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Re: finding aids for genealogy collections



Hi List:

I too am a practicing genealogist when wearing one of my more casual hats.
The question that comes to mind first is whether this genealogist was a
contractor doing work for others who wanted their names researched, or only
doing their own family.  The methodology for processing and arrangement
would necessarily be different.

If the genealogist was a professional, then the bulk of the research product
would presumably be turned over to the one who contracted him/her, but the
raw resarch data under each name might be retained for use on other
projects. Professional papers  might consist largely of correspondence,
contracts and printed reference materials, some of which should be appraised
for archival value as rare,  out of print, or privately published works.  If
the genealogist were a researcher who published also, the treatment of the
relevent papers might best be managed and procesed as manuscripts, complete
with research notes and drafts.

For what it's worth, I think the key here is to remember that the actual
life as well as the work of the genealogist in question must be understood
as the goal in arranging and describing the papers  is twofold:
 1)to reveal how the genealogist approached the work and the life s/he did
as much as
2) to reveal what data might be available in the papers for other
genealogists.

Have a good weekend all-
Elizabeth Fairfax, MA, CA
Island County Records Services

        ----------
        From:  Sharon [SMTP:centans@TAMPABAY.RR.COM]
        Sent:  Friday, July 21, 2000 2:52 PM
        To:  ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
        Subject:  Re: finding aids for genealogy collections

        Hi Folks,

        As a genealogist for 21 years and a genealogical research instructor
since
        1981,
        I have spent almost half my life organizing genealogy.

        I keep a notebook for each family name.  I use different colors for
easy
        identification.
        I started with paper notebooks, but quickly outgrew those.  In each
notebook,
        I have
        sections for pedigree charts, research logs, family group sheets,
photos, and
        original
        documents and maps.  I use acid free mylar page protectors, because
my
        collection
        is meant to be shared as well as stored.  I keep the notebooks in
        alphabetical order.

        I also have a set of "how to" notebooks for each locality I am
interested in,
        as my
        ancestors hail from several European countries and several states.

        I drew up a huge lifelike tree for my husband's  branch of the
family and
        hung it over the sofa.
        Each of over 300 family members is listed on the appropriate branch
in
        chronological order.
        This is a descending tree, so it spreads quicker than a pedigree
tree.

        Most of my information has been entered in to Family Tree Maker in
the past
        ten
        years so that I can print out trees, charts, etc.  I also use
Powerpoint to
        make scrapbook
        pages with photos and documents I have scanned, so I can tell the
family
        story.
        Then, to save publication costs, I write the story of each family on
a web
        page and
        link to other generations, including pictures and maps.  I also
write a
        character sketch
        of ancestors I know a lot about, synthesizing the info I find into a
        chronological life story
        from the ancestors point of view.  Mostly I have done this with
female
        ancestors, and
        thus contribute to the history of women by using them as examples of
everyday
        people
        and how they immigrated, raised families, etc.

        You can access my online genealogy tutorial at::

        http://home.tampabay.rr.com/centans/genguide.html

        You can access my online family history at:

        http://home.tampabay.rr.com/centans/famhist.html

        Sharon Centanne
        Genealogical Research Instructor and Webpage Designer

        Deborah Gaudier wrote:

        > Try contacting Eric Grundset, staff librarian at the Daughters of
the
        > American Revolution e-mail:  egrundset@nsdar.org
        >
        > Deborah Gaudier
        > (usually a lurker)
        >
        > >  Who out there has had to arrange
        > > and describe a genealogist's collection of papers  Any resources
and or
        > websites would be
        > > much appreciated.
        > >
        > > Sincerely,
        > > Katrina M. Bowling
        >
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        A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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        Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>