6 Steps to Make Your Family Tree 10 Times Better

Ever wish you could look over another genealogist's shoulder to see how she does things?

Look at this. I've decided to do everything the right way from the get-go so I don't have to double back and fix or add facts. As I was methodically tackling one item on my genealogy to-do list this weekend, it struck me. There are so many steps to this process!

Does anyone else go to this much trouble? Let's find out. Take a look at what I was doing so thoroughly this weekend.

The Goal: Replace Several Bad Document Images with Good Ones

Years ago I viewed and transcribed every vital record (1809-1860) from my grandfather's Italian hometown. I used some poor-quality microfilm viewers at 2 Family History Centers.

At the first FHC, I used their computer to capture several of the images as jpg files. But they weren't very clear. At the second FHC I took iPhone pictures of some documents projected on the surface of the microfilm viewer. Terrible, ghastly quality.

Awful, pitiful old image vs. new, glorious image.

Now there are excellent, high-resolution images of those same documents available online. I downloaded the entire town (and others) to my computer to make my research easy. Now I can replace those crummy old images in my family tree with excellent ones.

But I'm also:

1. cropping the images in Photoshop
2. editing each image's properties to include a title and the source URL of the image
3. deleting the bad image from Family Tree Maker's media library
4. adding the new image and editing its date and category fields
   
   • the date is the date of the event
   • the category is Vital Records
5. recording each document in my document tracker spreadsheet.

The Steps

1. Identify a bad image. The Media tab in Family Tree Maker makes it pretty obvious which documents are the bad ones. So I can pick any one and dive in.

Hint: The bad images are dark and fuzzy looking.

Organize your digital files logically,
and things are easy to find.

2. Find the good image. I've got the Italian vital records carefully organized on my computer. My subject, Benedetta Pisciotti, was from Baselice. So I go straight to the Baselice town folder. She died in 1831, so I go to the 1831 deaths folder. I know the date and I can see the document number in the original. This makes it easy to find the image I want.

3. Crop the image and name it appropriately. If there's more than one document in the image or it's crooked, I crop it in Photoshop. I save it in the proper folder and name it in my usual style: LastnameFirstnameEventYear, so PisciottiBenedettaDeath1831.jpg.

Using Photoshop to crop out the other document and the huge black border.

4. Annotate the image's properties. In each of my folders of Italian documents I have a text file called "URL format". It contains the format of the URLs where these documents came from. For example: 007850713_00000.jpg. I simply replace the last 5 zeroes with the last 5 digits of the image's file name. Now I right-click the cropped image and choose Properties, then the Details tab. I edit the Title field ("1831 death record for Benedetta Pisciotti") and the Comments field ("From the Benevento State Archives" and the image's original URL).

These annotations stay with
your image file and are
pulled into your
family tree software.

5. Replace the image in Family Tree Maker. To remove the old image from Family Tree Maker's media library, I detach it from Benedetta and put it in the trash. Now I drag and drop the new image into Benedetta's Media tab. The image retains the title and comments I gave it in step 4. But I also want to enter the date of the event and select the Vital Records media category. When I synchronize, all these details are on Ancestry.com for potential cousins to see.

Check the boxes and click "Unlink Selected" in Family Tree Maker to remove the old image.

Don't skimp on the annotations.

6. Update tracking spreadsheet. Finally, I record Benedetta's death in my spreadsheet of all documents. I add a line for Benedetta and put "1831 (cert.)" in the Death column to show that I have a copy of the certificate of her death in 1831.

Updating my inventory at that moment is critical to being thorough.

Detailed, yes. But it's a process that becomes second nature.

The Result

When I complete this project, I'll be rid of those dark, fuzzy document images. And I'll have fully annotated images. They'll have a descriptive title, date, category, and source citation.

I think it's worth all the steps and the juggling of File Explorer, Photoshop, Family Tree Maker and Excel.

Don't you think your tree is worth this kind of effort?

And speaking of being wildly thorough:

• 6 Building Blocks of Genealogy Research, Part 1
• 6 Building Blocks of Genealogy Research, Part 2
• Your All-in-One Family Tree Clean-up List

3 Unique, Key Facts about Every U.S. Federal Census

Download this free diagram of U.S. census changes from 1790 to 1940.

