How To Avoid Photo Chaos

Posted by Denise May Levenick on April 28, 2015 in Ancestry.com Site

From the new book How to Archive Family Photos by Denise May Levenick, The Family Curator

How many photos are stuck on your smartphone? The tremendous growth of digital photography is a mixed blessing for family memories. Instead of one roll of film that might last through an entire vacation, with today’s digital photos there’s no extra cost in snapping multiple images in the effort to capture the “perfect shot.” The trade-off for all these extra photos is, well, extra photos. Hundreds and thousands of extra photos.

If you’re drowning in digital images, here’s help with 5 Fast Tips to Control Digital Photo Chaos from my new bookHow to Archive Family Photos: A Step-by-Step Guide to Organize and Share Your Photos Digitally. I get a lot of questions about organizing and archiving digital photos at my blog The Family Curator and when I speak on preserving and digitizing keepsakes. You’re not alone if you feel overwhelmed by the task of organizing and preserving your digital photos.

We’re taking more pictures than ever before, especially with smartphone cameras that have largely replaced point-and-shoot models. And unfortunately, organizing and backing up photos isn’t nearly as fun as taking pictures. The result?

• Digital photos on smartphones, tablets, computers, flash drives, SD cards, and external hard drives, but you can’t find the picture you want,

• Duplicate photos scattered across your devices,

• The dreaded “Out of Memory” warning on your smartphone,

• Complicated and inconsistent file names make organizing files a dreaded chore,

• Sharing photos through email and photo projects is time-consuming and laborious.

Digital photography can be enjoyable and manageable. Get a head start on organizing your own photo collection and moving from photo chaos to control with these 5 Fast Tips to Control Photo Chaos:

1. Collect Your Photos in ONE Location

Scattered digital files create confusion and result in unnecessary duplication. Decide where you will store your photos and set up a simple, yet organized folder structure to hold your photos. One of the easiest systems to manage is to use an External Hard Drive as your Photo Library. Images can be transferred to a new system when you upgrade your technology, and backed up to a Cloud service or second external hard drive for safekeeping.

2. Celebrate Your Digital Birthday

Pick a meaningful date in the near future – a birthday, anniversary, or first of the month – and vow to make that date your Digital Birthday. On that date, copy ALL the photos on your various digital devices to your computer and make a backup to an external hard drive or a cloud service like Dropbox.com or Shutterfly’s ThisLife.com. From this date forward, make regular or automated backups of your photos and rest easier knowing that you have digital copies in case of smartphone or hard drive failure.

3. Digitize Oversize Photos

It’s hard to fit a large antique print on the standard-size glass bed of a scanner. That’s when I set up my digital camera, set the resolution to maximum megapixels, turn off the flash, and snap multiple photos from different angles. When paired with a tripod and automatic shutter release, a digital camera can become a do-it-yourself copy station that speeds up digitizing scrapbooks, photo albums, and oversize photographs.

4. Plan Photo Books with a Project Board

Whether your goal is a family history book or a photo book of your summer vacation, you’ll save time by planning ahead with a project board that reminds you of photos needed and design ideas. If you’re missing pictures of people, places, or events, think about using alternatives such as maps, census images, or advertising images. A project board can also help you compare prices and features from different photo book websites, and serve as a record sheet for ordering more books.

5. Try Something New

The popularity of digital photography has sparked new products and new ways to enjoy your family and genealogy photos. You’ll find easy, free online photo editors, mobile apps to help you create 5-minutes on your smartphone (no kidding!), and automated tagging and sorting services that make photos fun again. Turn your photos into giftwrap or wall paper with online fabric printing service Spoonflower. Create a quick and easy thank you photo book in five minutes on your iOS or Android smartphone with the Mosaic mobile app.

Find more practical ideas for digital photo management, solutions and strategies for scanning and digitizing your heirloom photos, and inspiration for sharing and enjoying your photos inHow to Archive Family Photos. Use Denise’s special affiliate coupon code ARCHIVE20 to save 20% on your book order from ShopFamilyTree.com. Also available from Amazon.com.

Denise May Levenick writes about preserving family photos, documents, and memorabilia at the award-winning blog, The Family Curator. She is author of How to Archive Family Keepsakes and How to Archive Family Photos (Family Tree Books), and a frequent contributor to the Ancestry Blog, FamilyTree Magazine, and other genealogy publications.

Movie Mondays - Chose An Ancestor and Question

We hope you are enjoying our Movie Mondays!  We are fortunate, indeed, to have the Family History Learning Center's 5 Minute Genealogy series to draw from.  In fact, it was the inspiration for Movie Mondays.

This week's episode, "Chose An Ancestor and Question" will help you focus your search and give you guidance on the best way to climb your family tree.  As usual, they have managed to fill five minutes chock full of useful information, tips and tools.

