Data Management

After collecting family tree data at the Schuylkill County Courthouse Archive Department last week, I'm anxious to see it all in its place on the tree. Unfortunately, it doesn't just jump to the branch it belongs. So, rather than pick an ancestor to highlight this week, let's put the horse before the cart in my journey.

The new details must be analyzed against the current information on my family tree. And, just because it's on my tree, it doesn't mean it is correct. (News flash! I hadn't perfected my search plan when I first started this journey several years ago). My enthusiasm to get to the story outweighed my common sense to record all sources and evaluate what I found. The records I collected this year will be used to confirm or disprove research data I filed earlier on my computer.  The more the merrier, right?

I'm not afraid of research, in fact I enjoy researching any data that interests me. Having an abundance of data gives confirmation to the true facts and adds to the stories of my families. My main sources for facts are online ancestry websites and state archives. My favorite source for stories of my family is an online newspaper website. The articles I find tell of my ancestors' activities in school, social clubs, at work, their health issues, injuries, civil obligations, travel and talents. Some articles include information I can used to confirm birth, marriage, family members, where they live and death information.

I have an online family tree with ANCESTRY.COM that syncs with FAMILY TREE MAKER 2019 program on my computer. I can work online or on my computer and the changes made in either program will be synced. Currently I'm working in FTM 2019.

The app(lication) I use to store and manage my data is EVERNOTE. In my opinion, the best filing system for digital finds and scanned documents. It's akin to Microsoft's OneNote but more powerful. So I'm in the trenches daily analyzing my finds so my stories can be published as non-fiction.