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Staying organized in genealogy can be quite difficult, Genealogy Research Redundancy is something you need to get to know! Here’s a major tip! Organization is often the simple act of keeping multiple records of known ancestors; however, it is also involves something super counter-intuitive – that is, in tracking families that AREN’T YOURS believe it or not.
While this might seem like a strange thing to do it is one of my best advanced genealogy techniques.
Spending time researching genealogy can range from the casual hobbyist to the clinically obsessed, so why would documenting families that aren’t yours be a good idea? Well it all comes down to the phrase “information is power,” and let me tell you the more you know the better off you are in the socially-networked field of family history.
In practice, what I’m alluding to is called RESEARCH REDUNDANCY. Or, in this case Genealogy Research Redundancy!
Redundancy is simply multiple, simultaneous systems that back each other up; one goes down, you still have the other. In the field of genealogy, my twist on this tactic allows you to track what you DO know by also keeping track of what you DON’T as a redundancy – your ability for staying organized in genealogy depends on it.
Ever decided to do a search for someone only to be sitting in front of the computer screen, miffed, thinking “I’ve seen this record before, haven’t I?”
It’s never a good idea to blindly add people into your Ancestry tree and forget about them, if you have questionable relationships you should get into the practice of enlisting a bit of genealogy research redundancy into your research routine. When it comes to documenting families you’re going to start maintaining records for stuff you’ve come across but have determined does NOT belong to your family.
Here are 2 simple ways to do that! “False Folders” and “Possible Folders”.
Staying organized in genealogy by documenting families (and family lines) that aren’t yours is a good idea to prevent ‘analysis paralysis,’ and basically to keep yourself from feeling like a complete loon.
For example, in my ongoing search for my Collins ancestors in Tennessee and North Carolina, I’ve come to realize just how ubiquitous the Collins name is! Compound one of the most common surnames in the world with a few hundred people named William, Joseph, Mary, and Elizabeth and my eyes are just about rolling around in their sockets.
Too keep all of these names and families straight in my head, I have to keep them straight in my records! What I do is to create FALSE FOLDERS on my computer and just add records (screenshots or downloads) in there when I find that I’ve eliminated a certain person or from being my own.
This is a research fail-safe that you will thank yourself later for, trust me. Above is an example of a false folder.
Before I engage in hapless searches on Ancestry I usually consult one of these folders to ‘re-up’ my brain as to what I’ve already eliminated, which inevitably saves time and energy. It’s all about efficiency in staying organized in genealogy research (using redundancy) and false folders will save you time and energy as well.
This is an excellent practice as sometimes those records that you’ve crossed off your list actually turn out to be yours which has the added advantage of surreptitiously being there when you need it.
The other expert method that you can use is to create a POSSIBLE FOLDER in the same fashion. This is an intermediate step between someone whose identity has been eliminated (in the false folder) and someone who is confirmed (in your family tree).
Possible folders serve 2 purposes. The first is as a sort of clearinghouse of information for a person you can go back to at any time; the second is that it can easily convert into either a false folder or an actual one! It’s already its own repository.
All I have to say that researching is an information game, and the better you store it the easier it is to retrieve. Staying organized in genealogy and documenting families that aren’t your own is a Genealogy Research Redundancy tool that can help you keep track of your genealogical universe. Be at peace and practice a bit of redundancy today! Stay studious and smile!
If you need a refresher course on the basics of how to conduct genealogy research, you should definitely read my “Ultimate Beginners Guide to Professional Genealogy Research Online” right away. Don’t delay.
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