Your Genealogy
Starter Hub
All six Week 1 guides in one place. Your key takeaways, a printable starter kit checklist, and a full table of contents to carry into every research session that follows.
You have made it through Week 1. That might not sound like much — a handful of articles, a few new habits to consider — but the truth is that most family historians never lay this foundation at all. They dive straight into searching records, accumulate documents without a system for naming them, and end up three years later with a hard drive full of files called "scan001.pdf" and a research history they cannot reconstruct. You are not going to be that researcher.
This post collects everything from Week 1 into one place: the six core ideas that should shape every research session you ever run, the physical and digital supplies that belong in every genealogist's starter kit, and a numbered index of every guide published this week — your table of contents for the foundation you have just built.
The Six Ideas That Change Everything
These are not tips or tricks. They are habits — small, consistent behaviours that separate researchers who make steady progress from researchers who keep starting over. Carry these into Week 2 and every week after.
Log everything
Every search, every source, every dead end — recorded in your research log before you close the tab. Future you will be grateful.
One timeline per person
Dates in sequence, with an Age column, catch impossible data instantly. Don't skip the column that does the most work.
Name files consistently
YYYY-MM-DD_Surname_FirstName_ DocumentType before you save, every time. No exceptions.
Archival-safe only
Acid-free, lignin-free, PVC-free. Standard office supplies damage your originals invisibly over years and decades.
The 3-2-1 backup rule
Three copies. Two types of storage. One kept offsite. Run it monthly. Your digital archive is not safe until all three conditions are met.
Ask the oldest person first
No AI tool, no database, no algorithm replaces a living relative who remembers. Interview them before the stories are gone.
You do not need to have all six habits locked in before moving forward. Pick the one that matters most right now — for most people, that is the research log — and add the others one at a time. A research log you actually use is worth more than a perfect system you have not started yet.
Your Starter Kit Checklist
Eight items. Some physical, some digital, one simply a conversation you need to have. You do not need all eight on day one — but having them all in place by the end of Week 2 will transform how every research session goes from that point forward.
Research log — paper or spreadsheet
A dedicated notebook or spreadsheet recording every search: Date · Goal · Source · Results · Next step. This is your single most important tool.
Pedigree chart — 4 or 5 generations
Your visual anchor. Print one and fill in what you already know. Every blank space is a research target.
Acid-free file folders
pH-neutral, lignin-free. One surname or family unit per folder. Label in pencil until you are certain of the spelling.
PVC-free polypropylene sleeves
For photographs and fragile documents. Avoid standard plastic sheet protectors — they off-gas acids that destroy paper over time.
Consistent digital file naming in use
Every new scan saved as YYYY-MM-DD_Surname_FirstName_DocumentType before closing the session. Not retroactively — starting now.
Cloud storage account active and syncing
Google Drive or FamilySearch Memories — your Family History folder mirrored and backing up automatically.
External hard drive — your offsite backup
1 TB is plenty and costs $40–60. Copy your full Family History folder to it once a month. Store it away from your computer.
One family member interviewed — on record
The oldest person you can reach, with a photograph to show them. Use your phone's voice memo app. Transcribe the key points into your research log.
If two or three items feel out of reach right now, start with the research log, one acid-free folder for your most precious documents, and a cloud backup. That trio alone puts you ahead of most family historians who have been researching for years without a system.
Week 1 Table of Contents — All Six Guides
These six posts form the complete foundation of organised genealogy research. Return to any of them whenever you need a refresher — each one is written to be useful whether you are reading it for the first time or the fifth.
Organising Your Digital Genealogy Files
The YYYY-MM-DD naming convention · Building a clean folder structure · Cloud storage with FamilySearch Memories and Google Drive · The 3-2-1 backup rule
Why Paper Research Logs Still Matter for Seniors
What circular research is and how a log stops it · Paper vs. digital spreadsheets · The four-field log entry: Date, Goal, Source, Results · Logs and brick walls
Building a Family History Timeline
Why timelines catch impossible data instantly · Five steps to your first timeline · The plain-text template (Year · Age · Location · Life Event) · Adding historical context
Organizing Physical Genealogy Papers
The Surname System · The Couple/Family Unit System · The Colour-Coded Ancestor System · Archival-safe materials explained · Keep vs. scan vs. discard
Ancestry.com vs. MyHeritage: An Honest Review
Tree-building and navigation · Hints systems compared · Source citations · Mobile app usability for seniors · Winner for beginners · Winner for international roots
The Family Photo Detective
The Photographer's Mark · Clothing styles and time periods · Photo format dating guide · 2026 AI tools: MyHeritage Photo Enhancer and Google Lens · AI limitations · Interviewing older relatives
What Comes Next
Week 2 moves from organising what you have to actively finding what you don't. That means diving into census records — the single richest source of day-to-day family information available to most researchers — learning how to read vital certificates, and beginning to build the evidence trail that will eventually get you past the brick walls every genealogist encounters.
Before you get there, do one thing this week: sit down with your research log, your pedigree chart, and the oldest photograph in your collection. Fill in what you know. Note what you don't. Write down the name of the oldest person in your family you have not yet interviewed, and make a plan to call them.
That is the whole assignment. Everything else follows from that.
Ready for Week 2?
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