Organization for Genealogists

The two most basic forms used by genealogists to record ancestral information are the pedigree chart and the family group sheet. They help you keep track of what you find on your family in a standard, easy-to-read format - recognized by genealogists around the world.

Learn how to organize your digital genealogy files - downloaded records and images, digital photos, emails and scanned documents - with this step by step guide to computer organization for genealogists.

Take charge of your genealogy clutter with one of these easy-to-maintain filing systems. Includes how-to steps for binders and folders, as well as options for organizing by surname, family, or event.

Tackle those piles and boxes filled with genealogy files, notes, and papers with these helpful books geared toward disorganized genealogists. Learn how to create a flexible genealogy filing system, how to store photos, CD-ROMs, and correspondence, how to set up an efficient work space, and more.

To keep genealogical writing organized in an easy-to-follow fashion, genealogists have developed a number of different genealogical numbering systems to identify individuals and their relationships. Learn how and when to use the most common genealogy numbering systems, including the NGSQ, Register and Ahnentafel numbering systems.

Wayne Hinton, author of the 32 page booklet A Guide to Organizing Paper Genealogy Files © 1997,  has now put the full text on the Internet.

A software database for systematically organizing and storing all of the clues to your ancestry that you have been collecting over the years.

Michael John Neill explains how to use discrepancy charts to summarize the conflicts between different record sources and to indicate the source for each conflicting piece of data.

If you are among the majority of genealogists who feel their information is in disarray, this free tutorial from Genealogy.com will guide you through the first steps to getting your research organized.

A filing system for cousins from Christine Sievers of Suite 101.

FamilySearch.org presents a number of ways in which computer programs can help you organize your genealogical records on your home computer.

Chapter 3 of Beginner's Guide to Family History Research by Desmond Walls Allen and Carolyn Earle Billingsley.

Take a pair of scissors to that pile of genealogy notes and get them organized with Christine Sievers of Suite 101.

Steps for using 3-ring binders (notebooks) to organize family history materials, from FamilySearch.org.

Steps for setting up a genealogy filing system using file folders from FamilySearch.org.

A "four-pronged" approach to organizing your genealogy records, by Diana Smith.

Tips for organizing your stacks of genealogical documents from Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, CGRS.

Does this describe you? Then don't miss these tips from Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, CGRS.

Ten ways to create a "healthy" to-do list from Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens.

George G. Morgan of "Along Those Lines.." considers several possible ways to organize your genealogy work space so that you can work more effectively.

A big part of organizing your genealogy files is to keep your research organized by writing as you go. Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, shares some great tips in this free article from a back issue of "On Board," the newsletter of the Board for Certification of Genealogists.