Add Proof and a Breadcrumb to Family Tree Documents

Has this ever happened to you? You're taking a look at the ship manifest you saved for your ancestor. You had a hard time finding this manifest because your ancestor's name was so badly transcribed.

Suddenly, you realize there's someone on the first line with a last name you know. You need to see who that person is travelling with.

The people you need to see are on the previous page. How can you find that page online again?

We collect so many documents. Can you return to where you found them?

A Shortcut for Difficult Searches

Here are three options:

• Perform a search for someone else on the image you have in front of you. Choose someone whose name is written very clearly, and include the first names of the relatives travelling with them.
• If your relatives' names are written incorrectly, search for the names exactly as they're written.
• If the top of the ship manifest includes the ship name, the arrival date, and the port of arrival, you can search page-by-page through that particular arrival of that ship.

These tips apply to census forms, too. If you can't find the page again by searching for your relative, search for the easiest-to-read name on the page.

And you can use the information on the top of the census sheet to find the collection that will contain that page.

Search in Vain No More

I'm working on a project that will:

• Help me instantly find online any document I've downloaded: a ship manifest, census sheet, draft registration card, etc.
• Allow other genealogists to view my source documents in place, retrace my steps, and see for themselves if my facts can be trusted.

My Family Tree Maker file contains about 2,400 document images. That doesn't count my photographs of people or tombstones.

I'm making my way through each media item, one at a time. I'm adding every important fact and the original web address of the image to its notes.

This annotation lets me—or anyone—return to the original file easily.

I started with census forms. I try to stick to a format that includes:

• the lines numbers on which you'll find the family from my tree
• the town, county and state
• the enumeration district, supervisor's district, assembly district, block number, page or sheet number
• the number of the image in the collection, such as image 2 of 45
• the URL of the original file so I—or other researchers—can return to it

It's an ambitious project. I completed all 623 of my census images before I realized I should include the image number and the web address. So now I'm going through them again, finding each one online to record those two facts. I'm up to 1930, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Next I'll annotate my 332 ship manifests. Then my 563 birth, marriage, and death records. But I have tons of downloaded Italian vital records I haven't yet added to my tree!

It takes a special kind of devotion to fortify your family tree and make it the best it can be.

But I'm trying.

You may also enjoy:

• Where Did Grandpa Come From?
• Who Are These People?
• Where Did They Go Next?

Track Your Genealogy Finds and Your Searches

Ten years ago I needed to take control of my family tree digital files. I had a growing collection of census forms, draft registration cards, vital records, and more.

I'd already settled on my preferred way of saving these files:

• A folder for each type of document
• A naming convention that groups a person's documents together:
  • LastnameFirstnameYear for a census or ship manifest (I use the head of household's name for a census.)
  • LastnameFirstnameBirthYear for a birth record
  • LastnameFirstnameWW1 for a draft registration card, etc.

But my well-named image files, sitting in all those different folders, didn't show me the big picture.

How could I see at a glance every document I have for a particular ancestor? And how could I quickly see which documents are missing?

Use the Technology You Know

That's when I turned to my old pal, Microsoft Excel.

For years I'd been using Excel spreadsheets on the job. I tracked progress on large-scale projects. I built formulas to show an accurate cross-section of the content on a website I manage. I kept tabs on my freelance hours for invoicing.

Why wouldn't I use Excel to create a genealogy research inventory?

My genealogy "document tracker" has 1540 lines right now. I have one person on each line. There are columns for each type of document I collect. The last column gives me space to note what's missing.

For example, for one of my grandmother's cousins, the "To find" column contains this:

• 1915 census
• 1920 census
• 1925 census

One Spreadsheet Tells the Whole Research Story

Now it's time to get even more value out of my document tracker.

I've been looking at sample research logs on different genealogy sites. A research log is a disciplined way for you to note:

1. What you're searching for (the 1930 census, a WWII draft registration card, etc.)
2. Where you searched (National Archives, State Library, Ancestry.com, etc.)
3. How you searched (by first name only, browsing through the whole census district, etc.)
4. Your thoughts on what to try next

The research logs I found were much more complicated than I wanted. For starters, I'm satisfied with the list above.

So I've added a second sheet to my document tracker Excel file and named it Research Notes. The first column is for the person's name. I added four more columns to match the four items in my list.

How to Start Using Your Research Notes

The next time I'm trying to find a specific document—like the elusive 1940 census for the Raffaele Saviano family—I'll add a line to the new Research Notes worksheet.

I might note that I tried searching for the family using only their first names. And that I used Americanized versions of their Italian names. I'll add that I tried this on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.

When I'm ready to call it quits for the moment, I'll add a note about what I think I should try next.

Finally—and this is a cool Excel trick—I'll add a link from this research note to Raffaele Saviano's line on the first worksheet where all of his documents are listed. And I'll add a link from there back to his line on the new Research Notes worksheet.

