You Need All the Help You Can Get

1972 <= yes, that’s how long I’ve been doing genealogy. I started when I was 9-years-old.

I’ve made mistakes. The important thing: I have learned from them!

I have done four “do overs.” — pre Nostalgia (I know! It’s was so much easier then.)

  • from pencil, pen and paper to computer. The computer was a 486 with an orange monochrome monitor using Windows 98 and MSOffice97. 
  • from Windows 98 to Windows XP
  • then MSOffice97 upgraded to 2010
  • then started backing up to an external harddrive 5yrs ago

Through it all, I still keep hardcopies. I have 18 binders (2018 update: 22 binders) filled with ATKINSON relations and three (2018: nine!) others that have ATKINSONs that are supposed to be related, but i have found no proof. (These hardcopies are printed every Christmas holiday.).

Next, I have three thumb drives (2018 truth: only two now) that get updated very month. One will eventually get dropped off to the safety deposit box at the bank (when I remember to take it.); and will then get swapped out a month later with a new one.

Finally, there is DropBox, with photos (2018: now in Flickr), documents, letters, etc all neatly sorted. It is updated every time I am working in the files.

Then there are four clear plastic boxes (2018: double that!) with brightly coloured file folders in them.

Now, the only downfall, I have 6 banker’s boxes (2018: and two apple boxes) with assorted (original) papers that need sorting and scanning.  I will find time to do it …

Of late, I have been enjoying questions and conversations from younger cousins, regarding how they could get started.

More on that later.

SLR

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