Understanding Google Plus Hangouts and Hangouts On Air

I have been enjoying the various Google+ Hangouts and Hangouts On Air that are available in several Google+ communities.

The video below, from DearMyrtle, gives an overview of the differences between Hangouts and Hangouts On Air (HOA). Either format you attend, you will enjoy but I encourage you to try both. Hangouts and HOAs are similar to a webinar and are informative, educational and full of collaboration. Don't worry though, you can join without a webcam and still participate in the conversation.



I encourage you to visit GeneaWebinars to see a full list of the scheduled hangouts. Keep in mind though, a hangout can happen on the fly or with just a few hours notice. That is what is so great about hangouts, you can get into a discussion and hangout breaks out! The benefit being the screen sharing capabilities to help explain or clear up the topic under discussion. HOAs have the added benefit of being recorded and posted on YouTube. If you can't make the "live" HOA, no worries just catch it on YouTube when you can.

The possibilities for Google+ Hangouts and HOAs are endless. Be sure to give them a try. Once you become familiar with the format and the joining process I think you will be glad you did.

Getting Organized Genealogy Style Day 6

A task on Dear Myrtle's organization checklist includes scanning in all those photos tossed into a box. I have started on this item and have scanned 250 photos so far. After scanning, the goal is to name and organize the photos by family groups. That will be the most time consuming aspect of this task for sure!

During the scanning process (several hours so far) several questions have arisen. Why do Wyouida Emery and Howard Vanderman have such a strong resemblance to each other when she was an adopted sister? Why does Viola Vanderman's photo album, spanning many years, have photos of her adopted children and no photos of her natural children?

I have also begun to believe that all the photos I thought were of my grandmother may actually be of my great-grandmother also. I hope as I continue this process I find more photos with information on the back that may make things clearer.

I am including a photo I found just because it's a fun photo. There is no writing on the back, but I believe this photo is from the Emery or Evingham lines.

Getting Organized Genealogy Style Day 5

At this rate, Dear Myrtle and her monthly checklists, are going to leave me in the dust!! Although I didn't start the January checklist until August, I could be more focused and diligent with this process.

At this point, I have all loose documents filed in 3 ring binders. I chose to file alphabetically with direct ancestors name on a colored tab, all collateral names have a white tab. Before I continue, I will review all documents that I have. As a beginner I was saving everything I came across whether it actually pertained to the individual or not. I have many items that may potentially be of value but I need to take a second look at everything.

I have high hopes for this review process. Some of the items I found nine years ago when I first started genealogy. At that time I really didn't know what I was looking at or for! I will use this opportunity to fully extract the information and analyze the clues it may give me.

Getting organized genealogy style Day 4

It has been a few "days" between my Day 3 and Day 4 posts but such is life!! I purchased more supplies to continue working on Dear Myrtle's January organization checklist. I now have plenty of sheet protectors and tabbed dividers. However, I did not purchase enough 3 ring binders, but I can still get started.

After going through the checklist, multiple times, I decided it would be best for me to tweak the system to meet my needs. I put all surnames, direct and collateral, in binders alphabetically. I then created a separate notebook to file just my family group sheets. In that folder I did separate out direct and collateral lines.

I still have filing to complete before I get to the item on the checklist that I believe will be the most challenging...reconciling what I have on paper with electronic copies and data input into my Legacy database. Whew...not looking forward to that right now! I do feel a small sense of accomplishment, which I believe is what Dear Myrtle's checklist is all about. Organizing in small doses will still get you where you need to be.

Tomorrow I am going to the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri to attend a class on Wills and Probate records. I hope to be bringing home more documents to file!

Getting organized genealogy style Day 3

The next item on the January checklist that I do not have a check mark for is to: Make four basic categories and sort all the loose papers, documents and photos into one of those categories. I did modify the categories to suit my research style. I have five categories, I can't do without a "miscellaneous" category!

Next item is to replace any missing or lost office supplies. I am in good shape with folders, labels, etc. However, to the lady who bought my 3-ring binders during the city-wide garage sale August 1st...you are going to need to bring those back for a refund! What was I thinking selling those????

I am now into week two of Dear Myrtle's checklist for January. Create a surname notebook for each major surname. Time to visit Office Max for more 3-ring binders!

Getting organized genealogy style Day 2

I printed off (yes waste of paper in this digital age but I am still old school about some things) Dear Myrtle's Jan - April 2009 Organization Checklists. I've went through each month and checked off the items that I have already done and highlighted those that are still to do. Guess what...I have more highlights than check marks! Not surprising, but I'm not at a concerned point yet either. Many of the to-dos include making purchases of various supplies, which I may or may not do depending on cash flow. I may choose to improvise with the supplies I currently have, which will add more check marks quickly!

Now it's time to go back through the checklists and focus on the highlighted items!

Getting organized genealogy style

Ah the dreaded task of organizing the unorganized! I will say that I do not have a huge pile of unattended documents, notes or photos laying on a desk or table somewhere. Everything is SOMEPLACE! Documents are either filed in a three-ring binder, or in a file folder to be reviewed. Most, 90%, of my documents are scanned but only about 50% of my photos.

Before I start patting myself on the back though, I still have to remember there is no set organization to my genealogy material. If a researcher contacted me on a common family line I may get lucky and find that I have the data input into my genealogy software and an electronic copy of the document attached to the ancestor in question. What are the odds of me being this lucky? I wouldn't bet the farm!

I've found several online sources to assist with getting things in order, even a couple of videos are on YouTube. However, I've decided I like the checklists I found on Dear Myrtle's blog. She has a month by month checklist (started in January and I'm what 8 months behind?) that is broken down into weekly tasks. I like that! Rather than facing a large project and trying to make sense of it in one fell swoop, Myrtle breaks it down into manageable pieces.

That is my goal each week to work on a task as suggested! We will see how far I get and how quickly!