My favorite thing about linking between the sheets is this: You can reorganize the lines on either worksheet and not break the links. You can sort them, add new lines in the middle, do whatever you need to do, and the links will still work.

Here's how to create a link between the two worksheets in a single Excel spreadsheet file:

• Make a mental note of which line number holds your ancestor on your new Research Notes worksheet. For example, I have Raffaele Saviano on line 2.
• Click the empty cell where you want to add the link. You'll want to devote a column to these links. In my example, I'll go to Raffaele Saviano's line (1327) on my Facts worksheet and click in the empty "Link to Notes" column.
• On the Insert toolbar or ribbon, click Link and choose Insert Link.
  
• Click to select the name of your new research notes worksheet.
  
• In the field labelled "Type the cell reference" it may say "A1" by default. Change it to A2, or A and whichever line number you need to link to.
  
• Click OK and you'll see your link.
  

Now make a mental note of the line number for this ancestor on the Facts worksheet. Go to the Research Notes worksheet and link back in the same way.

Click the links to see them work.

Now you can have all of these facts at your fingertips. It's 100% searchable, sortable, and update-able. Download a sample spreadsheet to build on.

My favorite thing about Excel: I know it can do a million more things I haven't even thought of yet.

For more detail on the document tracker, see:

• Haven't I Seen You Before?
• Case Study On 'Haven't I Seen You Before?'

Solving a Family History Mystery with an Unexpected Clue

The witnesses to this marriage were a key to a puzzle.

Sometimes it really pays to research your ancestors' friends and neighbors.

Case in point: The witnesses to my great grandparents' wedding unlocked a mystery that had me stumped for years.

Three years ago I received my great grandparents' 1906 marriage certificate from the New York State Department of Health. On the back, the two witnesses' names appear to be Nicola Cappocci and Nicolella Cappocci.

I started to wonder who they were. I did a bit of searching for them, but I had no luck.

Then I happened to be looking at my 2nd great uncle, Giuseppe Caruso. He was the brother of the bride in that 1906 wedding. He was the first member of that Caruso family to come to America and pave the way for his siblings.

Brother-in-law Michele Castelluzzo, and ditto.

Giuseppe Caruso arrived in New York City on March 23, 1900. His ship manifest showed that he was with his brother-in-law, Nicola Capozza. The two men were travelling to Elmira, New York, to join their mutual brother-in-law, Michele Castelluzzo.

I didn't know how to work Nicola Capozza and Michele Castelluzzo into my family tree. I didn't have enough information to be sure of their exact relationship to my Caruso family.

But now I had that marriage certificate. The light bulb was going off above my head.

Was Nicola Capozza the same man as the witness, Nicola Cappocci?

How could I tie Giuseppe Caruso to Nicola Capozza/Cappocci?

Giuseppe's wife was named Marianna, but I didn't know her maiden name. I had found her only on census forms.

I formed a hypothesis that Marianna might be Marianna Capozza, brother of Nicola Capozza from the March 1900 ship manifest. That would make Nicola and Giuseppe brothers-in-law.

To test my hypothesis, I searched for a ship manifest with the name Marianna Capozza.

I found her on a ship, landing at the port of New York, on March 18, 1901 as Maria Anna Capozza. She was with her father Francesco, coming to join Francesco's son and Maria Anna's brother Nicola Capozza on Canal Street in Elmira, New York.

Planning to be with them, but crossed off the ship manifest, was Nicoletta Martino. She was the wife of Nicola Capozza on Canal Street in Elmira, New York.

Nicoletta Martino was the other witness to my great grandparents' wedding. Now I knew that her husband, Nicola Capozza, was the brother-in-law of the 1906 bride's brother, Giuseppe Caruso.

Now I had solved one mystery. I knew exactly who Nicola and Nicoletta—the witnesses to my great grandparents' wedding—were.

But what about Michele Castelluzzo? He was the man mentioned on the ship manifest as a brother-in-law to both Giuseppe Caruso and Nicola Capozza.

I took a closer look at my documents for Giuseppe Caruso.

In his 1905 New York State Census, I found three families living beside one another in Cameron, New York, near Elmira:

• Giuseppe Caruso and his wife Marianna (Capozza)
• Nicola Capozza and his wife Nicoletta (Martino)
• Michele Castelluzzo and his wife Caterina

Caterina proved to be the connection. She was Caterina Capozza, the sister of Nicola and Maria Anna. That makes Michele Castelluzzo the brother-in-law of both Nicola Capozza and Giuseppe Caruso.

It's exactly what the 1900 ship manifest said.

I had that 1900 ship manifest for seven years before I could connect Nicola and Michele to my 2nd great uncle Giuseppe Caruso.

It was the witnesses to my great grandparents wedding who held the key.

Which answers are hiding in plain sight on your ancestors' documents?

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