Saving the Most Important Documents

I know that sometimes I can be a paranoid Polly, but recently I have been shopping for ways to save my most important genealogy documents. I have also been looking for ways to save things for my blogs and websites. I looked at many models of network hard drive so that I can save things for both work and my side projects in the same place. I think this can offer me just what I want in a storage device.

Sharing a Postcard

I bought a postcard about a month ago on eBay. I didn't buy it because it was for genealogy, but because it was a postcard that originated from where many of my family members did. However, I do think it is important to share because it may help someone else in their genealogical search. Here are the scans of the front and back:





The postcard was written to a Mrs. Theodore Powers in Vermont from a woman named Linda [?] Ann.

Anticipation

The anticipation is nearly killing me. I finally bought FTM 2010, Platinum edition. It came in the mail Thursday, but have not been able to use it yet. I want to install it on the desktop that can handle all the requirements, but right now I only have access to my laptop until I move (6 whole weeks away...). And after a very serious computer virus scare a couple of weeks ago, I don't want to compromise the functionality of the laptop. So since I'm sitting here staring at the box, I wanted to know if anyone else uses this software and what you think of it. Any thoughts?

Software Switcheroo

It's hard to get back into the game after straying from my genealogy project. Though I still use free versions of genealogy software, I recently switched from My Heritage software to the free version of Roots Magic. I did this because for some reason, I couldn't get My Heritage to open after my external hard drive switched drive letters all of a sudden (that put a hiccup in iTunes as well...). After that, I tried reinstalling it on the drive, but it kept saving files to my C drive. I wasn't having any of that, so I made the switch. Roots Magic seems to work just as well for me, at least until I can afford to purchase Family Tree Maker 2010.

No significant work was lost in my transition, so I'm grateful for that! Let's hope the transition from free to paid software goes the same way.

Quick Update

I've added a couple more family history themed articles to my portfolio. Check them out under the Genealogy Articles heading on the right side of this page. More updates to come soon!

Wild Branches

According to my genealogy software, I have 4363 names in my family tree. Only problem? Now I have to buckle down and find the documents, photographs, records, etc. for each one. And this includes info for the newest little branch on my tree, my nephew Parker.

Finally some progress

I was at a loss on my family genealogy for awhile. I had a ton of sources to sort through, no (free) access to some of the most needed sources, and absolutely no clue where to begin. But I have finally found the solution and it was right in front of me the whole time: just take it one person at a time. Easy enough, right?

Unfortunately, this decision didn't magically create a starting point. Instead, I had close to 1,200 names to choose from. I decided to start with the person that I have some of the most primary source for, my great-great-grandfather on my dad's side, Levi Mathew. It is so interesting how many newspaper and county sources I have for him, but I only have two known photographs of him.

I'm putting all of his information into a biography with pictures and all that good stuff. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a book, newsletter, or other type of genealogy project. If I ever get it done to my satisfaction, I'll post it here.