Welcome to The Briercliffe Society Forum

A couple of thoughts which I am sure affect us all, and I am not sure of this is the right place.
Family trees
Do you go directly back so that you are the direct descendant, or, do you go sideways into brothers/sisters of, and their families? I tend to stay as a direct descendant until I get stuck then try going sideways to find an answer. But I don't think of those really as my rellies.
Sorting trees
This is the pain in my b******e, I started off with just one ring binder and went backwards in it, with the tree at the front. Then as it got bigger I got more ring binders, one for each grandparent and went back with them. Now I have loads of stuff which is not filed but relevant. I know I ought to have them in surname alphabetical order with a tree at the beginning of each and all the relevant BMD's, census, wills etc etc with each one. AND, duplicates where they have married and changed names. Why do we do this stupid past time??? Why do I not put time aside and sort all this------because I am on here, thats why
How do you sort your info, and what do you have on the computer/disc???

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

I tend to work the same as you Gloria, I go back and if I can't find the answers or get stuck, I 'branch' out. At least this is how I have attached the ancestry of 3 of my grandparents.
I also have my info organised in folders for each grandparents line, census, documents placed in the appropriate family group. The top of the tree being at the front as that is what I am most likely working on.

My Sutcliffes differ slightly. My Gt Grandfather, Thomas Sutcliffe was the son of William Sutcliffe of Briercliffe and Betty Sutcliffe (this being her maiden named) of Barrowford. This gave me 2 separate Sutcliffe lines.
Betty Sutcliffes parents were Thomas Sutcliffe and Mary Sutcliffe (again, this is her maiden name). Another Sutcliffe branch to follow, Thomas's father was from Heptonstall while Mary's line is Barrowford through and through. Betty has a brother, James, who married a Margaret Sutcliffe (maiden name!) of Burnley or Briercliffe area. I wonder if they were cousins/distant cousins?
So, because there are so many Sutcliffes appearing in my tree, I sort of embarked on a one name study though it is limited to Burnley/Briercliffe/Barrowford and nowhere near a complete database. I have so much Sutcliffe stuff and so that it was difficult to organise in a sensible manner. So I bought a filing cabinet. Each family group is organised separately and to some extent, I know how and where they all fit. There is a pedigree chart with each family and anything related to that particular family is in the file.

I have just had permission to paint or draw my tree on the wall in the dining room! Can't wait to get it done though it will probably be later in the year. I think I need a template/stencil of some sort to keep it neat.

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Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!

That's the sort of thing I did with each grandparent line, but then it gets so full of their ancestors with different names
Your Sutcliffes must be a nightmare, did you find cousins marrying?
I put this up in the hope someone, somewhere has a fail safe method of documenting everything, PLEASE.
Loved the wall idea, what will you do if you move? you must take a big pic. Will you do it in a fan or the convential way, or you could do a circle--two fans, one for each parent back to back. Could fancy doing that, don't think I would get "permission" though

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

If I were to do the circle, I would probably have my lot on one half and the Lyndons on the other (Smith!)

Think I prefer the fan method with just my own lot though. Ihave done as much work on the Smiths.

The Sutcliffes aren't too much of a nightmare. I don't bother too much about 'wrong certificates'. If it's a Burnley document then chances are I can account for it somewhere in the files.
Of all the Sutcliffe branches I have, they have not connected together yet. All remain separate lines of enquiry!!

As for computer related files, I use an external hard drive and used to scan everything. I don't scan so much these days but any images are stored on disc or drive. I do a backup of my gedcom to an external drive and that tends to go everywhere with me. (France, friends, in-laws, anyone I know with a computer...just in case)

I suppose I am lucky that I have the luxury of a huge big server to save my stuff on, perk of the job . It gets backed up daily so my stuff should be safe. I don't suppose it's 100% guaranteed though. It also means I can access what I need from anywhere in the world.

I also have a very accomodating hubby. He has never yet complained about the things I bring home that are tree related or the time I devote to my obsession. I like to have physical objects that meant something to family members...or have a connection. In the loft I have a dinner set made by a company that used to belong to one of my local lines. It's an ugly design and not complete. I am thinking of parting with this though, the loft is due a sort out. I also acquired a cutlery set this week...fish knives and forks that belonged to Aunty Ada (the one who lived in Slaters homes), they were a wedding present to her and I will probably never use them. Also a small ebony box that was my grandads...no idea what was in it but it's nice.
So it's not just the paper work that needs storing.

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Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!

I am nowhere near as obsessed as you are, ladies...but I have been warned by your fervour...lest I should get any ideas about REALLY delving in!
I, too, have quite a lot of small artifacts and sets of dishes, glasses, paintings, etc from family. When I cleared out my dad's place I did ship whatever I could over to Canada...they are meaningful to me as they've been around as long as I remember ...and beyond. My dad has them in a glass cabinet in his room, and pictures on his wall alongside family photos.
My hubby, bless his cotton socks, doesn't 'get' it. I 'clutter' our house with such things ("junk"....yikes!) and books (I'm LIBRA, for gawdssakes!). Constant battle!
However, he is taking us off for a week's cruise mid-March, a surprise for me, so I forgive him EVERYTHING. (And I sorted out shoes and handbags over the weekend and boxed up some to donate....my token decluttering)
Happy Valentine's Day!

