strathglass 0 Report post Posted March 26, 2008 Hi: I am a new user (still on trial version, coming from FTM2005). I've always tried to add source details when documenting genealogical facts. But after importing into TMG7 and looking at my master source list, I realize it looks rather haphazard. I thought if I applied a naming scheme to the master sources that this would help (make it easier to find items, for example). Does anyone else have a naming scheme they apply to their sources that they could share? BTW - I also see TMG has a master repository list: anyone want to advise on how important (or not) that this is? Most of my source info to date is just personal recollection of family members, copies of relevant personal documents (obituaries, death certificates, marriage records, etc.), and photos of gravestones. Thanks, strathglass Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Byram 0 Report post Posted March 26, 2008 But after importing into TMG7 and looking at my master source list, I realize it looks rather haphazard.I thought if I applied a naming scheme to the master sources that this would help (make it easier to find items, for example). Does anyone else have a naming scheme they apply to their sources that they could share? For the source abbreviation, I use a 3 to 6-character code followed by a few words to identify the source. This groups sources of a like type. BIBLE Person, Some BOOK AL Creek War Soldiers 1836-1837 CENSUS 1900 U.S. EMAIL Person, Some 1999/10/23 LAND Patent AL4330_.425 MISC Person, Some (records) NEWS Shreveport Times etc. BTW - I also see TMG has a master repository list: anyone want to advise on how important (or not) that this is?Most of my source info to date is just personal recollection of family members, copies of relevant personal documents (obituaries, death certificates, marriage records, etc.), and photos of gravestones. Each of your sources resides somewhere. I use a repository for all source material whether me or someone else or some institution. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
strathglass 0 Report post Posted March 26, 2008 This was the kind of info I was looking for, thanks. Maybe others have their own scheme? (Looking for more input! ) One specific thought I had that is a variation on your scheme is to also include after the source type an indication of the relevant family name(s) mentioned. Although in some cases (CENSUS 1900 U.S.) that makes sense only if the master source list is talking about some specific page of census data (since in general the census covers millions of names!) So you'd have: <SOURCE TYPE>-<SUBJECT SURNAME>-<DESCRIPTION> E.G. MARRIAGE RECORD-SMITH+JONES-John Smith+Mary Jones 1869 marriage certificate DEATH RECORD-SMITH-John Smith 1949 statement of death PHOTO(ANNOTATED)-MACDONALD-1942 photo of Jim MacDonald and immediate family and some aunts+uncles TOMBSTONE-SMITH+JONES-John Smith+Mary Smith nee Jones tombstone photo taken 1989 (Our Lady of Grace Catholic Cemetery, Anytown, YourCountry) I think the key is a good list of <SOURCE TYPE> entries that you could standardize on. Here are my ideas, which include your input above: SOURCE LIST TYPES: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE PHOTO(ANNOTATED) (old family photos with notes on back, bottom, etc) BIRTH RECORD BAPTISM RECORD MARRIAGE RECORD DEATH RECORD LAND RECORD OTHER RECORD OBITUARY NEWSPAPER (non-obit. info, including captioned photos) TOMBSTONE BOOK CENSUS RECOLLECTION(PERSON) (recollections of PERSON about anything relevant) OTHER That is probably good enough, but I am sure someone with more experience could suggest changes for the better! -strathglass Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry Reigel 0 Report post Posted March 26, 2008 I suggest you keep them short - the long ones leave less room for the details. I use: art - article bapt cert - baptismal certificate bapt - baptismal church record Bible birth Cert - a birth certificate birth reg - birth register bk - book bur - burial register cemrec - cemetery record cen1790 cen1800 cen1810 etc. dbase - online database death cert death reg deed dir - city directory email fgs file - GEDCOM, etc. grvstone - tombstone intrvw - interview land pat - land patent lst - list serve message ltr - letter man - manuscript (family records, notes, genealogy report) mar - marriage register misc mrtge - mortgage newsclip - newspaper clipping obit pass list - passenger list probate - probate file web - website (but not a database on Ancestry, etc.) will - individual will wills - will book This list has grown up over time - don't know that it's a sensible one to use if starting fresh. Also - some of the very short ones were created in a previous version of TMG that allowed fewer characters for the source abbreviation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GenerationGoneBy 0 Report post Posted March 26, 2008 (edited) My census is YEAR COUNTY, STATE-HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD: 1850 Rutherford Co., TN-John Doe Books start with Book-Author's last name, Title of Book Wills start with Will-Person's name: Will-John Doe Estates start with Estate-Person's name Deeds start with Deed-Grantor's name Marriages are Marriage, Groom-Bride You could easily add to it. I agree with Terry. The abbreviation field is short so keep the first part fairly short, then you can see more of the document name. Now to repositories: I do something only a hand full of TMG users do. I use the Deed Book, Will Book, Roll of Microfilm as my repository. The deed, will, marriage record is my source. I rarely use the CD field. Each roll of the census is a separate repository as well, and I use the Head of household as my source. Yes, I have a lot of sources, but I don't find it all that big an issue. Create source, use source, create next source, etc. Since I do most of my research in TN, which has inventories of each counties microfilm online, I use their inventories of the microfilm