The Errors of My Ways~ Series Part 3: A Genealogy Do-Over File_Naming

So, here we are a week into the New Year!

First and foremost, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

File_Naming on my hard drive updates:

I am proud to report that I have accomplished a lot since I first began this daunting task!  I am not near to being done, however I am more than half way to being done with this project!  I did have a few minor set backs again- but all good.
 
Having a To-Do List (word doc) helped out a lot, because I kept it pinned on my desktop.

When I begin to open the file that held the batches, I also opened up the to-do list.
This To-Do List is already 2-pages long.  I still have about 400-500 files to re-name.  This isn't counting all the photos I have on my hard drive!
Yikes! When I get to that.. aye aye aye!

This process has taught me a lot.  I have re-discovered something about my maternal grandmother.  Her birth year was always a mystery, until I was re-naming her family Census record and took a closer look at it, and found that her birth year was more accurate on the census than it was guessed to be.  My grandmother was applying for her delayed birth certificate in 1975, but was in a horrible fatality accident which claimed her and her friend's lives, and the process was never completed. She was in the process of applying for either her CDIB (Certified Degree Indian Blood) card or a job.  I was only 7-years old when she was killed.


So, what does my files look like now?

Here is a "before" picture:

 A HUGE mess! I couldn't even retrieve any files this way, let alone find it! I had no way of knowing what I had in my file folder or how many "copies" I had downloaded over time!
Over time, I would backup my files and put them on any new desktop or laptop I bought, as well as any added new or not new (already downloaded) records onto the lastest device. 




Here is the "after" picture

Now, with a much more better files naming system, I can see what records I have on any ancestors, and I can do a search in the search box and it will give me what I need and not what I think I meant. Right now, I have one "Master" folder under my maternal line, and one for my paternal line. Once I am finish with all the files, I will begin to create a folder for each surname and attach their records by linking it the ancestor's name.  That is the plan, however, it may change, as I figure out what will work best for me. I will let you know how it works out in an update post once I am finish.  Until then, I hope this has been helpful in case you are facing the same issue!



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