This worksheet is nothing more than a grid or table. You could use paper and pencil to create this, but I’ve found it simplest to use a spreadsheet, like Microsoft Excel.

On my worksheet, I started by labeling each column with the name of my ancestor. To keep things straight, I keep individuals in each generation together, and collocate married couples within their respective generational headings. On the left-hand side of my worksheet I’ve listed key pieces of information. In the sample, I’ve tried to keep this simple by listing birth, marriage, and death documentation, as well as Census documents. But, you might add other items, like wedding photos, baby pictures, diplomas, adoption documents, and more. Generally, what you place in this column is going to be dictated by the kind of family history you’re trying to develop. In my sample, for instance, the items shown might be the barest necessities if I were interested only in reconstructing a family lineage.

Getting Started: Have you wasted time chasing down a Census image only to realize the person wasn’t born when the Census was taken? I hate wasting time; so, the first thing I do is to black-out all the areas that are not relevant to a given individual. Not only does this help me avoid chasing non existent information, it also makes that mass of needed information a bit less formidable.

There’s one more thing I do before I actually begin collecting information. In the box corresponding to each ancestor and piece of information desired, I write in the location where my ancestor was at the time. For instance, one of my great-grandmothers was born in Ohio; so, on the line adjacent to Birth Certificates, under her name, I’ve written the abbreviation for Ohio. Alternately, you could also write in the date, as well as the county name. For me, however, the worksheet is more useful if I keep things simple. But, this extra piece of information on the worksheet makes a nice cross reference.

Filling the Blanks: Once this much has been done, I use the worksheet to guide my research. I tend to be something of a linear thinker. Thus, I like to focus on one individual until every avenue on the worksheet has been exhausted. For me, the process might go something like this. Under Samuel Clary, I consult the worksheet for the needed documents. First, I check Indiana Vital Records to see if a birth record is available for the year I think Sam was born. In this instance, no record is available, so I black-out that box on the worksheet. Not good, but it’s still progress. The next box down is for marriage records. As luck has it, I’ve already got a copy of his marriage certificate, so I fill in that box with green, which is my code for “Got that one!” And, if that’s not enough, as a bonus, I get to fill in the marriage certificate box under my great-grandmother’s name too. This is real progress. The next line is for death records. That one I don’t have, so it’s back to the Internet to look up California Vital Records. Once I’ve written the death certificate request, I’ll color code the box as a way of reminding myself that it’s been done. And so it goes for each succeeding box for Samuel Clary.

A Little Help in an Imperfect World: In a perfect world, I could just continue working on Sam for the rest of the day, and by the time all the Census boxes had been filled in with green, the mail person would arrive next morning with his death certificate. Unfortunately, I have an employer to make happy, a house to clean, meals to prepare, and much-needed documents never arrive quickly. Fortunately, no matter how many days or even weeks pass by the time I can resume my research, a quick look at my Document Status Worksheet puts me right on track again.

Lesson Number 3: Family Photographs

About 30 years ago my grandparents pulled out a huge box of family photos, which spanned several generations. After looking through the photos, my grandparents asked me to keep the box. I was uncomfortable about accepting the pictures because I didn’t want to think about the day that my grandpa and grandma would not be in my life. So, I said there was plenty of time left to get the photographs. When my grandmother died a year later, my grandfather offered me the photos a second time. Again, I put off taking them. In time, I married, started my own family and moved across country. I stayed in touch with my grandfather, to be sure, but the photographs were never a part of our conversations. Retrospectively, I suppose he thought I just didn’t want them. Then that awful, but inevitable call came, informing me that my grandpa had died. In my grief, the photos did cross my mind, but there were two uncles present who were going to take care of things, so I figured there was plenty of time to get the photos. Unexpectedly, though, one uncle died, and another divorced and I lost track of him. After a year of searching diligently for my missing uncle, I finally tracked him down. It turns out that he left the box of photographs with his former wife. So I called her. She was extremely pleasant, but the divorce had not gone well and, upon finding the box of photographs, she had thrown them away. I’ve since received many other photos, but they do not compare to the priceless family legacy that I let slip through my fingers, not once, but twice.

Lesson Learned: If presented with the opportunity to borrow or take possession of family photographs, don’t even think twice about accepting the offer.

Lesson 4: Census Information and Other Documentary Evidence

As a beginning researcher, I labored under the impression that census information provided ample evidence. It does not. In fact, I’ve learned to be suspicious of census records. First, the information was recorded by people who were often not particular about what they wrote. Then, you can never tell who was actually reporting the information to the census taker. Wives or husbands often reported their spouses’ birthdates and places incorrectly. Moreover, our ancestors were cavalier about their names. I have seen children’s names change completely from one census to the next. Even worse, people misreport information; for instance, women and men misreport their birthdates and foreign-born people often misreport their places of birth. In short, Census information is good for developing leads, but it simply cannot be trusted as fact. Therefore, to I request birth, marriage, and death documents on every person. Of course, vital records bring their own inherent problems. Often, they simply aren’t available, and they contain contradictory information. Thus, besides census and vital records, I try to locate other documentary evidence, such as court records, real estate records, tax records, newspaper articles, school records, and more. From the onset, acquiring all this documentary evidence may sound daunting, but genealogic truth is in the details.

Lesson Learned: Don't take it for granted that any one document is absolutely correct.

Lesson 5: Photographs Can be Brought Back

Striving to learn as much as possible about my ancestors, I’m on a constant hunt for photographs. Most of the photographs I’ve collected have resulted from the good will of cousins who are willing to share. Often, these photographs are in pretty rough condition. But all is not lost. My principal tool in digitally restoring old photos is Adobe Photoshop, but I have had equally good results using the less expensive Adobe Photoshop Elements and Corel Paint. One reason I prefer Photoshop is its “Healing” tool, which allows me to eliminate scratches, emulsion spots, tares, and creases. The photo below (left) shows a raw scan of the original photo. At right is the image after I have done some magic with Photoshop.

Using the same tools I have been able to obtain similar results from photocopied images. For instance, the first photograph appearing in the Family Album section of this website (Mary Elizabeth Gatewood) came to me as a nearly black photocopy. With a little patience, I obtained a very useful image. Sometimes, our relatives and ancestors attempt to help us out by placing captions on photographs. Below, you can see how I used Photoshop Elements to eliminate writing on the photograph (original at left, revised photo at right).

One word of caution: If you have received photographs on loan, always keep copies of your original scans. As my skills improve and new software is developed, I sometimes go back to my original scans and do new digital restorations. If you don't keep the original scans, you will always be limited to improving upon your previous restorations. Below, is an example of using the "Healing" tool in Adobe Photoshop and some creative cropping.