and create one repository for each roll of film. Currently I am working on roll 282 from Rutherford County, TN. My repository for that roll is: Rutherford County, TN Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN, Family History Library Film 379666. This way I can set up tasks for this one specific roll of film. I can use that same repository for the source when I find a Will on the film. Here's how one of my wills would print: Will and Codicil Wiley S. Brown will , Book 2, Page 9. Official copy held by Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666. Photocopy in possession of author. Hereinafter cited as Wiley Brown, Will and Codicil: BROWN (1), #1615. Here's what a research task list for that roll looks like: Research tasks for Roll 282 Book 2, Page(s) ?? EST-Will: __ ___ 1910 Manerva Beasley; Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666 Repository: Rutherford County, TN Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666 ------------- Designed: 12 Nov 2006 __________________________________________________________________________ Book 1, Page(s) ?? EST-Will: __ ___ 1899 Stephin J. Bennett; Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666 Repository: Rutherford County, TN Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666 ------------- Designed: 22 Oct 2007 __________________________________________________________________________ Book 2, Page(s) 014 EST-Will: 13 Jul 1904 Sarah Catherine Brown and Martha W. Owen; Rutherford County, TN Source: Sarah C. Bennett, Testator will , Book 2, Page 14<: [CD]>. Official copy held by Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666. Photocopy in possession of author. Hereinafter cited as Sarah C. Bennett, Will: BENNETT-Wills, #1286. Repository: Rutherford County, TN Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666 ------------- Designed: 9 Jul 2007 Copied: 9 Jul 2007 Transcribed: 9 Jul 2007 Scanned: 9 Jul 2007 __________________________________________________________________________ Book 2, Page(s) 009-Image EST-Will: 16 Oct 1896 Wiley S. Brown; Rutherford County, TN Source: Wiley S. Brown, will, Book 2, Page 9<: [CD]>. Official copy held by Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666. Photocopy in possession of author. Hereinafter cited as Wiley Brown, Will and Codicil: BROWN (1), #1615. Repository: Rutherford County, TN Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Rutherford County, TN, Index to Will Books, Will Books 1-2 1879-1925, Roll 282, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville TN, Family History Library Film 379666 ------------- Designed: 20 Jul 2005 Copied: 20 Jul 2005 Transcribed: 7 Aug 2007 Scanned: 7 Aug 2007 And even looking at this list, I see some things that need work, or editing. For final printing I would probably put an exclusion marker before the Family History Film number, since I use the Tennessee Archives film and not the Family History Library film. I like recording both numbers if known for my own use. Off to make those corrections in TMG. <G> Edited March 26, 2008 by GenerationGoneBy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Hannah 0 Report post Posted March 27, 2008 Similar to Jim I also begin my abbreviations with a (four character, all caps) code identifying the source type so similar sources are grouped together. I make all initial elements of the abbreviation fixed widths (using extra spaces if necessary) so they line up in the MSL. Where a source is non-specific for an element that is a portion of the abbreviation, I use an ‘*’ as a visual place holder for that element of the abbreviation. By the way, the last time I checked the Source abbreviation has a maximum of 50 characters. The exact format of my abbreviation depends upon the specific type of source. As a couple of examples, I use the code BIRT for all types of birth records, including individual certificates. A collection would look like: BIRT USA OH Washington GOV 18843752 For USA I include place to level of complete source collection, 3-country, 2-state, 10-county, 3-type record, remaining characters for source. Types of collections I have defined: CHR|GOV|* INX (church record, government record, index). A birth certificate for a single individual would be: BIRT USA OH GOV 1947 Jones, John J. Individual USA certificates include place to level of issuing entity, 3-country, 2-state, etc., 3-type record, 4-year and remaining for person. Types of individual certificates I have defined: CHR|GOV (church certificate, government certificate). As a second example, I use CENS as the code for all census records whether index, soundex, or enumeration: CENS USA1810 OH * Index vol 002 For USA date followed by state. I make an index sort before soundex and detail records for a state by entering “* Index” for the lower place level, the remaining characters identify the film, book volume, etc. CENS USA1910 MI ! Sndex R263-R361 For USA date followed by state. I make a soundex sort before detail records and after index for a state by entering “! Sndex” for the lower place level, then I enter the range of the soundexes in this specific source. CENS USA1910 WV Wood T624-1697 For my USA census sources I enter one source in TMG per county/microfilm. I use 3-country then year, 2-state, 10-county, then film no. If a county spans multiple films I choose to enter it as multiple sources. Multiple counties on the same film I also choose to enter as multiple sources. Obviously the way you structure your abbreviations will be based on how you structure (split or lump) your source entries in TMG. Hope this gives you ideas, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
