Category: Genealogy How-To

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Tuesday’s Tip- Organizing computer files

05 June 1948- Wedding picture of Edward A. McMurray and Mary T. Helbling
05 June 1948- Wedding picture of Edward A. McMurray and Mary T. Helbling

Last week I wrote about creating file names so that your computer will automagically create a sort of timeline in your file folders- see Tuesday’s Tip- Let your computer create a timeline!

Images and documents with multiple persons can be challenging to file- which name should be used as the file name? I tend to use the oldest or most prominent or most important-to-me persons in the photo or document, and one can then create a note to go into other folders referencing where the document or image has been placed. I am hoping to convert to using Lightroom (LR) soon- just wish it could use .pdfs. With LR, you can leave your images in the file hierarchy you like and have the program just point to its location. It also allows you to tag multiple people, so it will help with this dilemma.

 

My file folders are arranged differently than those of many genealogists. My family moved around a lot, so  listing files by place just doesn’t work for me- I prefer to have everything about one person pretty much together. This is a problem though, with things like censuses, since you will find a census entry for a person as a child in their family, and then with a family of their own. I have decided to deal with this by keeping a person in their birth family until they were off on their own as an adult, which usually coincides with marriage and a family of their own. My folders thus have a name like McMURRAY_W-PAYNE_L, for Will McMurray and Lynette Payne, who were the parents of Dr. E. A. McMurray, and his documents and images would appear in their folder until he married. The next folder he would appear in chronologically would be the McMURRAY-ROBERTS folder, where documents about his life with his first wife and son would reside. McMURRAY-KENNER would be the last folder I would put his documents in, for his life with his wife of 61 years and their beautiful family. If you use this method, choose which name to put first and be consistent- either husband or wife first.

Since I am one of those uppity women and a feminist, and it is still Women’s History Month (ahhh, the irony of a Women’s “HIStory” Month…), I use the maiden names of women throughout their lives. That helps me tell “HERstory.” Plus, it helps to separate out Hannah Ford from Hanna Marple who married father and son so both became Hannah Benjamin. (And the confusion continues, since father and son are both Jonathans.)

 

If you decide to try any new system, start small, maybe with just one family, to see if the system works well for you. There will always be items that could be filed in various ways- just try to find what you can be consistent with and use it. Change it to how it will best work for your mind to work with it easily- after all, the idea is for your brain to be analyzing, not filing. Remember, too, that you don’t have to change everything at once- that would be a daunting task, and quite a problem if you decide you don’t like the system or it doesn’t work for you. So that it’s not overwhelming,  start with your new files as you create them, and change older ones out when you have a few minutes here or there, such as while waiting on hold for 30 minutes with the cable company. I still have a lot of cleanup to do on my files since I started on this system even though it has been many years that I have used it. Changing to another computer has also thrown my system off, but further work on this system will be an enjoyable project filled with rediscovered gems as I get my filing system well organized.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family photo archives.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Tuesday’s Tip- Let your computer create a timeline!

ROTC Camp Training Certificate- Edward A. McMurray, Sr.
ROTC Camp Training Certificate- Edward A. McMurray, Sr.(Click to enlarge.)

Timelines can help in analysis of family migrations, locations, family size, occupations, and developing an understanding of what your ancestor’s lives were like. Who has time, though, for making up a separate timeline when you barely have a few minutes to just do the research???

The quick and easy way to have your computer create a pseudo-timeline for you is to title all your genealogy files- birth, marriage, death certificates, censuses, newspaper articles, etc., so that they automagically are ordered chronologically as you place them into your computer folders. Of course, you may need to add details if you don’t have a document or image for in-between dates. An example of this is seeing a big gap with no births for 6 years in a family that otherwise had a child every 2 years. I create a note using a text file (I use a Mac and like Text Wrangler), add an estimated date for my hypothesis and a few notes, such as “See Journal Name, Article Name on genealogy bookshelf.” In the birth-gap instance, I would include a note to search local cemeteries for an infant death in that gap period. (Don’t forget to add it to your To-Do list too.)

Here is my method for file names to automagically appear in chronological order, using the above certificate for Dr. Edward A. McMurray as an example:

1. Start your file name with the date-  July 25, 1923 would be written as:

1923_0725_

If the month and/or or day is unknown, use double zeros instead of the two digit month or date: 1923_0300 or 1923_0000. Also, always use a leading zero for single digit months or days so the computer will order properly- if you don’t, the computer will think the 12th of the month comes before the 3rd. 

