech nearly two months ago, but need to polish it a little and get my clothes ready too.
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Post by peaceandfreedom on Sept 15, 2015 23:49:51 GMT -5
I haven't been online here much for awhile. DH was in the hospital for 3 days, so that really threw me off base. He's fine now.
my cousin and I are making some good progress on our genealogy project, and I started organizing and cleaning out the files I've been working with. that feels good as well as being helpful. I can see that it would be helpful to reorganize all my genealogy files, but I think I can only work on the family line that we are pursuing, for right now.
i finished my outside painting and other projects, so now it's time to start inside. And, it is raining! We have been in a drought situation so that is wonderful news!
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Post by imamess on Oct 4, 2015 8:12:56 GMT -5
Last winter I donated some of my 'non' family files to the Historical Society that I am a member of. Horrors - Wednesday I went to the place and retrieved a file folder. I have found the information I needed, contacted the person who asked for the info. Now I need to take it back, plus 30 more folders I don't need any more, but need to retain the research. Today it is cold and rainy. I really need to make an effort to get more paper ready to go out of the house this coming Wednesday (the only day I can access the Historical Society building).
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Post by procrastinator on Oct 4, 2015 8:48:58 GMT -5
See I was fortunate, because most of the pictures I had came from other people and they wanted them back. So I scanned those and the ones I had. They're on my hard drive, but then I backed them up on Dropbox and most of them are on ancestry.com now. The paper stuff is harder to deal with, but ended up purchasing those file folders that come with the sides and a top. I have them organized by surname and that works pretty well.
But I can't go back very far on either side and it sounds like you can. Your progress is really gratifying to read about.
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Post by Di on Oct 4, 2015 10:45:16 GMT -5
peaceandfreedom, I have been staring at old DAR and SAR membership applications for 2 weeks now trying to document all the Revolutionary War soldiers in my line. The old ones are sometimes very difficult to read, but the research is generally meticulous and they are great resources whether you plan on joining or not. If you are working with Ancestry, send me a PM and I tell you how to save them to your computer since you can't just hit "save" any more. I am even idly thinking about joining the organization simply because I can -- I do have a choice of ancestors to pick from, some easier to document than others.
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Post by imamess on Nov 11, 2015 11:26:09 GMT -5
I haven't been here in a while because I'm working on my own 'Holiday' Challenge - a Historical Committee meeting AT MY HOUSE! I've been cleaning and decluttering for days and at night I've been trying to input pertinent deed information from days and days of research into a spreadsheet and another document. The deeds are legal size and are a problem. They are stacked everywhere, separated by paper clips, binder clips, sticky notes, yada yada. File folders are not big enough and legal size anything is expensive.
I finally found something for temporary storage yesterday at the dollar store. White Christmas shirt boxes $2.00 for 3 boxes. They are just a little over an inch in height and the papers fit beautifully. I have made labels in a Word document that I will print and paste/tape on one end and one side. They look so neat all stacked up. Archival storage is not necessary, these are only copies for research, so the shirt boxes are OK for this project. I can't wait till the committee sees this!
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Post by Di on Nov 11, 2015 14:16:01 GMT -5
imamess, consider reinforcing the boxes with packing tape along the sides and extending over the edge, clip and fold to the edge, it will make the boxes much more durable. As soon as I purchase anything in a box that will be it's "home", I reinforce it. It's so much easier to do when the box is new rather than trying to repair a box that the corner has given out on. e.g. games, pattern boxes, photo boxes, doll boxes, etc.
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