Tuesday's Tip: New Page of Sample Templates

Before I become an ancestor, I want to have all my genealogy materials organized and analyzed, ready to pass to the next generation.

Getting organized means figuring out exactly what I have, who's mentioned in which materials, and the significance of those mentions. With Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over in mind, I've been inventorying, indexing, and analyzing diaries, letters, and other materials for my side and my husband's side of the family.

Now I've added a "tab" at the top of this blog to show the various sample templates I've been using. (Please feel free to borrow my templates and adapt them to your own needs!)

Not only do these templates help me keep track of what I have and remember where everything is, they also summarize what I've learned. My goal is to help keep the family's past alive for future generations--so my genealogy heirs won't have to reinvent the wheel.

Genealogy Do-Over, Week 1 Recap: What's in the Box? My Inventory Sheet

Out of 19 archival boxes of family history documents and photos, I've inventoried exactly ONE this week. I also have to inventory surname/ancestor file folders, but one thing at a time.

My inventory sheet is a basic MS Word table, with four headings. I plan to place one copy in the box, with names highlighted in yellow (or color coded, if I'm feeling ambitious). Will also place a copy of the inventory in the file of each surname/family represented in the box.

Here's a sample of what I did for the Dorothy & Daisy box, which contains photos of my mother (Daisy Schwartz Burk) and her twin sister (Dorothy Schwartz) as children and teenagers. My entries are more than bare bones--they have to be descriptive enough that a future genealogist can match the item on this list with the actual item in the box. But I've also labeled each item in the box so it can be matched with the list or identified on its own.

MS Word table showing an excerpt of my inventory for the Genealogy Do-Over

While I was inventorying the box, I rescanned a few things in higher resolution. Shown here, photos of Mom around the time of her high school graduation.

This box also contains documents describing Dorothy's military career as a WAAC during WWII, one of several in our family serving in the war effort. Dorothy received the Bronze Star for meritorious service, and I'm happy to have all the documents pertaining to her award in one place and inventoried for posterity.