Links Family History Blog

10,000 individuals in my Ancestry tree.  When I first began the Links Family History blog two years ago, on 25 December 2023, my public tree at Ancestry.ca contained 4,200 individuals. A couple of days ago, my Ancestry tree crossed a major milestone: It now contains over 10,000 individuals. Reaching a major milestone in my public tree at Ancestry.ca Over 15 years to get here. However, it's not just about the number of individuals in my tree; I have done my best to add only those individuals verified through my own legwork, using best practices I have learned over the years, and backed up by credible sources.  The number of individuals in my tree reflects over 15 years of sometimes painstaking research to "collect ancestors" and trace their movements, as well as recent work done on two private family pedigrees (focused on two Canadian descendants of my Irish Palatine COLE family founder Henry COLE and his English-Irish spouse Elizabeth CHURCHILL - part of a larger research...

Step 2: Scan Letters and Envelopes. This post continues the Saving Letters mini-series that started with  Saving Letters - Why Do It?  followed by  Step 1: Cataloguing .  In this post, Step 2: Scanning,  I set out my considerations and the method I follow for scanning my letter collection.  While I don't want to over-complicate this step, it is also not quite as simple as it might seem. Things to think about and decisions to make about the scanned files themselves include: Equipment and setup to perform the scans. Computer (or other) storage capacity for saving scanned files. Quality and readability of the scanned images. Potential obsolescence of the scanned file format(s). Backing up scanned images. Subsequent steps, transcribing and filing the scans, will be the subject of future posts -- so stay tuned! Working through this process gave me: a better comfort level that the letters would be preserved even if the originals were lost or destroyed; confi...

My Method For Saving Letters. This post continues the Saving Letters mini-series that started with Saving Letters - Why Do It?  In the following discussion, Step 1: Cataloguing , I set out the method I follow for logging my letters.  Although I was inspired by online sources, the details of the method I follow evolved as I began working through my letters and gained insight into the data contained in the letters, how I wanted to use their information, and how I was going to store them, as well as disaster recovery and legacy considerations. The items you record in your catalogue may look different from mine as they will be a reflection of your own letter collection and goals.  Working through this process gave me: a searchable letters list that I could use for research purposes (like a library's card catalogue);  a summary of each letter's contents, physical properties, and condition;  a better comfort level that the letters would be preserved even if the origin...

A Family of Letter-Writers. In this first post in a mini-series on saving letters, I describe my philosophy and summarize my method for saving inherited family letters. My goal for saving letters? To improve being able to access the data they contain in order to use that data for family research.  I come from a family of letter-writers. At first puzzled about what to do with the box of family letters I inherited -- but sensing their potential -- over the years I sought advice on how to "deal" with inherited documents like letters. I took what resonated with my own situation and materials and incorporated it into my personal method for creating and maintaing a family archive.  Disclaimer:  I am a genealogy enthusiast not a professional genealogist or archivist; as such, a professional's methods may differ from mine, or may be more comprehensive. If you have something in your family collection that you are unsure about or you think might need particular care, I encourage yo...

My Personal Approach To Getting Organized. In the inaugural post for this DIY Genealogy Series  I gave an overview of the tools and methods (my do-it-yourself "system") that I use for my research, resources, and family treasures. W hen starting my family history journey years ago, o ne of the biggest questions I had was: How on earth do I keep track of all my "stuff"? In this post,  I share my personal approach to getting and staying organized by using logs. Letting Logs Do the Work. Do any of these situations sound familiar? You "just know" that six months ago you saw the perfect website listing your 7th great-grandfather's affiliation with a military regiment, but couldn't find it again.  You triumphantly open the mail for the birth certificate proving your great-grandmother was born in Leicestershire and not Staffordshire, England, but on filing it discover you already had a forgotten copy, acquired 10 years ago. You remember buying that book on...