I have been working (almost daily for the last three months) on Zittel Zygology mentioned in this post. The idea of working on connecting family lines for two DNA matches has exploded to epic proportions. I am currently working on connecting lines for 20 known DNA matches to my Zittel line. It looks a bit like this…
Descendants of Johannes Zittel and Elisabeth Stempfel
There are over 50 couples in the first five generations and more than 50 children (most with spouses and even more children) so far in the sixth and seventh generations. (Seventh generation not shown on chart.)
I’ve written and deleted several posts about how this is coming together in my Research Quandaries notebook. Maybe once I finish up trailing the descendants of the oldest son of Peter Zittel and Rosina Hauck (far left of chart), I will get something posted. In the meantime, can I just sing the praises of Sticky Notes? My (laptop) desktop looks like this…
The Sticky Notes app is another of those things that you might not know you have on your computer unless you hunt it down. Click on the magnifying glass next to the Windows icon and search “sticky notes.” Then open the Sticky Notes app. Clicking on the + sign opens a new note.
Click on the menu icon (the three dots). From there you can change the background color, see a list of all your notes, or delete the current note. The notes can be resized vertically and horizontally. The icons at the bottom of the note are to change the text of your note: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, and Bulleted List. The last icon is used to insert a picture into your note. Your notes are saved until you delete them. I usually close down the computer with my notes still open on the desktop and they are all there when I restart it.
I am using Sticky Notes to jot down the list of names from the indexes for the communes in Bas-Rhin where I need to then go and look up the original record in a different register. I also have a list of citations to copy and edit once I add the source to my OneNote pages for a person/couple. Extremely helpful! I only wish there was a way to permanently pin a note to stay on top of the browser window I am currently viewing.
I’d be drowning in paper if not for OneNote and Sticky Notes! (You’re welcome.)
Until the next time,
~Erin
Cite This Page:
Erin Williamson Klein, “Digital Sticky Notes.” My Family History Files, 11 December 2020 (https://myfamilyhistoryfiles.com/organization/digital-sticky-notes/ : [access date]).
Please do not copy without attribution and link back to this page.
If you would like to view in PDF, it’s here
Following up on my post for Cycle 2 Week 1, here is my new workflow chart. Or should it be work flowchart? (Whatever.) It is a simplified version of the chart I originally posted here during the first cycle of the Genealogy Do-Over. This one uses the names of the pages in OneNote that I enter data into. It has all the elements that I am trying to capture in OneNote listed on it:
- A Research Plan with Research Log
- Source Description Page that is where I describe the source, cite it, paste a JPG of source, link to the source on my hard drive and transcribe it.
- Source Log (A listing of all the sources I have for an individual or family group to help with writing proof statements if I need to examine other sources and as a resource to see what other sources I might need.)
- Family Group Records
- Timelines
- Proof Statements
This is mostly for my own reference as it relates to the final version of my Chronological Surname Notebook that I am using to document my family history. I am putting everything in OneNote as a way to leave something behind that others can build on and to be able to easily share it with others in PDF or printed form.
Cycle 2 Week 2 Topics:
- Setting Research Goals
- Conducting Self Interview
- Conducting Family Interviews
Because this is my second time through the 13 weeks, I didn’t have much to do for Week 2. Last time through, I had decided I wouldn’t be able to conduct many family interviews for the current line I am working on as there wasn’t anyone left in the previous generations and opted not to do them. Same thing for this cycle. I did my self-interview in the form of a Timeline created in MSWord. I use Timelines to list life events in chronological order for my ancestors. A Timeline helps to show where there are gaps and conflicting information and where sources are needed. Those items can be used to set research goals and/or make a research plan. (I’ll post an Ancestry video by Anne Mitchell at the end of the post that was helpful to me in learning to create timelines if you are interested.)
My research goals for the first cycle through the Genealogy Do-Over were to prove my birth, marriage, divorce and birth of my 4 children; my parents’ birth and marriage; father’s death and siblings’ births and deaths. There were a few documents in my files and my mom’s files that were missing so I added obtaining them to my To-Do List in OneNote. My research goals this time through the Genealogy Do-Over are to concentrate on my father’s parents.