Here's an infographic to show you the states or territories included in each U.S. Federal census, 1790–1940. Knowing these facts can save you from trying to find your ancestor in a state that didn't yet exist.

After the first census box for 1790, each year in the infographic shows:

• The new states and territories counted that year.
• New questions asked and facts recorded that year.

It's interesting to see the increasing detail gathered from census to census.

You can download this graphic as a PDF. I've also created a printer-friendly version in black and white for letter-size paper (8½" x 11").

Diagram of U.S. Census Changes from 1790 to 1940

And speaking of the census:

• How To Squeeze Everything Out of the Census
• Finding a Missing Person in Someone Else's Household
• Simplify Your Genealogy Info Gathering With This Form

How to Back Up Your Family Tree Files Automatically

This one decision is my biggest genealogy time-saver.

Last December I wrote my list of genealogy goals for 2018. I'm making progress, but at least 2 of my goals will spill over to next year's list.

That's why I'm so happy, week after week, about my decision to back up my family tree files automatically. Well, automatically and also manually, because two backups are better than one.

There are free storage options and paid storage options. I'll list several of them below, but first: Automation.

I've decided to use my Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage for my genealogy files. All my files are still stored locally on my computer. But they're mirrored and continuously backed up to OneDrive.

My genealogy files are backed up instantly, automatically.

Continuously backed up means:

• My document tracker spreadsheet is always saved on my computer and the cloud.
• Each census sheet or birth record I download to add to my tree is backed up to the cloud at the same time.
• When I work in Family Tree Maker and make a backup file, the tree and the backup are also saved on my computer and the cloud.

I don't have to take an extra step to back them up. But, I also have an external, 1 Terabyte drive. Once a week I look at all my genealogy folders on my computer, sorting them by date. I copy anything with a newer date than my last backup to the external drive.

My OneDrive files, accessible to me online, anywhere.

It's fast, efficient and safe. Plus, having your files online, in your password-protected storage area, means you can access your files from anywhere.

I like syncing a portion of my computer with OneDrive because the files are still on my computer. They'd still be there even if I had no internet access.

Here are several options for online storage that you can use:

Google Drive is another
automatic backup option.

OneDrive

I'm a monthly subscriber to Microsoft Office 365. I need it for work, and the cost is low enough that I'll keep subscribing even after I've retired. My subscription includes 1 Terabyte of storage space. Even with all my genealogy files on OneDrive, I'm only using a tiny portion of my Terabyte—about 182 GB. You can get 5 GB of free storage space or 50 GB for $1.99/month. Visit OneDrive to learn more.

Google Drive

You can also use your free Google account for automatic backup. Google Drive lets you synchronize folders with your online storage space automatically. It works with your Windows or Mac computer, and your Android or iOS device. Google Drive gives you 15 GB of storage for free. For $1.99/month, you can buy 100 GB of storage. Visit Google Drive to learn more.

iCloud

Do you have an iPhone or iPad? If so, you have 5 GB of iCloud storage. You can access it from your computer as well as your devices. That's not a lot of space, but you can pay for more storage. The cost depends on your country and how much space you want. Visit iCloud to learn more.

Dropbox

Free storage with Dropbox is limited to 2 GB. You can buy 1 Terabyte of online storage space for $9.99/month. I like to use Dropbox for file sharing. I've posted fill-in-the-blanks census sheets there and other PDFs to share with specific people. Visit Dropbox to learn more.

Your Internet Provider

If you have an internet connection in your home, your service provider may offer you some free storage space. Check with your provider.

You can see that the paid plans are very competitive with each other. With OneDrive, I'm basically paying for that 1 Terabyte and getting Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more for free.

No excuses now. Even if you split your files among different free storage spaces, it's time for you to create your back up plan.

And speaking of protection your family tree:

• Prepare Your Family Tree for Your Computer's Demise
• Moving Your Family Tree to a New Computer
• 4 Ways to Protect Your Genealogy Research from Disaster