strathglass 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 OK, trying to understand this more: Michael - what is the difference between: BIRT USA OH Washington GOV 18843752 and BIRT USA OH GOV 1947 Jones, John J. (which use quite different formats). You mentioned one was a collection: how can you have a collection of birth records and why do you care about a collection of them since you would be interested only in specific birth records, I would think? Also, I was thinking of including the involed surname(s) in the abbreviation but it looks like the people here aren't doing that. Any comments on the value of doing this or not doing it? -strathglass Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry Reigel 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 I'd think a "collection" is a register listing many births, as is often seen in older records. But it could also be an index. The second would refer to an individual certificate for one person, often created by a clerk from the register, at least for older records. Since it's generally a derived source, the certificate would be slightly less reliable than the register. For example, is the mis-spelling of my mother's maiden name on my own birth certificate an error in the original, or one created when the clerk copied the information to the certificate? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
strathglass 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Makes sense, thanks Terry. And thanks all for the input (some of it is over my head because I don't know about all the sources you are talking about and hence why you have indexes and why you are using soundex codes etc! ) But for now I just want to do one other general post about best practices...watch for it soon Thanks again! -strathglass Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry Reigel 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 You're welcome. A few pieces of the puzzle: Birth registers, sometimes called Vital Records, are books in which the clerk wrote in the information as it was reported. In old ones from New England that I've seen, it was a blank book, and often several children in a family are listed together. Apparently the parents registered the children when they got around to it. Later you see special books with columns for name, date, parents, etc., in which each birth was recorded as reported. In many I've seen the dates are not strictly in order, sometimes by months, so apparently the reports weren't always too promptly made. Still later we see printed forms that were filled in, then bound into books. These often look like the birth certificates we see. Now days you can often get a photo copy of that form; if it's on special paper and sealed it's called certified. Before photocopying the individual certicates one got were transcribed by hand and sealed, so they are certified but are actually a transcription. These records are hard to find unless you know exactly where to look - generally filed by town or county, and by date, more or less. Hence there are indexes, often state-wide, arranged alphabetically by name. These make it much easier to find the original record. These indexes are often avaliable in various places on the Internet, or in libraries and archives. One might cite the index if one hadn't yet gotten the orignal record, or if one doesn't plan to because of the trouble or cost for a more distant relative. Soundex is a method for dealing with spelling variations, orginally designed for census indexes. It uses a coding system to account for commonly used variations or mis-spellings. There are Soundex indexes of some census years, which is the context in which one might cite a "soundex." The method, and variations, has been applied to computer searchs as well, but one wouldn't use the term "soundex" in a citation in this context. Much of what I said above applies to marriage and death records as well. Hope that sheds a little light. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Hannah 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2008 Michael - what is the difference between:BIRT USA OH Washington GOV 18843752 and BIRT USA OH GOV 1947 Jones, John J. (which use quite different formats). The reply that Terry gave was exactly what I meant. I have many references to various registers that have data records about birth/marriage/burial for multiple people, whether for a church or some governmental agency like a county, and that is what I mean by a collection.Also, I was thinking of including the involved surname(s) in the abbreviation but it looks like the people here aren't doing that. Any comments on the value of doing this or not doing it?As shown by the second example above, I do include the surname when the entire source is about only one person or set of people, like an individual birth certificate or couple's marriage certificate, but do not do this when the source contains data about multiple people, like the collections mentioned above. Again, it depends upon how specific your source entry is in the TMG Master Source List. Ask yourself whether you will be using this single TMG source entry for multiple citations involving multiple people, each with different citation details. If so don't include surnames in that source's abbreviation, if not, then include the names. However, there is value in keeping the abbreviation short....some of it is over my head because I don't know about all the sources you are talking about...Don't worry about it. All will become clearer as you experience ever more varied sources. There are source types that people discuss that I have never encountered simply because they have yet to be relevant to anyone in my trees. But I store away tips concerning them since I fully expect I will encounter them someday. Focus on what you have and then expand as you need. Hope this gives you (further) ideas, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
strathglass 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2008 Hey - thanks very much Michael and Terry for those last responses: they really helped a lot! -strathglass Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry Reigel 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2008 You're welcome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
