One of my first blog posts for
Family History Friday,
was about the type of organizing that I like to do. It’s called “Color Coding.” You can read a little about it here. In addition to color coding, I like to organize all of the family documents in the history of each family. I make a copy of the original, and put the copy in the family’s history book. If I have the original of the document, I keep it in a fire safe. The reason that I like to keep the original put away in a safe place is because I can always make a copy. But if I lost the original, or it was destroyed, then it’s gone. Others I know keep the important documents in a safety deposit box at the bank.
When doing research, I always make a copy of an original document. Say it’s a census record, if I were to just transcribe the information onto another sheet of paper, I may get numbers transposed. I may think an “S” looks like an “L”, and write it like that. If I don’t have a copy of the original, I have to go by what I wrote. If I have a copy of the original, I can always go back to it and look. What it says on the census is always there in my records to tell me.
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Don’t forget to make more than one copy of your records. My parents both have copies of the same information I have. That way, if something ever happens to one our copies. There is a way to replace that information.
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Organize and make copies of your family’s documents! Keep the originals in a safe place, and make sure you have more than one back up of your histories.
Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy
I know this is important. Long story short….my FIL was remarried and only he had a copy of his trust deed…..after he died the family of his wife wanted our farm…it was a mess and would have been way easier if we had done what you are suggesting.
I am just starting the family history class in SS. Wahoo!
Enjoy your weekend
Mercy