Mel, this question is going to sound absolutely stupid to you, but purely for the sake of people looking in on this who do not know What the he** is an external hard drive. AND how do I put my stuff on it?????

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Here you go Gloria

A hard drive is a computer component that holds data. Every computer needs at least one hard drive to store its operating system, programs and user information. This drive is usually internal, however, as computer systems have evolved and different needs, threats, and circumstances have arisen, the additional external hard drive has become extremely popular.

Internet access regularly exposes computers to potential security threats like Trojan horses, viruses and spyware. It has become increasingly difficult to guard against these threats, even when employing firewalls and antivirus programs. Aside from online threats, multiple family members often use the same system, putting sensitive documents at higher risk of inadvertent corruption or loss. Additionally, the space required for multimedia storage has soared with MP3s, streaming video, DVD burning, and photo files taking up large amounts of space on the hard drive. All of these unrelated concerns can be addressed with one simple answer: an external hard drive.

An external hard drive sits outside the main computer tower in its own enclosure. The enclosure is slightly larger than the hard drive itself, and sometimes contains a cooling fan. This portable encasement allows the user to store information on a hard drive that is not inside the computer, but rests on a tabletop or surface nearby the computer. The external hard drive is connected to the computer via a high-speed interface cable. The interface cable allows the external hard drive to communicate with the computer so that data may be passed back and forth. The most common types of interfaces are USB and Firewire.

A portable or external hard drive is quite a useful piece of equipment. It allows the user to back up or store important information separate from the main internal hard drive, which could become compromised by online or offline activities. Sensitive documents, large music files, DVD images, movies, disk images, and even a backup of the contents of your main internal hard drive, can all be kept securely and safely on an external hard drive. When you are online, you can even leave the external drive turned off.

Another advantage of an external hard drive is that it is portable and operates on a plug-and-play basis. Any computer with USB or Firewire capability will recognize the external hard drive as a storage device, and assign it a letter to designate it. The drive can then be accessed like a normal internal hard drive. It's a snap to transfer huge files back and forth from work to home, to a friend's house, or between your desktop and laptop. Just plug in the interface cable to quickly reconstruct a working environment, making your favorite programs virtually portable.

If you have multiple family members using your computer system, consider an external hard drive to keep financial information and other sensitive documents secure. When you are ready to use the computer, you can plug in the external drive and have all your data and programs available. When finished, simply unplug the drive and take it with you to lock in a drawer or other secure location.

There are inexhaustible reasons to use an external hard drive. You can even buy several hard drives and swap them in and out of the same enclosure, using one for multimedia storage, one for imaging, one for backup, one for work, and so on.

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David
Genealogists do it in the library.

That's brilliant David, great explaination, I always worry all my stuff is going to disappear.
I use a laptop now and have an old computer I don't use, there would be nothing to stop me using that hard drive to save things on, would there? Or getting a "portable" one. Just looked at some pc world and Currys any suggestions?
I have for the past two years been putting holiday pics on my computer in my pictures. I have lost them!!!!! I put my computer back a month to before the loss but they were not there, I am sure they must be somewhere, if I had known this before I could have put them there-----hindsight----great.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

You can get an external hard drive with a decent amount of memory for relatively little money these days Gloria.
You could of course back all your files up onto CD discs but it is much easier just to save to an external hard drive and all your files are in one place then.And as Mel said if you wish you can just plug via the USB lead into any computer .
The price of the external hard drives depends upon the memory but I would say that you could get about 80GB memory for about £70 or so.

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David
Genealogists do it in the library.

Even an external hard drive is not completely reliable...I know, I lost a lot of info when a hard drive failed on me and blew the motherboard in my laptop. Two years ago now.
Luckily, much of the info was also backed upon CD, although I did lose a load of scans that I had done the week before while visiting my Dads uncle.
All I can say is, you can never have too many back-ups. The more you have - the less you will lose if one of them desides to fail.

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Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!

Got my gedcom on CD, looks like I shall be putting more on them now AND, I now know what "dearly beloved" is going to get me for my birthday----he says he has no idea what to get me, he will have by tonight.

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Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Gloria
This is a site that Mel uses and recommended to me,I bought a portable scanner off them last week.
They have some very good deals on external hard drives at good prices.





http://www.ebuyer.com/cat/Hard-Drives/s ... ble-Drives

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David
Genealogists do it in the library.

Let me point out, Lyndon and I use ebuyer and another site called misco frequently. We have never had a problem with them and always return to these two sites on account of the excellent service we always receive.
David, however, was not so fortunate and not very happy with the service he received last week.
I think you speak as you find....

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Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!

Well to be fair to e buyer Mel it was City Link couriers that was the problem because the driver was of limited intelligence and drove past my cottage twice.
E buyer have since investigated and sent me an apology and refunded all delivery charges.

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David
Genealogists do it in the library.

Alls well that ends well then.
Ebuyer have just launched a new website, I'm a bit miffed though. They don't appear to have the new laptop that I want

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Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!