A Tool To Organize Your CW Ancestors and Research in One Place

LynneG

Cadet
Joined
Aug 15, 2021
Location
Gettysburg
If you are like me and have a lot of ancestors who served in the Civil War, keeping all their documentation and research organized in ONE place is a BIG headache! Out of my insatiable obsession for organization and being totally sick and tired of having to access info in numerous places, I created a Trello template that keeps everything neatly organized in one place. If you've never heard of Trello as an organizing tool, you can create a free account here. Create a board and then you can use the template. You can find the template here. Message me if you need further instructions. Oh, yeah... and if all your kin were Confederates (mine are all Union), change the board background to a Confederate Flag. Easy peasey! :smile coffee:

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How do you folks find these relatives? I've been very curious to research my own roots but i don't know where to start.
 
How do you folks find these relatives? I've been very curious to research my own roots but i don't know where to start.
Start by tracing your family tree. I started with my Father’s family but soon was tracing the tree for my 4 grandParents.
Trace them back to an ancestor who lived in 1860 and find them on the 1860 Census. This will tell you their age and the county where they lived. This is a start.
Then you need to search for military records. Sometimes you will find surprises if you visit that county court house— such as a list of ALL residents who served from that county.
And guys here will help you match his records.
 
How do you folks find these relatives? I've been very curious to research my own roots but i don't know where to start.
The best, and usually easiest, way is to start with your grandparents and work up your tree. There are a number of online sites that help with this - some free, such as FamilySearch, and some fee-based, such as Ancestry. They are designed to help you in your search by prompting you with suggestions when you enter in your starting facts. Most people find that there is a lot on their family already entered by other researchers, which can be a good aid. A warning though - not every family tree you find online is correct so it's important to double check all the facts you find.
 
The best, and usually easiest, way is to start with your grandparents and work up your tree. There are a number of online sites that help with this - some free, such as FamilySearch, and some fee-based, such as Ancestry. They are designed to help you in your search by prompting you with suggestions when you enter in your starting facts. Most people find that there is a lot on their family already entered by other researchers, which can be a good aid. A warning though - not every family tree you find online is correct so it's important to double check all the facts you find.
Guess I'll check with family tree then. Thanks
 
Guess I'll check with family tree then. Thanks
Ask your family---your Mom or an Aunt--- to find out who is the "family historian". There is always someone in your family who is doing this. It could even be someone younger than you (I'm assuming you a rather young but I don't know). Of course, as previously stated, make sure their information is correct as they could have errors in names or they could claim a Veteran without having documentation.
 
I use EXCEL spreadsheet to provide a quick list. This is a condensed snap shot of my spreadsheet.(Oops -- this is an early draft as I see a few errors.)

Is Trello more like a database? Or a spreadsheet?



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Trello is a whole different animal than a spreadsheet or database. It is a board where you can attach "cards" containing each of your documents for each ancestor. (i.e. pension files, rosters, photos, videos, service records, etc.)
 
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