Another option for the above document would be to put the date range that it pertains to in Dr. McMurray’s life:

1923_0614-0725_

2. Add the last name of the main person you want to link to the file in capital letters- this helps when skimming files. Follow with an underscore and then the first name and initial, including descriptive abbreviations such as Sr. or Jr.:

1923_0725_McMURRAY_Edward A_Sr_

Or use a birth-death date range to differentiate two persons with the same name:

1923_0725__McMURRAY_Edward A_1900-1992_

3. I then give a brief description of the item:

1923_0725__McMURRAY_Edward A_Sr_ROTC Camp Trng Cert_

4. If it is a newspaper or magazine article, book, website, etc., add the details such as volume, page, date.

_Journal name_v1_n2_p3-5_

5. Follow with the repository or website and date accessed if applicable:

_ancestry_20140318

or:

_FAG90601933_2014_0318

(with the memorial number on Find A Grave listed for easy reference.)

6. For an item that requires permission to reproduce, or a courtesy attribution, I add whatever is appropriate, such as:

_permission

to signify the photographer has given me permission to reuse the image.

 

The above certificate is a scan of the actual copy in my possession, so my file name would be as follows:

1923_0725_McMURRAY_Edward A_Sr_ROTC Camp Trng Cert_pmm.png

 

When you place the file into your folder structure, all those files will be ordered by date and voila!- a timeline without a lot of extra time spent. Another benefit is that all those in the family folder will be a part of the timeline, so it will be easy to see how an event in a child’s life relates to a parent’s.

I am planning to add my photos into the folders as well, so any one person will have their information together. I scan the back of the photos and use exactly the same file name, but add

_rev

so the two files hang out together in my folders.

You can create text files for more information, such as metadata, who owns the photo, when you did the research, etc., about a document or image. Just cut and paste the file name for the document you are referencing, and the new file will have a .txt extension, so will always stay next to the .docx, .png, etc. file. If it is already a .txt file, you can just add

_notes

or something similar to differentiate.

I use a Mac so can use ridiculously long file names, thankfully.

Since I am one of those uppity women and a feminist, and it is still Women’s History Month (ahhh, the horrible irony of a Women’s “HIStory” Month…), I use their maiden names throughout their lives. That helps me tell “HERstory.”

Images and documents with multiple persons can be challenging to file- which name should be used as the file name? I tend to use the oldest or most prominent or most important-to-me persons in the photo or document, and one can then create a note to go into other folders referencing where the document or image has been placed.

I hope this has given you some ideas for file names that can help you to access your genealogy treasure quickly. Check back next week for more information on how I structure my file folders for fast access to information.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) ROTC certificate from our family treasure chest of photos and documents. (Lucky us.)

 

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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

 

An Easy Way to Find Your Family on This Blog

Unknown girl rambling on a horse. Picture found in with Lee family photos.
Part of our Heritage– an unknown girl and her Ramblings on a horse. Picture was found in with Lee family photos.

… if you are related, that is.

When we decided to put our family stories and research out there, we weighed how difficult it would be to cover all the family names we both had been researching for many years. We thought about separate blogs for each family, but knew that it would be hard to provide an adequate number of posts on a regular basis with so many blogs. So we lumped everyone together into our “Heritage Ramblings.” Now that we have quite a few posts up (58!), we have realized it may be hard for readers to figure out exactly which family member in a post might be one of their ancestors, especially once we go back a few generations and names may be unfamiliar.

We still do plan to get some pedigree charts up on the site, but haven’t found an easy or attractive chart to use yet.

In the meantime, if you are related to either of us bloggers, there are four ways you can easily find your family on our “Heritage Ramblings” blog:

1. NEW! I have created separate pages for the major family groupings of published posts. To access these, click on “Pedigrees” and look for a family group that might interest you. The title, an image, and an excerpt of each of the posts published to date that reference those families will be listed. Simply click on the title to be taken directly to the post. (Sorry the drop-down menu isn’t pretty yet, but it is finally functional. Under construction…)

2. Use the “Search” box on the righthand sidebar of any page. Just type in a name, keyword, or place, then click “Search,” and a listing of pertinent posts will automagically appear.

3. That same righthand sidebar contains a list of “Tags” that have been used on our blog posts. The size and boldness of the word indicates how frequently it has been used as a tag- the bigger and bolder, the more frequently that tag has been used to help you search in our blog. Click on the word and you will be taken immediately to a list of posts that are tagged with that word or phrase.

