Sample of Facts Entered in Chronological Order for Thomas Lincoln:

Time lines help us understand and remember sequential relationships. They are visual aids that seem to promote the mental arrangement of events in their proper order.

"NOTES"

When you bring your data from another computer program (such as the Personal Ancestral File^™), all the notes are placed in the Notes dialog box as shown above. You may also enter transcribed oral histories, family stories, and comments to your heart's content in this Notes dialog box.

The general concept is that all facts and clues pertaining to an individual should be recorded with that individual. The FTM program allows that concept to be maintained. In this lesson, we provide two samples of note styles that you could enter in this dialog box. The first sample is basically text, and it can be seen in the picture above. The next type is in strict chronological order.

The first example allows for a nice narrative and transition from one family unit or family research problem to another. However, the clues to continuing the research are buried in paragraphs of text.

The second example, in chronological order, helps the reader to examine the materials as though he were a researcher. Missing information can be seen immediately. For example, the 1910 and 1920 census records are missing on this example.

NOTES

1897 BIRTH: WI, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Film # FHL 1275678, item 2, Vol. 1, page 346: James M. Nelson, son of George O. and Mary Elizabeth Nelson, of Milwaukee Heights, born 4 May 1897.

1900 CENSUS: WI, Green Co., Monroe Twp, Film #32 San Bruno Archives, E. D. 43, sheet 13A, line 14: George O. Nelson, white, male, 40 years old born Jun 1860 OH, father born OH, mother born NY, can read and write, owns home freely, occupation farmer; Ellie, white, female, wife, age 38, born Sep 1862 born Canada, parents born NY, housekeeper, can read and write; George, 18, born Nov 1882, OH, father born OH mother born NY, farmer laborer, can read and write; Mary, 16, born Oct 1884, IL, father born OH, mother born NY, going to school...Monroe, son, age 3, born May 1897, WI...

1905 LETTER: Letter from George O. Nelson to his wife, dated June 14, 1905 from Medicine Lodge, Kansas, copy in possession of Mr. John Browning, 12566 How'd He Do It Drive, Hoe, CA 98435: "...Sweetheart, found a wonderful new farm outside of Medicine Lodge...will be there in two weeks with the boys to pick up the household goods...Jim Boy can even have a swing in the big tree we've found for him here...love George."

1910 CENSUS: Missing

1920 MARRIAGE: CA, Monterey Co., Salinas, marriage record, certificate 45723, copy in my possession: James Monroe Nelson, age 22, and Sarah Marie Brown, age 19, both of Salinas, were married at the home of the bride, on February 14, 1920.

1920 CENSUS: Missing

Personal Impressions

Besides including basic sources to substantiate the vital information entered in the individual data fields, FTM Notes dialog boxes can be used as a place to enter your personal impressions about what records to search the next time you have an opportunity to go to a repository. This dialog box also provides a place to identify conflicting or missing information.

The Notes dialog box can also help you keep track of ideas and unanswered questions which evolve as you enter your documentation. These can be in the form of Take Action notes or To Do lists. Here are examples of To Do notes.

TO DO:

1. Order death certificate in California, Monterey County, for James Monroe Nelson. Maybe it will tell the year he moved to California.
2. Search the 1910 census index for California or Kansas for James Monroe Nelson via his father George.
3. The 1920 census would give Sarah's birth place. Maybe her obituary that is in mom's scrapbook would tell me more. Ask mom to read it to me.
4. What happened to the brothers and sisters of James Monroe? Did he marry once before in Kansas?

You can enter narrative text, chronological notes, facts, and To Do lists under each person, or under selected individuals.

It is best to experiment with the program to see which features you want to use. You can go back to the fill-in-the-blank form by clicking on the FamPg icon.