My initial thought was that I was going to make one tree on Ancestry and then make sure I have a backup of that tree on my hard drive. I also want to make sure that I get all the digital media that I have organized at the same time. It's a lofty goal, I know. I'm finding, however, that it's a lot harder to do than I thought. Why? Well, I haven't really set any rules yet so that plays a big part.
So, without any further ado, I guess I need to set some rules for this project! Of course, this is my initial attempt at this and, like any other set of rules, these will always be subject to change as new problems pup up along the way.
Let me first start off by establishing just what I am going to be doing. I will be working, essentially, on one tree in three different places. This tree will be available on Ancestry, Family Search and on my hard drive. I will start off by adding myself to the tree on Ancestry and adding in all the "hints" that match and then adding that same information into the FamilySearch Family Tree. I think that the tree I keep on my hard drive will be backed up weekly. I'll download it from Ancestry maybe every Sunday. Of course, I could also just add each individual as I go along because to add a person into my Family Tree Maker software takes all of 30 seconds. I'll make that decision as I go along.
During all this time I will also be making sure to update all my digital files for each person. This will be a difficult task as I have started and re-started this task many times over the last 25 years and I may go to the folder for that person and find that there is anywhere from 5 to10 or maybe even 15 copies of each file in that folder. In some cases, such as a Family Group Sheet, I may have one copy that is in blue font, one that is in red font, one that is in dark red font and one that is all blue but with the person it refers to being in red. It will be a very painstaking task for sure. If I set some ground rules for this it should be easier, I hope.
I will take this weekend, which may be a snowbound weekend, to think through these rules and then set my guidelines for each task. In doing so, I will make it possible to go through each person completely by the rules and not have to go back to that person again. I think I may make it a rule to keep a running list of tasks I am not able to complete so that I can return to them when I have time.
If anyone who may run across this has any ideas or suggestions, feel free to contact me and let me know what you have to offer. You can contact me by emailing me at kengen [at] yahoo [dot] com
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Ken
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