4. Continuing down the righthand sidebar, you will find a list of “Categories” used on the blog. Posts are categorized by family, such as “Underwood,” or a topic, such as “Genealogy How-To.” Just click a category to find all the posts associated with that category.

Happy ancestor hunting- and reading!

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) This image was in with Lee family photos. If related, the cutie on a horse could also be an Aiken or Alexander.

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

 

Researching Photographers in Pittsburgh, PA: R. D. Cochran

"Old Cochran" in Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1862-1863, p. 52.
“Old Cochran” in Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1862-1863, p. 52.

This entry in a Pittsburgh City Directory made me stop and think about how tough life was back in the day- today too, but even fewer safety nets then like Social Security or food stamps. Manual labor was the only job available for many throughout their lifetime. Poor “Old Cochran”- not even known by his first name, just his age- was still working as a laborer at that point in his life. Still living on his own maybe, but sadly I did not notice other Cochrans nearby on his street. A daughter may have been nearby but we wouldn’t know because she, if even listed, would be under her husband’s name.

OK, that was another Heritage Rambling… on to the topic at hand.

Logo of Cochran [Photography Studio] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, c1895.
Logo of Cochran [Photography Studio] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, c1895. (Front)
I came upon the “Old Cochran” entry while looking for a R. D. Cochran, Artistic Photographer in Pittsburgh. Old City Directories are a great way to find family, friends, associates, and neighbors (the “FAN Club”), as well as nearby businesses, for those from times long gone. I have been trying to find a date for the photos discussed in this week’s “Mystery Monday” post:

https://heritageramblings.net/2014/01/20/mystery-monday…-golumb-family/

Since we have a photographer’s name/studio listed on the portraits, finding when the photographer was in business would help to narrow the date range of the photos. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh, PA does not have a listing of photographers (some other cities do have lists that family historians or archivists have compiled). The knowledgeable folks on the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania RootsWeb group suggested  that I search the many City Directories online for Pittsburgh at http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/text-idx?c=pitttextdir;page=browse;key=date

GOLOMB Family? Pittsburgh PA, c1895? RD Cochran, Photographer- Reverse
GOLOMB Family? Pittsburgh PA, c1895? RD Cochran, Photographer- Reverse (Click to enlarge or for a sharper image.)

There is a search function on the page so I put in “R. D. Cochran” and got 16 hits. I had previously seen a photo of an African-American Civil War soldier posted online that was taken by R. D. Cochran (similar design on the advertisement), so checked the early directories first. My results:

Title: Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1863
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa.]: G.H. Thurston, 1863, p. 58

“Cochran, Robert D., of R D Cochran & Co., n Woods’ Run”

Title: Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1865-1866, Pittsburgh, PA: G.H. Thurston, 1865
Collection: Historic Pittsburgh City Directories, p.80

“Cochran R. D., of R. D. Cochran & Co., McClure tp”

Title: Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1867
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa.]: G.H. Thurston, 1867, p.96

“Cochran R. D. of R. D. Cochran & Co. McClure tp”

Title: Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1869-1870
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa.]: G.H. Thurston, 1869, p.100

“Cochran R. D., of R. D. Cochran & Co., res McClure tp”

There are other R. D. Cochrans listed for many later years, mostly in the oil business. I was unable to find the studio listed in the business section of the city directory, but often a business would be required to pay for the privilege of being listed under “Photographers” in the directory, and many were not able to afford the advertising.

So if “R. D. Cochran & Co.” was a photography studio, we may have narrowed the date of the photos. Probably not though, as the Green and Golumb families did not immigrate to the United States until the 1880s, so the time frame is not correct for our image.

I did a US Federal Census search for R. D. Cochran, and found a Robert D. Cochran listed as a steamboat captain in the 1860 census for McCluer Twp, Allegheny, PA- so that might be the “R. D. Cochran & Co” I found in the City Directory in that same township. I searched through other censuses in Allegheny Co. for our photographer, but little luck in finding him or her.

We definitely need more information.

Probably the next step is dating the photos by clothing, hairstyles, and props. There are a number of books available to use for this research, so those will be bedtime reading this week. I also have an email out to a  person who includes the Golomb family on their tree, though they have not posted any photos. But I am really hoping that a cousin will see these photos and remember they have an acid-free storage box with the same photos, with individuals positively identified on them in archival ink. (A family historian’s dream…)

As always, suggestions are appreciated.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) “Old Cochran- lab” may be found in the Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1862-1863, p.52, Collection: Historic Pittsburgh City Directories at

http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pitttextdir;cc=pitttextdir;idno=31735038289116;node=31735038289116%3A1.8;frm=frameset;view=image;seq=72;page=root;size=s

Accessed 1/18/2014.