Click below for the
Video: Chose An Ancestor and Questions
Cut and Paste Link:  https://stage.familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/5-minute-genealogy-episode-5-choose-an-ancestor-and-question/205
PDF Handout

7 Basic Rules For Identifying Sources

If you have never visited The Blog @ Evidence Explained you should.  Elizabeth Shown Mills is the quintessential expert on genealogical citations and her book, Evidence Explained, is a must-have reference in any family researcher's library.  On 23 April she posted her 7 basic rules for identifying sources, and I thought this would be a great post to share will all of your.  If you would like to read this post on her blog, click here, otherwise, read on:

If you ever felt like source citation involves too many rules, this list is for you. Yes, in every style guide for every field, each "rule" is there for a purpose; but if you're able to remember them all, you're likely to be an editor or a fuss-pot. For everyone else—normal people who have learned to look up "particulars" in one of those style guides but would prefer to mentally tote around just a short list—here's EE's 7 Basic Rules.

1. If a ‘fact’ is not public knowledge, provide a specific citation to reliable evidence. If we state that the Civil War occurred between 1861 and 1865, that is public knowledge—i.e., well-known and undisputed information that can be easily verified in countless sources. If we state that Hermione Humperdinckle posed as a male and enlisted in 1862, that assertion must be supported by a citation to reliable evidence.

2. Use words carefully. A database of deeds may be a source, but an entry in that database is neither a "record" nor a "document." It's nothing but a database entry—no more authoritative than an index entry would be. A baptismal act entered into a register is a baptismal record, but it is not a baptismal "certificate." A marriage license is not the "marriage record"; it is only a record of an intent to marry. A source may provide pertinent evidence, but citing a source does not constitute proof. Mischaracterizations make it difficult to relocate information and to carefully appraise whatever evidence we do have for an assertion.

3. Remember that citations exist in two stages: working notes and final form. In our working notes, we should include all detail and descriptions necessary to identify the source, retrieve the source, and evaluate the reliability of the data from that source. When we prepare our work for publication, the final form we use may be edited (wisely) to conserve space or conform to the publisher’s style.

4. Never use ibid. in working notes. It is a space-saving convention employed when our notes are edited for their final presentation. Short for ibidem, ibid. means "In the place just cited above." If we use it during ongoing research, and we insert new data and new source citations, those ibid. references will become disconnected from their proper sources and reconnected to unrelated ones.

5. Always distinguish between published and unpublished materials. This is easy to do.
The use of italics for the title of a source means that the source is a published, stand alone work—a book, a website, a CD or DVD, etc.
The use of quotation marks for the title of a source means that it is (a) unpublished or (b) it is the title of a small part of some bigger published work whose title you also have to cite.

Sources that are published vis à vis unpublished are typically sought in different ways and found in different places. The extensive use of published sources, to the neglect of original records, also suggests overreliance on secondhand material and weaker evidence.

6. Give credit where due. It is not only good ethics but also helps us evaluate our evidence. If we access a census via an online provider of record images, we would shortchange ourselves to simply cite the census without including the identity of the provider. Considerable differences may exist in readability of any page, depending upon the provider we used and the enhancements that provider applied.

7. Identify sources fully—avoiding personal and regional shorthand, informal names, abbreviations, creative codes, and jargon that may confuse or mislead users of our work. Yes, researchers are expected to learn the conventions of each area in which they work, including quirky sources. While pursuing that education, however, they are making assumptions and publicizing conclusions they reach. Citations that are littered with cryptic codes and jargon that newer researchers do not understand will lead to erroneous conclusions endlessly perpetuated across the Internet. Clarity is far more important than saving space or appearing to be ‘in the know’ about local habits.

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PHOTO CREDITS: Adapted from "Welcome Thumb Tacks Text," PresenterMedia (http://www.presentermedia.com/index.php?target=closeup&id=10933&categoryid=147&maincat=clipart : accessed 20 April 2015), item 10933; used under license.

Useful Smart Phone Apps For Genealogy Research

This is a repost of Lisa Lisson's Crestleaf.com blog post on 27 Apr 2015.  If you want to read the original post, click here.  For the rest of you, I will copy and paste her post below:

Genealogists have embraced technology in their research. The use of smartphones and tablets by researchers is the norm these days. I find I use my smartphone frequently in my “on the go” research. When I research in the North Carolina state archives, I move around…a lot! You might find me in the main research room, the microfilm room or the genealogy library one floor down. Moving my laptop and setting up a workspace multiple times is just not an efficient use of time when researching.

With the number of genealogy related apps available, my smartphone becomes a very practical and indispensable research tool. Interestingly, my most used apps when researching are not considered “genealogy” related, but are more office type apps.

1. Your Favorite Online Family Tree App – Genealogists use a variety of online family tree sites to record their family trees. Many of these sites also have apps that will allow the user to keep family trees synced on a smartphone. Having my family tree synced and close by for reference is a must when I am researching.

2. Dropbox – This is my choice for cloud storage. I keep genealogy reports (both client and personal) for quick reference when needed. I also keep copies of genealogy records here. Tip: I write personal research reports to myself just as if I were a client. I store them on Dropbox for easy access when needed.

3. Evernote – Evernote is a great place to store all kinds of information for use in your genealogy research. A peek inside my Evernote will reveal research plans, research notes, and references to online links.