Research Goals Cycle 2 Week 2:
- Prove birth date and parents’ names for Raymond Curtis Williamson
- Prove birth date and parents’ names for Grace Rose Buisch
- Prove marriage date of Ray and Grace
- Prove death date for Raymond Williamson
- Prove death date for Grace Williamson
This is the first page of my grandfather’s timeline embedded into a page in OneNote.
As you can see, there is a discrepancy in the records I have for the year of his birth. I have written for a copy of his birth certificate and I have a theory about why his birth year is one year later on his draft registration that I will include in my Proof Statement. For my grandmother, birth records were not being kept for that time period in Batavia, New York. I will contemplate some ideas for a work-around in my Research Plan.
I’m not going to get ahead of myself here though, because tracking and conducting research are next week’s topics!
===
Creating Timelines: A 15 minute tutorial by Anne Mitchell (AKA: Ancestry Anne)
===
Cite This Page:
Erin Williamson Klein, “Gen Do-Over: Cycle 2 Week 2.” My Family History Files, 14 April 2015 (https://myfamilyhistoryfiles.com/research-plan/gen-do-over-cycle-2-week-2/ : [access date]).
Please do not copy without attribution and link back to this page.
===
I decided to go through the 13 week Genealogy Do-Over for the second cycle that began on 3 April. I got stalled in the first cycle around weeks 3-5 and then finished up by picking and choosing to do only some of the topics for the remaining weeks but never blogging about it. The Do-Over forced me to take a hard look at the way I wanted to approach documenting everything in OneNote while making sure to follow the guidelines of the Genealogy Proof Standard in my research–something I was neglecting in my do-over process started in January 2014.
Previously, I was focused first and foremost on the document itself, ignoring its basic purpose—as a source of information to answer research questions. Downloaded or scanned, every source that comes into my possession is part of a Research Quest[ion].
The very beginning of every Research Quest[ion] is a Research Plan. Whether I am using the source for a Research Plan already begun, or need to begin a new one, that’s the starting point. I have always wanted to breeze by that step. When I breeze by it however, I miss the important step of analyzing what the evidence in the source is telling me in relation to other evidence I may already have in my possession and/or exposing the need for further sources of information.
The topics for Week One of the Genealogy Do-Over are:
1. Setting aside previous research
Breaking up with my old research wasn’t that hard to do. (Like breaking up with a boyfriend who just makes you miserable and you know the relationship is going nowhere.) First, it isn’t properly sourced and second its in file folders which I dislike. I moved all my digital files into a Hold folder during the last cycle.
The Surname folders shown above are where the digital files from the Hold folder get moved into after I’ve revisited them. And (looks under table at plastic file boxes with file folders containing old research), the rest of it is still sitting right where I left it 13 weeks ago.
2. Preparing to research
I feel more fully equipped to research this time through the Do-Over cycle. I have my OneNote notebooks set up exactly how I want them and I have my new tree already started in RootsMagic from the last cycle of the Do-Over.
3. Establishing base practices and guidelines
For this step I need more chocolate. Or maybe more wine. (Are my French roots showing?) During the last cycle, I was relying on the workflow chart I had set up last July. (I started the process of redoing my research at the beginning of 2014 so I had this chart made before I started the Genealogy Do-Over in January 2015.)
As you can see, the flow starts on the left with sources and finishes at the bottom right with inputting information into my genealogy software. I want to rework this chart, rename some steps to match my OneNote templates and simplify the look of the chart. I’ve got that started but it’s not coming together. My brain is stuck. (Thus explaining the need for more chocolate and there’s none here at the house…)
At the end of Cycle 2 Week 1 this is where I am: Working in Scapple on a new mindmap. Because I have very little to do for Week 2 for Cycle 2, I am going to keep working on this until I get it to where I am happy with it. More about my Do-Over process next week.
===
This post contains an affiliate link to Scapple at Literature and Latte. I will earn a commission if you purchase the product through that link. This does not affect the price you pay for the product.
Erin Williamson Klein
New York to Nevada
Started my research in 1993
November 2020 NanoWriMo
50,404 of 50,000 words written about my ancestors.
