Organizing a Lifetime of Family Research

I have finally gotten my office reorganized and made a trip to my mother's house to bring home her genealogy books and research materials. I cannot begin to describe how excited I am to have this incredible treasure she left behind.

I am currently working with a friend who has extensive genealogy research experience, and together we are developing a plan to organize everything so I can begin tackling this massive project.

One of the first things I discovered is that much of my mother's research was not formally sourced. In genealogy, information is not considered verified until it is properly documented and referenced. Because of that, one of my long-term goals will be to carefully review her work, verify the information, and add source citations where needed.

Before I can begin that process, however, I have to get organized.

My mother accumulated 46 three-inch binders filled with research gathered from libraries, courthouses, cemeteries, archives, and countless other sources over the years. In addition to those binders, there are genealogy reference books, instructional materials, family histories, and reports printed by relatives from their genealogy software programs.

To get started, I combined her collection with my own genealogy library and created a master inventory of everything. Let me tell you—that was no small task! After many hours of sorting, shelving, and cataloging, I am almost finished. I believe I have only one more shelf left to add to my inventory.

As I move forward, I plan to use this blog to share my journey, the lessons I learn, the challenges I encounter, and the discoveries I make along the way. Whether you're an experienced genealogist or just getting started with your family history, I hope you'll enjoy following along.

Although I suspect another bookshelf may be in my future, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to carry forward the work that my mother and grandmother devoted so much time and energy to. This will be a slow and steady journey, but it is one I am honored to continue as I preserve their legacy and share it with future generations.

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Elizabeth Shaw is the owner of Elegant Photo Solutions, LLC, a Certified Photo Manager/Privacy Advocate/Legacy Preservation Specialist through The Photo Managers and a FOREVER Executive Ambassador. It is her goal to help families preserve their photos and documents for future generations so that they will know who their families were and where they came from. You can contact her by emailing ecshawphotocoach@outlook.com.