2) The “FAN Club” is a way to help break through brick walls. By researching Friends, Associates, and Neighbors, you may find something about the ancestor you seek. I wish I could give credit to the researcher who originated the acronym, but do not know who came up with it as a quick way to explain what experienced genealogists have been doing for a long time. Researching siblings is another way to break through brick walls- especially helpful if one of the siblings had an unusual name whereas your direct ancestor might have had a common name. Siblings are often listed in obituaries, parent’s names may be on birth or death records, etc.

3) The Allegheny County, PA RootsWeb List: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index/PAALLEGH

The Allegheny County, PA RootsWebWebsite: http://www.pagenweb.org/~allegheny/index.htm

4) African-American Civil War soldier- Cabinet Card  found at http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/cabinet-card-african-american-soldier . Accessed 1/17/2014.

5) Robert D. Cochran: Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: McClure, Allegheny,Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1065; Page: 379; Image: 386; Family History Library Film: 805065. Accessed on Ancestry.com 1/18/2014.

 

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Copyright 2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Those Places Thursday- WW1 and Citizen Historians

Reserve Officers Training Corps, Senior Division, Advanced Medical Course class picture. Taken in Ft. Snelling, Minnesota during the course which ran 14 Jun 1923 to 25 July 1923.
Reserve Officers Training Corps, Senior Division, Advanced Medical Course class picture. Taken in Ft. Snelling, Minnesota during the course which ran 14 Jun 1923 to 25 July 1923. Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Sr., is probably in this picture.

 

“That Place” this week could be anywhere on the Western Front (France and Belgium/Flanders) that British troops served in World War I. You can ‘go’ there, in that time and place, just by reading details of everyday life in the trenches- pun intended (sadly), especially for this war.

Genealogists are pretty much Citizen Historians, especially when they publish their work for others to see. They are also Citizen Historians when they participate in crowd-sourcing projects like FamilySearch Indexing and that of the 1940 US Federal Census.

Zooniverse is a crowd sourcing website that offers opportunities now for citizen historians (in the past it has just been science-oriented) to process data that would either be done by a lowly graduate student, or probably not get done at all in these days of little research funding. By using citizens to classify an overwhelming amount of data, scientists, historians, etc., can then do the analysis they were trained to do, and graduate students get a more interesting learning experience than just counting copepods or classifying galaxy shapes for hours on end.

A new Zooniverse project is “Operation War Diary.” One and a half million pages of British unit diaries from World War I have been digitized and put online. The first World War Centenary is coming up-  the war began 28 Jul 1914- and this project will be used to create a detailed index of orders, signals, maps, narrative reports, etc. Names are mentioned as well. The information is currently available online in a browseable format, but when complete, the index will be a boon to family historians, military history buffs, and university historians.

Worried that you won’t get it perfectly correct? No problem- Zooniverse projects, just like FamilySearch, have many persons classify the data. Zooniverse then uses powerful software that can help decide which is the most correct classification. No “Arbitrators” of questionable ability here- the expert historian (or scientist) has the final say of what is really right.

“Operation War Diary” needs our help! The diaries are not going to be transcribed in full. Each page will be classified, and then entries on each page tagged, sometimes with detailed information like a name and why they were mentioned in the diary. There is a tutorial to help get you started, a field guide to explain more of the information on the pages- I highly recommend going through it in detail before starting- and a discussion room if you have questions or want to share your findings. (Other Zooniverse communities that I have participated in have been great fun- and educational too!) The project supports both Mac and Windows platforms- see the “About Us” page for details on what versions of operating system and browsers are needed.

http://www.operationwardiary.org

Remember, you will need to think with British spelling- “The Queen’s English” is ‘favoured’ in these diaries.

World War I is almost a forgotten war since it was so long ago and those who participated are long gone. It was one of the worst wars though, with chemical weapons and new ways to destroy the enemy and our American sons. Help keep the memory of those who served by contributing to this project, whether you have just a few minutes per day or hours to devote to the project. You may even find a rellie mentioned if you have British roots!

PS- If this project doesn’t interest you, Zooniverse has many others available.

 

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Copyright 2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

[Edited to change name to “Those Places Thursday” to conform to Geneabloggers’ prompts and my previous posts.]