4. Your Phone’s Camera – I photograph many original documents using my phone’s camera. I have observed other researchers photographing records on the microfilm viewing screen. (I personally have not been very successful with that.)

5. Google Maps with Navigation feature – Google maps get me where I am going. Tip: Print out your navigational directions as a backup. Research trips often take genealogists into rural areas where cell phone coverage can be spotty. Having printed directions can make the difference between finding your destination or not.

6. Conference Apps – Many conferences have apps available to assist the attendee in getting the most out of their conference attendance. Are you attending the NGS national conference 13-16 May 2015? If so, check out the conference app.

7 Voice Recorder – A voice recorder app is very useful when conducting oral history interviews. (I just use the one that came on my phone.) Having this type of app on your smartphone is perfect for those impromptu interviews that come up at family gatherings.

Genealogy Webinars and Tutorials

Those of you who have been attending our meetings know that Linda and I have launched a new format for D.I.R.T. and are allocating some time at each meeting for presentations on getting started with your family history research.  Sometimes those presentations include webinars that have been put together by genealogy websites such as FamilySearch and Ancestry,com.  But there are TONS of webinars out there - and you don't have to wait for the next D.I.R.T. meeting to watch and learn.

Barry Ewell (of Genealogy By Barry) just posted a list on his blog of a whole bunch of great webinars.  Check them out and see if any of them interest you.  If so, take the plunge and see what you can learn.

-- submitted by Denise Doyon

7 Vital Records Alternatives

Recently, Bill Mowat shared with us a post by Lindsay Fulton on her Vita Brevis blog from 27 April. If you would like to read the original blogpost, click here. For the rest of you, I am going to post her list of "7 Vital Records Alternatives" below. Thanks for sharing, Bill. If any of you stumble across information you think others might find useful, please pass it along and I will be happy to incorporate into the blog.

Both sides of a prayer card for Delia B. Carey - 13 Jan 1965

A great way to begin tracing your family history is to interview living relatives, asking for relevant birth, marriage, and death information. These interviews sometimes yield specific information (or at least an estimate), and you can then contact the appropriate authority to provide a copy of the original vital record.

But what do we do if grandma’s information fails to lead us to a vital record? Surprisingly, this is more common than you’d think, as people often misremember facts or were told the wrong information from the get-go. In this case, grandma may lead us on a wild goose chase trying to track down the correct location and/or date of a vital record. This may be especially annoying if the record is more recent, as statewide indexes for modern vital records are less common. To locate these modern vital records (civil records), we must first look for an alternative record to point us in the right direction. Here are some examples:

1. U.S. Federal Census or state census. While census records often include birth and marriage information in terms of ages (e.g., how old were you at your first marriage?), they can provide enough information to determine when and where an event occurred. For example, if a person disappears from the census, or the spouse is listed as a widow, he or she may have died between enumerations.
2. Social Security Death Index. The SSDI is the closest researchers come to a national U.S. death index (even though each state complies with the index differently). The index provides an exact birth date, as well as the month and year of death. Using this record group, you may also want to order your recent ancestor’s Social Security Application (SS-5), which will include parents’ names and employer information. (See “Tips for using the Social Security Death Index.”)
3. Funeral prayer cards. My grandmother has a collection of these prayer cards, which gave me information about the death of several people, including my great-grandmother, Delia Bridget Carey. To locate funeral prayer cards, check with other family members, as well as local libraries, archives, and historical societies. (NEHGS has some funeral prayer cards in the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections.)
4. Newspapers. Birth notices, marriage announcements, and obituaries are often printed in the newspaper. Several sites have large collections of digitized newspapers, such as GenealogyBank, Newspaperarchive.com,Newspapers.com, Google News Archive and the Library of Congress’sChronicling America Collection. To locate local newspapers, check with the local library.
5. School records. Yearbooks, class books, and alumni directories often include personal information about students, such as their birth dates and spouses’ names. NEHGS maintains a large collection of class books for Harvard and Yale, as well as other colleges and universities; Ancestry.com has a database of U.S. school yearbooks from 1800 to 2012.
6. Membership cards/applications. From the Masons to the DAR, membership cards/applications often provide specific information about their supporters. If your ancestor belonged to a society, you should research whether the organization maintained membership records.
7. Bank or insurance records. Follow the money! If your ancestor invested, or held a bank account, his or her birth, marriage, or death information may be included in the records of that institution. For example, the records of theMassachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters (MCOF) contain a wealth of information, including the names of the insured’s children and parents.

These are just a few of the modern alternatives; many more exist.

Movie Mondays - Learn From Family

This week's "Movie Monday" is another from the Family History Learning Center's 5 Minute Genealogy series.  This episode is entitled, "Learn From Family".

Our family is our greatest resource for information about our past.  If you haven't already started mining that resource, there's no time like the present.

Click here to go directly to the video.  If you need a link to copy and paste into an alternative browser: https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/5-minute-genealogy-episode-4-learn-from-family/243.

The PDF handout is available from the FHLC site, or you can click here.