How to Organize Genealogy with Binders
Notebook Sections for Family Surnames, Documents, Locations
Aug 21, 2009
In the universal search for a method to organize genealogy papers, family history researchers fall into three groups: those who use file folders, those who use binders, and those who have a pile of papers threatening to topple over.
While organization can be customized using either file folders or binders, the binders have the advantage of being secure and easily readable. Genealogists can open a binder to view or add to the contents without worrying about spilling it or having a paper or two slip out and be lost. They can also pull out a single binder to share with someone else, without having to explain how to search in it.
Supplies to Organize a Genealogy Binder System
Supplies are easily found at any office supply store and many large discount stores. Here's what's needed:
- 3-Ring Binders. Look for 1 ½" or 2" binders. (1" binders will be quickly outgrown, 3" binders will get too unwieldy.) A "clear view" cover will allow a photograph or Table of Contents on the front. It's worth spending a little more on quality binders that will last longer.
- Sheet Protectors. Archival quality, acid free to protect documents, top-loading so pages don't fall out.
- Oversized Divider Tabs. These are large enough to be useful with sheet protectors.
- A-4 size binders and sheet protectors if European documents or correspondence exist.
3-Ring Binders Easily Organized by Surname
The binder system of filing genealogy papers is simple: separate family lines by surname and create as many binders as needed to hold them.
- Label the binders alphabetically, to hold tabbed sections for each surname. To begin with, this may simply be A-M and N-Z. Later it require something like A-E, F, G-M, N, and O-Z, if there were many documents for Fishers, Foster, and Nutting, for example. Or a surname may grow to require its own binder, if not two!
- File information on each direct line ancestor in the appropriate binder by generation, with the most recent one first and moving back through previous generations. Using sheet protectors, include a pedigree chart, family group sheet, documents, research notes, maps, photos, etc., for each couple. As more information is gathered, couples will need their own tabbed sections in the binders.
- File a woman's information with her parents until her marriage, and with her husband from marriage onward.
- Make copies of any document with more than one surname, and file a copy in each appropriate binder.
- Create a "Collateral Lines" section as needed for each surname, and file sibling information (not the direct ancestors) here.
- Create a "Possible Ancestors" section for research on other people for whom an ancestral connection is suspected, but not proven.
Add More Binders for Additional Needs
Researchers will find they collect information that is useful, but does not fit into a surname category. When that happens, add another binder to the system and label it accordingly. Possible additional binders are:
- Location: for general research about an area, non-specific to a particular family.
- Individual Research Problem: for questions, to-do lists, research logs, and copies of all necessary information to work on a particular challenge.
- Original Documents: Some genealogists like to use photocopies of certificates and documents for general work, and keep the originals in a separate place. A binder (with archival quality sheet protectors, of course) for such originals will keep them together and safe.
Some genealogists swear by a binder system and eventually fill wall-to-wall bookcases. Others begin with binders and move to family folders as information grows, and still others use file folders from the beginning. Individual preference is the ultimate deciding factor – there is no "best" way, as long as documents are organized and safe.
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